123STA T . 2 4 44 PUBLIC LA W 111 –8 4 —O CT. 28 , 2 0 0 9Subti t leC—Nav al V e s sels a nd S h i py a r ds SEC.102 1. SE N SE OF CON GR ESS ON TH E MAI NTENANCE OF A 3 13 - SHI P NA VY . (a)FIND IN GS.—Congres s m a k es th e f o l lo wi ng fin d ings
( 1 ) T he D e p artment of the N a vy has a stated re qu irement for a 3 13 - ship fleet. ( 2 ) The Navy c an b etter meet this requirement— ( A ) by procuring sufficient numbers of new ships
and ( B ) by ensuring the sound material condition of e x isting ships that will enable the Navy to utili z e them for their full planned service lives. (3) W hen procuring new classes of ships , the Navy must exercise greater caution than it has exhibited to date in pro- ceeding from one stage of the acquisition cycle to the next before a ship program has achieved a level of maturity that significantly lowers the risk of cost growth and schedule slip- page. ( 4 ) I n retaining existing assets, the Navy can do a much better j ob of achieving the full planned service lives of ships and extending the service lives of certain ships so as to keep their unique capabilities in the fleet while the Navy takes the time necessary to develop and field next-generation capabili- ties under a low risk program. ( 5 ) The Navy can undertake certain development approaches that can help the Navy control the total costs of ownership of a ship or class of ships, including emphasizing common hull designs, open architecture combat systems, and other common ship systems in order to achieve efficiency in acquiring and supporting various classes of ships. ( 6 ) The Navy needs to continue its efforts toward achieving an open architecture for existing combat systems, as this will have great benefit in reducing the costs and risks of fielding new classes of ships, and will yield recurring savings from reducing the costs of buying later ships in a program and reducing life cycle support costs for ships and classes of ships. ( 7 ) The Navy can also undertake other measures to acquire new ships and maintain the current fleet with greater effi- ciency, including— (A) greater use of fixed-price contracts; (B) maximizing competition (or the option of competi- tion) throughout the life cycle of its ships; (C) entering into multi-year contracts when warranted; and (D) employing an incremental approach to developing new technologies. (b) SE NSE OF CONG R ESS.—It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Navy should meet its requirement for a 313-ship fleet until such time that modifications to the Navy ’ s ship fleet force structure are warranted, and the Secretary of the Navy provides Congress with a justification of any proposed modifications, supported by rigorous and sufficient warfighting analysis; (2) the Navy should take greater care to achieve the full planned service life of existing ships and reduce the incidence of early ship decommissioning;
