143 Ships In Five-Year Naval Shipbuilding Plan

Pentagon correspondent Charles W. Corddry recently reported in The Baltimore Sun: "The Navy has proposed a vastly expanded five-year shipbuilding plan calling for 143 ships—including two nuclear- powered aircraft carriers— that could double the construction budget of the service already most favored financially under Administration defense goals." In addition to carriers (CVN) and several Trident submarines (SSBN), he says the plan anticipates 17 Aegis cruisers (CG-47 class), 14 attack submarines (SSN-688 class), six destroyers (DDG class), nine guided missile frigates (FFG-7 class), nine amphibious ships, and "86 others for fleet support, mine warfare, (and) storage of equipment.... "The Navy's proposal, on which the defense chief (Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger) and his staff have yet to act," Mr. Corddry adds, "would increase by more than 75 percent the number of ships in the last five-year construction plan given Congress by President Jimmy Carter. The Navy hopes to expand the active fleet to 600 ships by 1988. That would be a net gain of about 150 vessels. . . ."