Navy Secretary Signals FY2027 Shipbuilding Could More Than Double 2026 Hulls

Overview

• Speaking at the WEST conference, John Phelan said the FY2027 plan could exceed double the FY2026 ship count, with at least 34 hulls possible under President Trump’s proposed defense topline.
• Phelan said the boost would emphasize auxiliary and support ships to grow production capacity more quickly than complex combatants.
• The expansion aligns with the Golden Fleet effort that pairs new FF(X) patrol frigates and a Trump-class large surface combatant with scaled unmanned systems.
• The Navy has established the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Robotic Autonomous System and is evaluating several medium unmanned surface vessel candidates, including Blue Water Autonomy, HII, Saronic and Anduril.
• FY2026 baselines differ in public tallies, with USNI reporting 19 ships at $47.3 billion after Reconciliation Act funding and House appropriators listing 17 ships at $27.2 billion that include two Virginia-class subs, one Columbia-class sub, three medium landing ships and one T-AGOS.