Pentagon Wants To Retire The Aircraft Carrier USS Truman Early, Shrinking The Carrier Fleet To 10

U.S. Navy

Breaking Defense: Pentagon To Retire USS Truman Early, Shrinking Carrier Fleet To 10

The move could save more than $30 billion over 25 years to invest in high-tech weapons -- but Congress is sure to explode in outrage.

UPDATED with additional comment WASHINGTON: Amidst rising anxiety over whether the US Navy’s thousand-foot-long flagships could evade Chinese missiles in a future war, the Pentagon has decided to cut the aircraft carrier fleet from 11 today to 10.

By retiring the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Truman at least two decades early, rather than refueling its nuclear reactor core in 2024 as planned, the military would save tens of billions on overhaul and operations costs that it could invest in other priorities. But the proposal, part of the 2020-2024 budget plan due out mid-March, is sure to inspire outrage on Capitol Hill.

“I can’t imagine this will go over well at all,” one Hill staffer told me. We’re pressing congressional leaders for official responses, but the Pentagon decision seems to have blindsided them entirely. Navy officials have declined to comment on the forthcoming budget.

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WNU Editor: This early aircraft carrier retirement is not going to happen .... House Seapower chairman: Early aircraft carrier decom is a non-starter (Defense News)

More News On Reports That The Pentagon Wants To Retire The Aircraft Carrier USS Truman Early

The Pentagon wants to retire an aircraft carrier decades early, but a key lawmaker says it's not going to happen -- Business Insider
Navy to retire USS Truman aircraft carrier 25 years earlier than expected -- NewsRep
US Navy Retiring USS Truman Aircraft Carrier 25 Years Ahead of Schedule – Report -- Sputnik
The U.S. Navy's Worst Nightmare: An Aircraft Carrier Shortage? -- National Interest