WASHINGTON — Fourteen new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet strike fighters top the 31 items on the US Navy’s fiscal 2017 unfunded requirements list (URL), along with final funding for an already-approved destroyer and two additional carrier-based F-35 Jjoint Sstrike Ffighters.
The list, requested by Congress, comprises items that were left out of the Pentagon's proposed budget submitted to lawmakers last month. Congress may choose to add money to buy the items, move money around within the budget, or simply ignore the requests.
In trying to meet a strike fighter shortage brought on by recent high operations tempos, the Navy is asking for $1.54 billion to buy the Super Hornets.
The move would also boost Boeing's St. Louis production line that, if a Kuwaiti deal can't be freed from a political roadblock, faces a shortage of aircraft orders in the near future. The Navy already has two F/A-18s in the 2017 budget and another 14 are planned for 2018. Approval of the 14 URL aircraft would provide a total of 30 new Super Hornets, which form the core of the Navy's carrier-based air groups.
Other items in the URL include $81 million to buy at least 99 radio frequency kill chain enhancements to defeat enemy jamming systems; $23 million to buy another Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 electronic warfare system; more Mark 54 torpedoes, more AIM-9X air-to-air missiles; and more Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) parts.
Further down the list are underwater towed arrays; missile kits for LCS ships; restoration of funds used to repair the cruiser Chancellorsville after a November 2013 accident; three new air-cushioned landing craft; a new utility landing craft; aerial and surface targets; two C-40A personnel and cargo aircraft; and a T-ATS(X) salvage tug.
The service could also use $156 million to restore 15,000 permanent-change-of-station moves for sailors and their families, cut due to sequestration limits.
The Navy also listed four military construction items, including magazine recapitalization for Norfolk/Chambers Field in Norfolk, Virginia; a service pier for Seawolf-class submarines at Bangor, Washington; and an advanced wastewater treatment plant in Mayport, Florida.
The full list is below:
Priority Unfunded Appn TY$M Cum. Total
1 F/A-18E/Fs (+14 Aircraft) APN 1,540 1,540
2 Final Increment of DDG Partially Funded in FY16 SCN 433 1,973
3 F-35C (+2 Aircraft) APN 270 2,243
4 RF Kill Chain Enhancements (+99 Counter Electronic Attack (CEA) Blk II Kits) OPN 81 2,324
5 SEWIP Blk III (+1 system) OPN 23 2,347
6 SSEE Inc. F (+3 Systems) and Paragon/Graywing (+3 Systems) OPN 43 2,390
7 MK-54 Mod 0 Torpedoes (+23 torpedoes) WPN 16 2,406
8 AIM-9X Missiles Blk II (+75 missiles) WPN 33 2,439
9 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) Components PANMC 58 2,497
10 DDG Combat System Modernization (Procurement only) (+1 system) OPN 65 2,562
11 LCS Over the Horizon Missile (LCS 3 & 5) WPN/OPN 43 2,605
12 Submarine Towed Arrays (+4 TB-29X and +4 TB-34X Arrays) OPN 22 2,627
13 Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Array OPN 10 2,637
14 Partial CG Modernization set (Restoration of ship set used for CG 62 repair) OPN 70 2,707
15 Submarine Warfare Federated Tactical Systems (SWFTS) for SSNs (+2 Sets) OPN 49 2,756
16 Afloat Readiness (Aviation & Ship Depots, Ship Support, Training, and OPTAR) OMN 645 3,401
17 Condition-Based Maint (CBM) for Critical Building Syst (Sustainment (ST) to 90%) OMN 382 3,783
18 Fleet priority Restoration and Modernization (RM) special projects OMN 262 4,045
19 CANES Acceleration (LPD 19 & DDG 73) OPN 53 4,098
20 Ship to Shore Connector (SSC) (+3 craft) SCN 165 4,263
21 LCU 1700 (+ 1 craft) SCN 22 4,285
22 PCS Funding (Restores 15,000 PCS moves reduced due to BBA limits) MPN 156 4,441
23 Shore Support (Phys Security Equip and Enviro Restoration) OMN/OPN/ERN 68 4,509
24 Remediation of system and process deficiencies in support of auditability OMN 44 4,553
25 Replacement of RSUPPLY program in support of auditability OMN 10 4,563
26 Critical Aviation & Test Facility Upgrades (range & test facility hangars) RDTEN 12 4,575
27 Full Scale Aerial Targets (FSAT) (QF-16) (+5 targets) RDTEN 26 4,601
28 High Speed Maneuverable Surface Target (HSMST) (+56 targets) OPN 10 4,611
29 Training Target & Ranges - Barking Sands Tact. Underwater Range OMN 9 4,620
30 C-40A (+2 Aircraft) (Reserve's personnel and cargo aircraft) APN 207 4,827
31 T-ATS(X) (+1 Ship) SCN 75 4,902
Priority MILCON Unfunded Appn TY$M Cum. Total
1 NS Norfolk/Chambers Field Mag RECAP Phase 1 MILCON Project (P-495) MCN 27 27
2 SEAWOLF Class Service Pier-Bangor MILCON (P-834) MCN 73 100
3 A-School Dorm (P-711, Pensacola, FL) (QOS invest) (SMIG #30) MCN 53 153
4 Adv Wastewater Trtmnt Plant MILCON Project (P663, Mayport, FL ) (SMIG #9) MCN 66 219
