Naval Submarine Destroyer USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 70) is seen during a tour of her homeport in San Diego, California, U.S., June 11, 2018.
Source: U.N. Photo/J.
Scott Applewhite The Navy will spend $5.4 billion over the next three years to build, sustain and operate the first six nuclear-powered submersibles to carry nuclear weapons, according to a budget document released Tuesday.
The Navy plans to buy 12 new submarines in the fiscal year that begins in January 2019.
The plan is expected to cost about $5 billion to build and sustain, and $1.5 billion for the submarines to operate and refuel.
The first nuclear- powered submarine is scheduled to be commissioned in 2021.
The next nuclear submarine will be commissioned next year.
Under the plan, the Navy would buy four more nuclear-capable submarines to supplement the four that are planned.
It would also purchase a fifth nuclear-based submarine, and it would procure an additional four nuclear-carrying aircraft.
The budget for the Navy’s submarine fleet includes the cost of the submersible and aircraft and other services for those submarines, including crew, support and maintenance.
The submersibility and aircraft will be built in Florida and Florida-based BAE Systems, which builds the submarine fleet.
BAE also will provide propulsion and electronic systems for the submarine.
The submarine fleet is a key component of the U.A.E.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-country free-trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim nations including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The pact is also an agreement between the U-S.
and 11 other nations including Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, that includes a commitment to protect the environment, human rights and democratic rights.
The deal was first announced in late 2015.
It aims to deepen economic ties between the United States and the Pacific Rim countries by enabling U.K. and Australian companies to invest in U.,S.
projects and create jobs and prosperity in the region.
More than 3,400 U.P.O.S. sailors have been killed in accidents and suicide attempts since the U