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Navy Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) Program:
Background and Issues for Congress
Introduction
ships. Under EABO, relatively small Marine Corps units
The Navy’s Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS)
armed with anti-ship cruise missiles and other weapons
program envisages procuring new medium-sized at-sea
would hop on and off islands in the Western Pacific to
resupply ships for the Navy. The Navy’s proposed FY2023
conduct “shoot-and-scoot” operations against adversary
budget requests $3.0 million in research and development
ships. For more on DMO, EABO, and the Navy’s more
funding for the program. The Navy’s five-year (FY2023-
distributed fleet architecture, see CRS Report RL32665,
FY2027) shipbuilding plan programs the procurement of
Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background
the first NGLS in FY2026 at a cost of $150.0 million and
and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke, and CRS
the second in FY2027 at a cost of $156.0 million.
Report R46374, Navy Light Amphibious Warship (LAW)
Program: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald
Terminology
O'Rourke.
The Navy’s Combat Logistics Force (CLF) ships, also
called underway replenishment (UNREP) ships, are
Logistics Ships Currently Being Procured
logistics ships that resupply the Navy’s combatant ships
The Navy is currently procuring new John Lewis (TAO-
(e.g., aircraft carriers, surface combatants, and amphibious
205) class oilers (Figure 1), which are large CLF ships.
ships) at sea, so that the combatant ships can continue
When procured at a rate of one ship per year, TAO-205s
operating without having to return to port.
have a currently estimated procurement cost of more than
$700 million per ship. For more on the TAO-205 program,
The Navy’s current CLF ships include oilers (TAOs), dry
see CRS Report R43546, Navy John Lewis (TAO-205)
cargo and ammunition ships (TAKEs), and fast combat
Class Oiler Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues
support ships (TAOEs). In these designations, T means the
for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke.
ship is operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC)
with a mostly civilian crew, A means auxiliary ship, O
Next-Generation Logistics Ship
means oiler, K means cargo, and E means ammunition (i.e.,
(NGLS) Program
explosives). (In some documents, TAO, TAKE, etc. are
typed as T-AO, T-AKE, etc.) These CLF ships are large
Basic Concept for Ship
auxiliary ships.
The NGLS program, also known as the Next-Generation
Medium Logistics Ship program, was initiated in the
Anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities aim to create a
Navy’s FY2021 budget submission. The program envisages
defended area around a country that in time of conflict
building a new class of CLF ships (or a family of CLF ship
would be a “no-go zone” for opposing military forces.
designs) that would be smaller and individually less
Operational concepts are general approaches for how to use
expensive to procure than the Navy’s current CLF ships.
military forces for achieving certain objectives. Fleet
Figure 1 shows a sketch of a Navy notional NGLS design
architecture refers to the types and mix of ships that make
concept.
up a navy.
Figure 1. Navy Notional NGLS Design Concept
New Fleet Architecture and
Operational Concepts
To more effectively counter the improving A2/AD
capabilities of China in particular, the Navy wants to begin
shifting to a new, more distributed fleet architecture that is
to include a reduced proportion of larger ships and an
increased proportion of smaller ships. This more distributed
Source: U.S. Navy information paper, June 14, 2022, received by
fleet architecture is intended to support a new Navy and
CRS from Navy Office of Legislative Affairs, June 16, 2022. The Navy
Marine Corps operational concept for countering adversary
states that the rendering “was developed by the Navy as an
A2/AD forces, called Distributed Maritime Operations
il ustration of the indicative design that supports the refuel, rearm
(DMO), and an associated new Marine Corps operational
and resupply missions currently contemplated by the NGLS program.
concept called Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations
This il ustration does not represent the final NGLS design.”
(EABO).
Like the Navy’s current CLF ships, NGLSs would be
DMO aims at avoiding a situation in which an adversary
operated by MSC with mostly civilian crews. The Navy’s
could defeat U.S. naval forces by concentrating its attacks
FY2023 30-year (FY2023-FY2052) shipbuilding plan
on a relatively small number of large, high-value U.S. Navy
refers to the NGLS as a TAOL (also typed as T-AOL),
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Navy Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
meaning an MSC-operated light (i.e., small) oiler. The
cost of $150.0 million and the second in FY2027 at a cost
Navy states that
of $156.0 million.
The Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) is
Industry Day
planned to be a new class of ships to augment the
The Navy held an industry day for the NGLS program on
traditional Combat Logistics Force (CLF) to enable
June 25, 2020, the purpose of which was to introduce the
refueling, rearming, and resupply of Naval assets—
program to potential industry participants and give them a
afloat and ashore—near contested environments via
chance to ask initial questions about the program. Attendees
ship-to-ship operations and ship-to port operations
included representatives from shipyards, ship-design firms,
in support of Distributed Maritime Operations
and component suppliers.
(DMO), Littoral Operations in a Contested
Environment
(LOCE),
and
Expeditionary
Industry Studies
Advanced Base Operations (EABO). Augmenting
A January 6, 2022, press report stated that the Navy on
the traditional CLF, NGLS will provide a flexible,
December 17, 2021, awarded contracts to Austal USA of
responsive platform to move fuel, personnel,
Mobile, AL; Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, LA; and TAI
equipment, and supplies between ships, advanced
Engineers, with main offices in New Orleans, LA, for
bases, ports, and dispersed nodes of the seabase;
industry studies for the NGLS program. The contracts
sustaining afloat (Surface Action Group) and ashore
reportedly have a base value of $2 million each, with Austal
(Expeditionary Advanced Base) requirements.
USA’s contract having a potential value of up to $3.65
million, Bollinger’s up to $4.1 million, and TAI Engineers’
(Source: Department of Defense, Fiscal Year (FY)
up to $3.46 million. The Navy will use studies, which are to
2023
Budget
Estimates,
Navy,
Research,
last 24 months, to inform its understanding of cost-
Development, Test & Evaluation, Navy [account],
capability trade-offs for the NGLS.
Justification Book Volume 2 of 5, April 2022, page
448.)
Program Schedule
As mentioned earlier, the Navy’s five year (FY2023-
A February 1, 2022, report from Inside Defense stated that a
FY2027) shipbuilding plan programs the procurement of
Navy spokesman said that the NGLS will potentially be a
the first NGLS for FY2026. The Navy’s FY2023 budget
family of vessels rather than a single class of ships. The
submission states that the Navy wants to award the Detail
Navy’s Fleet Readiness and Logistics office (known as the
Design and Construction (DD&C) contract for the program
N4 division within the Office of the Chief of Naval
in FY2026.
Operations, or OPNAV) approved the top-level
requirements (i.e., major required features) for the NGLS in
FY2023 Funding Request and
March 2020. The top-level requirements envision NGLSs
Congressional Action
being built in two variants: a Platform Supply Vessel (PSV)
The Navy’s proposed FY2023 budget requests $3.0 million
variant and a Fast Supply Vessel (FSV) variant. The two
in research and development funding for the program in
variants would perform the same missions, but the FSV
Project 4045 (Next Generation Medium Logistics Ship)
variant would be smaller and faster than the PSV variant.
within Program Element (PE) 0603563N, Ship Concept
The Navy states that commercial PSVs and FSVs are
Advanced Design, which is line 46 in the Navy’s FY2023
potential design solutions for the NGLS program, but that
research and development account.
the Navy is not limiting the potential solution to those types
of vessels.
The House Armed Services Committee, in its report
Potential Procurement Quantity
(H.Rept. 117-397 of July 1, 2022) on the FY2023 National
Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900), and the House
The Navy has not yet determined how many NGLSs it
Appropriations Committee, in its report (H.Rept. 117-388
wants to procure. The Navy’s FY2023 30-year (FY2023-
of June 24, 2022) on the FY2023 DOD appropriations act
FY2052) shipbuilding plan, submitted on April 20, 2022,
(H.R. 8236), both recommend approving the Navy’s
includes a table with figures for the potential future total
FY2023 research and development funding request for the
number of CLF ships suggesting that the Navy might want
NGLS program (page 473 and page 198, respectively). The
to procure at least a dozen or so NGLSs, and perhaps twice
House Appropriations Committee report recommended a
or more than twice that number.
reduction of $5 million to the funding request for line 46 for
“
Potential Procurement Cost
Historical underexecution” (page 198).
The Navy’s five-year (FY2023-FY2027) shipbuilding plan
programs the procurement of the first NGLS in FY2026 at a
Ronald O'Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs
IF11674
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Navy Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
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