The shipbuilding industrial base is warning that the US Navy's aircraft carrier delay could be a disaster
A delay in procuring the next US Navy aircraft carrier could have major impacts on its industrial base.
It'll affect more than 2,000 businesses, representing over 60,000 jobs across the country.
If production slows, it'll take more effort to restart and maintain the workforce.
The industrial base building the US Navy's next-generation aircraft carriers is sounding the alarm on another potential delay that could affect thousands of suppliers — and tens of thousands of workers.
The Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition, representing more than 2,000 businesses and over 60,000 jobs across 44 states, was in Washington DC this week to push Congress for what they say is needed to begin construction on the fifth Ford-class carrier, CVN 82, to be named the USS William J. Clinton.
"We're going to ask for $600 million of advanced procurement funding for CVN 82, with a contract award no later than fiscal year 2029," ACIBC Chair Lisa Papini told Business Insider. "We're at a point where our companies are starting to go cold," she said, characterizing the moment as a "real inflection point."
The advanced procurement funding being sought allows suppliers to keep their ship production lines for carriers running hot and, in turn, maintain a workforce even before the keel laying that marks the start of a ship's construction.
The Navy's fiscal year 2025 budget, presented a year ago, proposed pushing procurement of CVN 82 to fiscal year 2030. Advanced procurement would begin in fiscal year 2027. The Navy could change this schedule when the Defense Department presents its forthcoming FY 2026 budget or Congress could intervene.
ACIBC said that a delay in the procurement of CVN 82 to 2030 would not only constitute the longest construction interval between nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to date — seven and a half years to be specific — but it would also force its businesses to slow down production processes, delay material orders, and see workers move to new projects.
Papini said the industrial base would effectively have to start from zero.
"It's pretty much the opposite of what our nation needs at this moment," she added, pointing to recent deployments of carriers for US posturing in certain theaters and comments from military officials, namely US Indo-Pacific Command head Adm. Samuel Paparo, on the indispensable nature of carriers.
Per the ACIBC, 73% of sole- or single-source CVN suppliers are or will stop continuous production — go cold — in 2025 without immediate action. By 2027, that number reaches 96%. Papini noted that maintenance is also affected by this.
The Navy told Business Insider it's "committed to closely collaborating with industry partners to deliver the most lethal and affordable platforms that maintain our nation's maritime superiority."
If long intervals between Ford-class carriers continue, 71% of ACIBC businesses forecast significant cost increases to their products and a reduction in the workforce, according to a recent survey.
Others outside of the industrial base have also raised concerns about plans for procuring the CVN 82. In February, for instance, retired Navy Capt. Tan Manvel, a former engineer who led the development of the initial Ford design, wrote that plans to potentially defer CVN 82 will create a major gap between carrier construction and not keep pace with plans to retire older carriers.
The Navy is required to have no fewer than 11 aircraft carriers. The Nimitz-class ships are being retired as their reactors age out. "Yet the Navy's plan delays CVN-82 and basically, every ship afterward," national security analyst Rebecca Grant said last year.
She called the trend "the beginning of a death spiral." If the Navy delays CVN 82, "the shipyards and suppliers can't catch up."
And Navy veteran and consultant Bryan McGrath wrote last March that the additional delay in procuring CVN 82 would make the problems facing continuous carrier production worse. It also comes at a time when, he said, carriers have shown value in the Red Sea, and China continues its aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region.
The ACIBC's concerns reflect larger trends across the shipbuilding industry. Top Navy projects for new submarines and warships are delayed and facing rising costs. Military officials, experts, and lawmakers are trying to figure out how to fix current problems while also addressing decadeslong shipbuilding woes.
Many have pointed towards the first and primary issue being labor. Keeping skilled workers with competitive pay, good benefits, and a high quality of life is critical, industry has noted. Should those workers leave, hiring and training new people takes time, adding in another factor suppliers have to consider in this process.
The Trump administration has indicated that revitalizing American shipbuilding is a top priority. President Donald Trump recently announced plans to establish a White House office dedicated to the issue, although details are few.
Others have said the Navy's inconsistent demand for ships has left the industrial base without much-needed consistency. Conversations around fixing these shipbuilding issues are a great start, Papini said. "The demand signal for a company," though, she added, is a purchase order. "That's the trigger that starts the process."
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