Ready Reserve Force ships face a design deadline

The government’s backup fleet for moving military cargo by sea could get new ships faster under a Senate amendment that tells the Transportation secretary to finish design requirements for the Ready Reserve Force. It also would require a 180-day update on the 10-ship buildout and how it would affect readiness.

The Ready Reserve Force is the government’s fallback fleet for moving troops and equipment. The amendment ties that effort to the sealift vessel design work Congress already authorized in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.

A cargo fleet with an assignment

If enacted, the amendment would push the design phase forward first, then require the Secretary of the Navy, working with Transportation, to brief lawmakers within 180 days. That briefing would have to cover the status of the sealift vessel design, the plan and timeline for a vessel construction manager program, the procurement strategy, the selection process for that manager and the criteria for choosing shipyards.

It would also have to spell out the funding profile for the 10-ship newbuild program, broken out by fiscal year, and explain how the new construction program would run alongside the used-vessel procurement program without slowing Ready Reserve Force readiness during the transition.

Why the details matter

That mix of design work, shipyard selection and financing is where sealift plans can stall in the real world. The amendment is aimed at making sure the people in charge of the fleet can answer a basic question early: how do you build the next ships without weakening the ones already carrying the load?