Navy proposes cutting future production of BIW-built destroyers by 40%

The Department of Defense has proposed cutting the number of Arleigh Burke destroyers to be built for the Navy by 40 percent over a five-year period, potentially affecting work at the Bath Iron Works shipyard.

The Defense recommendation is referenced in a Dec. 16 memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget that was first reported by defense industry trade publications Defense News and Breaking Defense. It says the Defense Department recommends reducing the number of destroyers built between fiscal years 2021 and 2025 from 12 ships to seven, a shipbuilding budget cut of about $9.4 billion.

BIW and Huntington Ingalls Industries in Mississippi are the only two shipyards that bid on contracts to build Arleigh Burkes. BIW spokesman David Hench said the Bath shipyard typically does not comment on early-stage budget proposals.