By Mackenzie Eaglen, Filemon Vela, and Benjamin Jensen
National Commission on the Future of the Navy
Breaking Defense
For the first time since the Second World War, the United States faces a peer naval rival able to challenge American control of the seas and global trade.
The Chinese Communist Party has spent a generation building a flee that can contest sea control and turn industrial scale into military power. Its rapid naval buildup, combined with dominance in commercial shipbuilding, is shifting the balance of power at sea and eroding U.S. advantages.
At the same time, regional authoritarians like Iran and extremists create a constant global demand for naval forces. The Navy is asked to do more with less, patrolling an ever-wider map with a fleet that is smaller, older, and increasingly brittle. Readiness problems and maintenance backlogs now threaten America’s ability to respond when crises erupt.
This moment demands a fundamental rethink of U.S. maritime strategy, the fleets that support it, and the industrial base that underwrites military power. That is why Congress created the National Commission on the Future of the Navy. The bipartisan panel is charged with helping the United States Navy and Marine Corps compete, deter, and win with modern tools and concepts against sophisticated adversaries.
This has been a long time coming. While we were announced in, it wasn’t until 2024 when members were named and late 2025 when funding was approved. There’s a lot of ground to make up, so we’re aiming to work fast — and we want to hear from stakeholders across the country.
The commission will be holding public hearings in 2026, culminating in a submission of its recommendations in early 2027. These are likely to cover everything from how America builds and buys ships consistent with efforts like "Re-Industrialize 2.0" and the Maritime Action Plan, to more subtle changes in policy and law that support new ideas like the recently announced hedge strategy.
In partnership with the executive branch, the commission will focus on three core problems.
First, it will test emerging ideas such as a hybrid fleet and expanded use of unmanned systems against how the Navy actually fights and what realistic budgets will allow. A distributed fleet that combines manned platforms with unmanned surface and undersea vehicles can expand sensing, complicate enemy targeting, and cover a wider area.
Second, the commission will examine recurring shipbuilding and maintenance failures that have turned too many plans into paper fleets. Shipyards struggle to deliver on time and on budget, while schedules slip, costs rise, and the nation pays for ships that never reach the fleet. The recent cancelation of the Orca unmanned undersea vehicle and Constellation-class frigate are harbingers of how good intentions can still leave the fleet short.
Third, the commission will confront the constant global demand for naval forces that makes rebuilding the fleet even harder. From operations in the Red Sea to recent deployments on the Caribbean, American leaders turn to the Navy because it can project power from the sea while limiting the political risks of large ground deployments. That demand strains the force and compounds problems in shipbuilding and maintenance.
Responsibility for this predicament extends beyond the Pentagon. Legacy policies and laws have produced perverse incentives across the defense industrial base and federal bureaucracy. Paper cuts are sinking ships. The commission will therefore make recommendations not only to the Navy but also to Congress, the White House, and industry. The United States cannot afford to concede the high seas to an authoritarian rival, even if voices in both parties argue for turning inward.
To develop practical options, the commission will undertake an ambitious research and outreach agenda. Members and senior staff will meet with senior political and military leaders, junior officers and new recruits, and defense firms large and small. They will cast a wide net to understand how different constituencies define the problem and where they see opportunities for change. The commission will also solicit ideas directly from the fleet through professional military education institutions, shared staff, and essay contests so sailors and marines have a voice in shaping the force they will fight.
For the first time since the Second World War, the United States faces a peer naval rival able to challenge American control of the seas and global trade.
The Chinese Communist Party has spent a generation building a flee that can contest sea control and turn industrial scale into military power. Its rapid naval buildup, combined with dominance in commercial shipbuilding, is shifting the balance of power at sea and eroding U.S. advantages.
At the same time, regional authoritarians like Iran and extremists create a constant global demand for naval forces. The Navy is asked to do more with less, patrolling an ever-wider map with a fleet that is smaller, older, and increasingly brittle. Readiness problems and maintenance backlogs now threaten America’s ability to respond when crises erupt.
This moment demands a fundamental rethink of U.S. maritime strategy, the fleets that support it, and the industrial base that underwrites military power. That is why Congress created the National Commission on the Future of the Navy. The bipartisan panel is charged with helping the United States Navy and Marine Corps compete, deter, and win with modern tools and concepts against sophisticated adversaries.
This has been a long time coming. While we were announced in, it wasn’t until 2024 when members were named and late 2025 when funding was approved. There’s a lot of ground to make up, so we’re aiming to work fast — and we want to hear from stakeholders across the country.
The commission will be holding public hearings in 2026, culminating in a submission of its recommendations in early 2027. These are likely to cover everything from how America builds and buys ships consistent with efforts like "Re-Industrialize 2.0" and the Maritime Action Plan, to more subtle changes in policy and law that support new ideas like the recently announced hedge strategy.
In partnership with the executive branch, the commission will focus on three core problems.
First, it will test emerging ideas such as a hybrid fleet and expanded use of unmanned systems against how the Navy actually fights and what realistic budgets will allow. A distributed fleet that combines manned platforms with unmanned surface and undersea vehicles can expand sensing, complicate enemy targeting, and cover a wider area.
Second, the commission will examine recurring shipbuilding and maintenance failures that have turned too many plans into paper fleets. Shipyards struggle to deliver on time and on budget, while schedules slip, costs rise, and the nation pays for ships that never reach the fleet. The recent cancelation of the Orca unmanned undersea vehicle and Constellation-class frigate are harbingers of how good intentions can still leave the fleet short.
Third, the commission will confront the constant global demand for naval forces that makes rebuilding the fleet even harder. From operations in the Red Sea to recent deployments on the Caribbean, American leaders turn to the Navy because it can project power from the sea while limiting the political risks of large ground deployments. That demand strains the force and compounds problems in shipbuilding and maintenance.
Responsibility for this predicament extends beyond the Pentagon. Legacy policies and laws have produced perverse incentives across the defense industrial base and federal bureaucracy. Paper cuts are sinking ships. The commission will therefore make recommendations not only to the Navy but also to Congress, the White House, and industry. The United States cannot afford to concede the high seas to an authoritarian rival, even if voices in both parties argue for turning inward.
To develop practical options, the commission will undertake an ambitious research and outreach agenda. Members and senior staff will meet with senior political and military leaders, junior officers and new recruits, and defense firms large and small. They will cast a wide net to understand how different constituencies define the problem and where they see opportunities for change. The commission will also solicit ideas directly from the fleet through professional military education institutions, shared staff, and essay contests so sailors and marines have a voice in shaping the force they will fight.
To read rest of story, click on link: https://breakingdefense.com/2026/01/the-national-commission-on-the-future-of-the-navy-the-time-is-now/
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