The600-ship Navy was astrategic plan of theUnited States Navy during the 1980s to rebuild its fleet after cutbacks that followed the end of theVietnam War.^[1] The plan, which originated withRepublican leaders, was an important campaignplank ofRonald Reagan in the1980 presidential election, who advocated a larger military and strategic confrontation with theSoviet Union.^[2][3]

The number of ships peaked at 594 in 1987, before declining sharply after the end of theCold War in 1989–1992.^[4]

The program included:

• Recommissioning theIowa-classbattleships
• Keeping older ships in service longer
• A large new construction program
• Stepping up production ofNimitz-classaircraft carriers

The idea was supported byJohn F. Lehman, who became Reagan'sSecretary of the Navy, andCaspar Weinberger, Reagan'sSecretary of Defense.

The idea behind the 600-ship Navy can be traced back to the Vietnam War. During the war, the armed services rapidly expanded to meet the demands placed on them.

The Soviet Union, which had been supportingNorth Vietnam, began staging their naval vessels from former U.S. ports inSouth Vietnam. Building on this gain, Soviet vessels began to sail in all seven seas with increased vigor and even ventured into theGulf of Mexico.^[5] Soviet forces also stepped up infantry, armor, and air force deployments inEastern Europe.

It was against this backdrop in 1980 that the United States began an election year. President Reagan continued this in 1984, releasing a campaign commercial "Bear," which played on the use of the bear as a national symbol ofRussia in order to promote higher vigilance and defense expenditures against the Soviet Union.

The overseas strategic retaliation arm was strengthened and the development of new weaponry like theB-1B bomber, theBradley fighting vehicle, and theAbrams tank was completed and they were put into production.

Lehman attempted to "front-load" the program, by committing the Navy to the building program, but in the end the funds were not available and it fell short.^[6][7]

The Navy saw the largest benefit of the rebuilding.^[8][9] Under theReagan administration, the first of theOhio-classballistic missile submarines were completed. This class was the largest submarine ever built in the U.S. The ship carried 24Trident I nuclear-capable missiles, each one with a 4,000-mile (6,400 km) range. Construction of theNimitz class ofsupercarriers andLos Angeles-classattack submarines were dramatically stepped up. The revolutionary newAegis Combat System was installed on the upcomingTiconderoga-class ships, production of which was also stepped up. Several aircraft carriers were put through Service Life Extension Programs (SLEPs) aimed at keeping them in service longer. TheIowa-class battleships, built in the 1940s, were all recommissioned and refitted withRGM-84 Harpoon,BGM-109 Tomahawk, andPhalanx CIWS system capabilities, plus their armor plating would be more resilient againstanti-ship missiles. The first Harpoons, Tomahawks, andAGM-88 HARM missiles all debuted on the navy's ships. Naval aviation was stepped up with the introduction of theF/A-18 Hornet, along with improved versions of theEA-6 Prowler electronic countermeasure aircraft, theA-6 Intruder, and theF-14 Tomcat. In addition, the nation's strategic retaliatory arm was strengthened with advanced B-1B bombers and deployingPershing IItheater missiles to Europe. The initiative also included deployment of Abrams main battle tanks and Bradley armored fighting vehicles. U.S. Navyunclassified miscellaneous ships,auxiliary ships, andyard ships are not included in the ship count.

Aircraft carriers

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Nimitz class		2	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5	5
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Kitty Hawk class		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Forrestal class		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Midway class		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Essex class		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	14	14	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	17	17

Battleships

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Iowa class		0	0	0	1	2	2	3	3	4	4	4
Total	Ships	0	0	0	1	2	2	3	3	4	4	4

Cruisers

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Ticonderoga class		0	0	0	1	2	3	5	9	11	15	16
Virginia class		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
California class		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
USS Truxtun (CGN-35)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Belknap class		9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Leahy class		9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Long Beach class		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	26	26	26	27	28	29	31	35	37	41	42

Destroyers

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Kidd class		0	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Spruance class		30	30	30	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31
Charles F. Adams class		23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	20	10
Farragut class		10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	8	7
Forrest Sherman class		18	18	7	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0
Gearing class		14	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Ships	95	91	76	69	69	69	69	69	68	63	52

Frigates

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Oliver Hazard Perry class		8	17	26	37	45	50	52	54	54	55	55
Knox class		46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46
Brooke class		6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	1	0	0
Garcia class		11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	5	1	0
Bronstein class		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Total	Ships	73	82	91	102	110	115	117	119	108	104	103

Amphibious assault ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Wasp class		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Tarawa class		5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Iwo Jima class		7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Total	Ships	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13

Dock landing ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Whidbey Island class		0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	3	4	5
Anchorage class		5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Thomaston class		8	8	8	6	4	3	3	3	3	1	0
Casa Grande class		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0
Total	Ships	14	14	14	12	10	10	11	12	12	10	10

Amphibious transport dock

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Austin class		12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Raleigh class		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Total	Ships	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15

Amphibious cargo ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Charleston class		5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
USS Tulare (AKA-112)		1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Ships	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5

Tank landing ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Newport class		20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
General Frank S. Besson class		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	4	4
Total	Ships	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	22	24	24	24

Command Ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Blue Ridge class		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Total	Ships	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Hospital ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Mercy class		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2
Total	Ships	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2

Minesweeper

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Avenger class		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	3
Aggressive class		19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	14
Total	Ships	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	21	17

Patrol ships

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Pegasus class		1	1	2	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Asheville class		9	9	9	9	6	6	6	4	4	4	4
Total	Ships	10	10	11	15	12	12	12	10	10	10	10

Replenishment oiler

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Henry J. Kaiser class		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	6	8	9
Cimarron class		0	3	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Wichita class		7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Total	Ships	7	10	11	12	12	12	13	16	18	20	21

Tanker

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (T-AOT-1125)		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1
SS class		1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3
Total	Ships	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4	4	4

Ammunition ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Kilauea class		8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Nitro class		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Total	Ships	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

Combat stores ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Mars class		7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Sirius class		0	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Total	Ships	7	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Fast combat support ships

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Sacramento class		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Total	Ships	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Roll-on/roll-off

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Algol class		0	0	0	0	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Cape Island class		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Cape Ducato class		0	0	0	0	0	5	5	5	5	5	5
Cape Ducato class		0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	3	3	3
Total	Ships	7	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Destroyer tender

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Yellowstone class		1	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Samuel Gompers class		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Shenandoah class		1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Ships	4	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

Submarine tender

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Emory S. Land class		2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
USS L. Y. Spear (AS-36)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Crane ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Keystone State class		0	0	0	0	2	2	3	5	5	7	7
Gopher State class		1	1	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	3	3
Total	Ships	1	1	1	1	4	4	6	8	8	10	10

Heavy-lift ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
American Cormorant[1]		0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1

Cable ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
USNS Zeus (T-ARC-7)		0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Rescue and salvage ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Safeguard class		0	0	0	1	1	2	4	4	4	4	4
Pigeon class		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Bolster class		6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Total	Ships	8	8	8	9	9	10	12	12	12	12	12

Tracking ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
USSRange Sentinel (AGM-22)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
USNSVanguard (T-AG-194)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Ocean surveillance ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Stalwart class		0	0	0	0	3	7	9	11	13	17	18
Total	Ships	0	0	0	0	3	7	9	11	13	17	18

Oceanographic research ship

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
USNS Hayes (T-AGOR-16)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Total	Ships	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Attack submarines

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Los Angeles class		10	16	20	25	29	33	35	37	39	42	44
Sturgeon class		37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37
Permit class		13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	10	8
Skipjack class		5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	3	0
Barbel class		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	1	0
Skate class		4	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	1	0	0
USS Seawolf (SSN-575)		1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
USS Darter (SS-576)		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0
Tang class		3	3	3	2	2	2	1	0	0	0	0
Total	Subs	77	83	87	91	94	98	96	97	95	94	89

Ballistic missile submarines

Class of ships	Image	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Ohio class		0	1	2	3	5	6	8	8	9	10	11
Benjamin Franklin class		12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
James Madison class		10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	8	8
Lafayette class		9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	6	3
Ethan Allen class		5	5	5	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2
George Washington class		5	4	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Subs	41	41	41	39	40	39	39	39	40	38	36

Eventually political pressure to reduce the nationalbudget deficit resulted in Congress reversing itself and passing a series of declining defense budgets beginning in 1986.^[10][11][7] Weinberger clashed with Congress over the cuts, resigning in late 1987, and was succeeded byFrank Carlucci.^[12] Furthermore, concerns were raised about how the expansion of the Navy would reduce attention and resources needed in other scenarios where the Soviets also had to be confronted such as Europe.^[13]

Lehman's successor as Navy Secretary,Jim Webb, remained a fierce proponent of the expanded fleet, and disagreed with Carlucci over how to cut the Navy budget in line with other services. Webb resigned rather than endorse Carlucci's cut of 16frigates.^[14] As revealed inThe Reagan Diaries, Reagan reflected about Webb's resignation on 22 February 1988: "Present Sec. Webb resigned over budget cuts. I don't think Navy was sorry to see him go."^[15][16]

Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the lack of a perceived threat against the United States, several of the Reagan administration's policies and plans, such as the "600-ship Navy", were scaled back or abandoned.^[2] U.S. bases across Europe and North America were slowly decommissioned and closed, others were mothballed through theBase Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.^[6] In the Navy, this resulted in the retirement of several older carriers, the decommissioning of all four of theIowa-class battleships and the cancellation of the remainingSeawolf-class submarines.

• Cold War (1979–1985)
• Cold War (1985–1991)
• List of ships of the United States Navy
• National Defense Reserve Fleet
• United States Navy ships

• Holland, W. J. (2000).The Navy.Naval Historical Foundation.ISBN 0-7607-6218-X.

• NSC-NSDD-32: U.S. National Security Strategy – The White House, May 20, 1982.archive listings
• Congressional Budget Office:
  • Building a 600-Ship Navy: Costs, Timing, and Alternative Approaches. March 1982
  • Manpower for a 600-Ship Navy: Costs and Policy Alternatives. August 1983
• GlobalSecurity.org
  • Ship Building 1981–89. Reagan, Ronald
• Naval Historical Center:
  • The U.S. Navy in the Cold War Era, 1945–1991
  • NWP 1 – Strategic Concepts of the Navy. February 1987
• Naval War College:
  • John B. Hattendorf. "The Evolution of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Strategy, 1977–1986" Naval War College Newport Paper 19 (2004),ISBN 1-884733-32-8. Available in PDF formathere andhere
• United States Naval Institute:
  • Lieutenant GeneralBernard E. Trainor,U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)."Triumph in Strategic Thinking". United States Naval InstituteProceedings Vol. 134, No. 2 (February 2008) pp. 40–42
  • Norman Friedman. "The Navy, the Cold War – and Now". United States Naval InstituteProceedings Vol. 133, No. 10 (October 2007) pp. 58–62

• U.S. Naval Strategy During the Cold War from theDean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
• Building a 600 Ship Navy: The Congressional Budget Office Report

• Ships of the United States Navy
• United States Navy in the 20th century

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata