HEAD OF NAVY TALKS NAVAL OPERATIONS STRATEGY AND LISTS TOP TASKS FOR 2027

By Allison Kirschbaum

Admiral James W. Kilby, Chief of Naval Operations, laid out a clear plan for the future of the U.S. Navy during the recent Modern Day Marine conference held in Washington.

There are a lot of growing concerns about China’s military ambitions, so Kilby emphasized that the Navy must be fully ready by the year 2027 for naval operations, such as recruitment, improving quality of life, and the Navy’s resources as well.

According to Kilby, China has publicly stated it aims to be military-ready by 2027. In response, the U.S. Navy matches that timeline with intense focus and urgency; therefore, 2027 is not a random target.

They Are Getting the Navy Ready

Chief Naval Officer Kilby has a clear plan for the Navy, which is to be ready by 2027.

“Our focus is 2027, and I want everyone’s focus to be on 2027,” Kilby said. “We are responding to a call from our adversary, China, who said, ‘We want to be ready in 2027.’ Therefore, the United States Navy and I would argue our military must be ready in 2027 across all our platforms.”

One of the goals is to make sure that at least 80% of the Navy’s ships, aircraft, and submarines are ready for combat, which would mean that any ship or aircraft not undergoing maintenance should be fully ready for the mission because fleet commanders need to be able to rely on the resources at a moment’s notice.

In a conflict, delays from broken equipment can be a huge problem. Kilby said that being ready means being able to act quickly and effectively. That also means better training, faster supply systems, and making sure everything works smoothly before it’s needed.

Hybrid Fleet with New Technology

In this generation, technology is changing how militaries operate around the world, and Admiral Kilby pointed out that the Navy is working on creating a hybrid force that includes both manned and unmanned platforms for naval operations, and this means they will be using robotic ships and aircraft with traditional forces.

The Navy will be working on new tools and resources that they can use to help them go as far as they can and move more easily during missions.

Yes, the resources are still being developed, and with what is happening around the world, it is better to have them in progress. They’re also working on using smarter systems, like AI, to help these machines react faster and make better choices during missions.

Gaps in the Navy

Right now, the Navy is facing a shortfall of about 23,000 Sailors for sea duty. Kilby made it clear that filling these manpower gaps is a top priority because personnel readiness is as important as equipment. They had the goal of recruiting about 7,000 Sailors back in FY23, and now they have exceeded the goal by signing 40,978 future Sailors.

“I want to burn those down as quickly as possible so that the ship is ready and able to perform its mission,” he said.

The Navy is working really hard to recruit and make more Sailors stay for service, so to find more recruits, they are now offering better pay, career growth, and improving the daily life for Sailors to make staying in the Navy appealing to them.

They Are Improving the Navy’s Quality of Life

In any job, we know that people are more likely to stay if they are treated well, and to help with this for the Navy, making sure that Sailors will stay in service, Admiral Kilby mentioned the Barracks 2030 plan.

The Barracks 2030 plan has a $10.7 billion investment that is going to be put into better housing for Marines and Sailors, which can be a great way for recruitment so they can fill the gap.

There would also be an improvement in the quality of life for the members, which would include Wi-Fi and more convenient parking, which can help a lot of Navy members. Additionally, they would also include childcare capacity and housing quality.

As written in the statement, “The waitlist for Navy Child Development Centers (CDCs) has shrunk from 3,400 at the start of FY24 to 2,500 as of January 31, 2025. The Navy has also expanded the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program, which provides fee assistance for families that are geographically dispersed or face long waitlists for on-base care, from 6,500 spaces at the start of FY24 to over 9,000 today.”

Members can perform better and are more likely to stay in the service if they feel supported and taken care of, and this is Admiral Kilby’s way to make sure that they will stay.

The offer can seem like it’s just a small thing, but we all know that this can have a big effect on service. It’s really simple because if we want high performance, we need to provide high support, just like Kilby and other military leaders have pointed out.

Expect Better Naval Operations

Admiral Kilby has set a clear goal, and that is to be fully ready by 2027, because we never know what might happen, and it’s good to be more prepared for anything that might come, as there are threats everywhere.

With this plan, it’s clear that the next steps would be training the right people, upgrading their resources, and making sure all systems are ready to go and can be used anytime that is needed by the service members.

Now, if the chief naval officer really wants to reach their goal by 2027, it is obvious that they need to fix the ships and submarines, where they should make both stronger because it is going to be essential to their goal. Aside from that, they should also give service members the resources they need.

Other countries are building new tech and growing their power, and it’s only right and essential for the Navy to have a plan because, as they always say, it’s always better to be ready than to have something that we are not expecting.

The right plan will always work, and if they have this, then it can move quickly and protect the country in the best way. By staying focused and working on better naval operations, just like their plan, they can build a stronger, more prepared force.

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