ABSTRACT
The Navy's procurement budget must be spent on a variety of hardware, from ships and submarines to aircraft, missiles, and torpedoes—as well as combat vehicles and other items for the Marines. There are very few problems associated with the naval balance that could not be solved eventually by increasing the budget of the United States (US) Department of the Navy. The primary justification for larger naval ship construction expenditures, and hence a larger defense budget, would probably be to allow the conduct of more missions simultaneously. Continued expansion of Soviet naval power and national recognition of the increasingly unfavorable superpower force balance may lead to higher US defense budgets—as a result of figures proposed by the Executive Branch or increases voted by the Congress. A substantial fraction of any such increases could profitably be devoted to strengthening our naval forces.
