The Pentagon is reportedly planning to retire the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.
The Truman, entered service in 1998. It was set to serve in the fleet for half a century, as is the case with all of the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
The plan to retire the ship is expected to be released soon in the Navy’s 2020-24 Budget Plan. This would be two decades short of the original timeline.
It also comes at a time when the Defense Department plans to build two new aircraft carriers for the fleet.
“The Department of Defense just asked Congress for authorization to purchase two aircraft carriers at the same time in order to save taxpayer dollars and boost our Naval presence. It makes no sense for them to turn around and propose scuttling funding for another aircraft carrier that has over 20 years of service left,” said Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who serves on the Senate’s Armed Services Committee. “If these reports are true, DoD should expect a lot of questions from me about why they would even consider this mind-boggling proposal.”
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