In September 2024, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, issued her Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy. This Navigation Plan embodies “Project 33” in recognition of the fact that Admiral Franchetti is the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations. Project 33 articulates two overarching objectives: an imperative to be ready for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027 and enhancing the Navy’s long-term advantage. This Plan has several components:
The readiness component of the Navigation Plan has the goal of eliminating ship, submarine and aircraft maintenance delays and restoring critical infrastructure that sustains and projects the fight from shore.
The people component of the Navigation Plan describes the goal of recruiting and retaining the force needed to fill officer, chief petty officer and enlisted ranks and delivering a quality of service for Navy personnel.
The operational component of the Navigation Plan involves creating upgraded command centers for the Navy Fleet Commanders and training for combat to ensure that the Navy has a warfighting advantage over its adversaries.
Finally, the goal to scale robotic and autonomous systems to integrate more platforms at speed focuses on capitalizing on the inherent advantages of uncrewed systems. This is perhaps the most intriguing part of the CNO’s Navigation Plan.
