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The U.S. Navy Secretary announced plans to double shipbuilding procurement in the FY2027 defense budget, expanding from 17 ships in FY2026 to at least 34 ships, with heavy emphasis on auxiliary and support vessels. This expansion is part of President Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget and
Cabrillo Club
Editorial Team · February 16, 2026
The U.S. Navy Secretary announced plans to double shipbuilding procurement in the FY2027 defense budget, expanding from 17 ships in FY2026 to at least 34 ships, with heavy emphasis on auxiliary and support vessels. This expansion is part of President Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget and the new Golden Fleet initiative featuring Trump-class battleships. Government contractors in maritime, shipbuilding, naval architecture, and defense manufacturing sectors face a generational opportunity to capture contracts as the Navy prioritizes easier-to-build auxiliary vessels designed to rebuild America's maritime industrial base.
Primary NAICS Codes Impacted:
Affected Agencies:
Contract Vehicles in Play:
Market Segments:
Defense shipbuilding, maritime services, naval architecture, marine engineering, defense manufacturing, auxiliary vessels (oilers, ammunition ships, hospital ships, transport vessels), ship repair and maintenance, maritime logistics, and shipyard infrastructure modernization.
The Navy's emphasis on "easier-to-build auxiliary vessels" signals procurement focus on Military Sealift Command support ships including fleet oilers (T-AO), dry cargo/ammunition ships (T-AKE), expeditionary fast transports (EPF), hospital ships (T-AH), and fleet support vessels. These platforms require less complex combat systems integration than destroyers or submarines, enabling faster construction timelines and broader industrial base participation. Contractors should position capabilities in commercial maritime standards adaptation, modular construction techniques, and rapid delivery schedules. The Golden Fleet initiative suggests additional investment in logistics support vessels, underway replenishment ships, and potentially new classes of transport and support platforms.
This represents a strategic opportunity for small and mid-tier shipbuilders. The Navy's explicit focus on auxiliary vessels and rebuilding maritime industrial base capacity indicates intentional distribution of work beyond the five major shipyards currently building combatants. Auxiliary vessel construction typically occurs at commercial shipyards with Navy oversight, creating pathways for firms in NAICS 336612 (boat building) and regional shipyards to compete. However, teaming arrangements with established primes remain critical for first-time Navy contractors to navigate NAVSEA technical requirements, DFARS compliance, and quality assurance protocols. Expect increased small business set-asides and mentor-protégé opportunities as the Navy seeks to expand qualified shipbuilder capacity.
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Check Your CMMC ReadinessAll contractors in the supply chain must achieve CMMC Level 2 certification (or Level 3 for certain systems) before contract award, with NIST 800-171 compliance as the baseline requirement. ITAR registration and EAR compliance are mandatory for any work involving technical data, defense articles, or controlled unclassified information. Shipbuilders must implement DFARS 252.204-7012 cybersecurity requirements across their networks and subcontractor ecosystem. NIST 800-53 controls apply to any contractor operating Navy information systems or handling classified information. Given the 24-36 month timeline to FY2027 awards, contractors lacking current CMMC certification should initiate assessment and remediation immediately—compliance gaps will disqualify otherwise qualified bidders.
Cabrillo Signals War Room has already detected this high-severity budget action and delivered this flash briefing within hours of the Navy Secretary's announcement. The platform continuously monitors Congressional testimony, budget submissions, service secretary statements, and appropriations committee actions to identify procurement shifts before formal solicitations appear. For this event, the War Room's natural language processing identified the doubling of ship procurement quantities, parsed the auxiliary vessel emphasis, and automatically tagged affected NAICS codes, agencies, and contract vehicles.
Cabrillo Signals Match Engine should be configured to immediately rescore your opportunity pipeline against this budget expansion. Any saved opportunities in shipbuilding, marine engineering, or maritime services categories will be automatically re-evaluated based on the increased procurement volume and shifted Navy priorities toward auxiliary vessels. The Match Engine's competitive intelligence layer will identify which of your competitors hold incumbent positions on SeaPort-NxG task orders or existing Navy shipbuilding contracts, enabling proactive teaming strategy. Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub tracking should be activated for NAVSEA and Military Sealift Command solicitations, with saved searches configured for auxiliary vessel keywords, ship repair IDIQs, and maritime engineering services. The Intelligence Hub will alert your capture team the moment pre-solicitation notices or sources sought announcements appear on SAM.gov related to FY2027 shipbuilding programs.
Systems to Configure:
Notification Chain:
First 48-Hour Playbook:
Hour 0-4 (Immediate Response):
Hour 4-12 (Initial Assessment):
Hour 12-24 (Strategic Planning):
Hour 24-48 (Execution Initiation):
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Check Your CMMC ReadinessCabrillo Club
Editorial Team
Cabrillo Club helps government contractors win more contracts with AI-powered proposal automation and compliance solutions.
Take our free readiness assessment. 10 questions, instant results, no email required until you want your report.
Check Your CMMC Readiness