Quest for greater lethality drives Navy modernization plans.

• Author: Harper, Jon

The Navy is teeing up a number of high-tech projects aimed at boosting the firepower of its platforms, but challenges lie ahead as the service prepares to fight advanced adversaries.

The Navy's modernization and budget plans are in line with the strategic concept of "distributed lethality," which Pentagon leaders are now pushing as other powerful countries such as China are developing more advanced strike capabilities that put U.S. naval assets at greater risk.

"We are increasing the size of the Navy, but what's really important... is to increase the lethality of each ship," Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said during a recent budget discussion hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Aircraft carriers have been the centerpiece of Navy power projection for decades. The lead ship in the new Fordclass, CVN 78, is slated for delivery this spring. The carrier, built by Newport News Shipbuilding, was expected to be capable of generating a 33 percent higher air combat sortie rate, while requiring much less manpower than the Nimitz-class.

But the vessel has been dogged by cost overruns, schedule slippage and technology concerns.

"Poor or unknown reliability of newly designed catapults, arresting gear, weapons elevators and radar, which are all critical for flight operations, could affect CVN 78 's ability to generate sorties, make the ship more vulnerable to attack or create limitations during routine operations," J. Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation, said in his office's fiscal year 2015 annual assessment report to Congress, released in February.

Navy officials said the service has made progress addressing the technical issues. "Most of the risk is starting to fade away on that ship," Vice Adm. William Hilarides, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, said at a Surface Navy Association symposium in January.

But lawmakers have directed the service to "shock test" the vessel. Fulfilling those requirements could delay the first operational deployment until 2021, said Bryan Clark, a naval analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

In a boost for carrier aviation, the Defense Department has decided to procure an additional 13 F-35C joint strike fighters over the next five years.

The move will benefit Lockheed Martin, which produces the high-tech fifth-generation aircraft. The F-35C was expected to achieve initial operational capability in 2018, but the joint strike fighter program has been plagued by delays and technical problems, and the critical Block 3F software may not be ready in time.

"It looks like it is going to be 2019, which is not...