The Navy has completed an assessment calling for a 355-ship fleet, according to a summary released on Friday.

The plan follows calls for a 350- ship Navy from President-elect Donald

J. Trump, who made increasing the size of the United States Navy part of his campaign. In a campaign rally in Lisbon, Maine, only days before the election, Trump repeated his call for a larger fleet and specifically noted that Bath Iron Works would benefit from increased Navy shipbuilding.

“It’s all gonna change,” said Trump. “That includes rebuilding our badly depleted Navy, which is now the smallest it has been since World War I. My plan builds the 350 ship Navy we need and everybody requests. And that means a lot more work for — I’m sure you’ve never heard of this place — Bath Iron Works here in Maine.”

While the details of the Navy’s assessment haven’t been made public yet, it does seem likely that BIW will benefit. The assessment outlines an increase of 47 ships more than the current goal of 308 ships in 30 years. The single biggest changes from the current 30 year shipbuilding plan is an increase of 16 large surface combatants and 18 attack submarines.

BIW currently produces two large surface combatants: the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the Zumwalt-class destroyers. While the build up of large surface combatants could take many forms, a likely option is to increase the production of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

“If the Trump Administration is serious about growing the fleet, starting a deliberate, decades-long expansion, then Bath is going to be in great shape,” Craig Hooper told The Times Record last month. Hooper studies national security challenges at Gryphon Scientific and writes about Navy shipbuilding on his blog, Next Navy.

“It is critical that the next-generation Flight III Arleigh Burke gets either sped into production or a few additional ‘restart’ destroyers — the ones already in production at Bath–are added while the design is finalized,” he added.

Only BIW and Mississippi based Ingalls Shipbuilding build Arleigh Burkeclass guided-missile destroyers, splitting them roughly evenly. Earlier this year, outgoing BIW President Fred Harris announced the shipyard’s intention to submit a bid on the next round of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in early 2017. Only three Zumwalt-class destroyers are in production, and there’s no sign as of yet that more could be ordered. It is entirely possible, however, that the Navy could begin development of a new class of large surface combatant within the 30 year plan that BIW could compete for.

Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King praised the new assessment, noting that BIW stands to gain from the increased shipbuilding goals.

“We welcome the Navy’s candid assessment of the naval fleet that is necessary to protect the United States,” said Collins and King in a joint statement. “Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has been a staunch support of shipbuilding during his eight year tenure, and we applaud him today for taking a fresh look at the necessary size and capability of the Navy’s fleet, particularly while China continues to modernize its own naval forces. The Navy’s new 355 ship goal is not only an important benchmark to achieve for our nation’s security, but good news for Bath Iron Works and the state of Maine, where the Navy’s world-class destroyers are built.”

Navy expansion

• NUMBER OF SHIPS: Around 270 (as of 2015).

• PROPOSED EXPANSION: 355 ships

• SURFACE SHIPS: 16 large surface combatants

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