10 U.S.C. § 8062 — United States Navy: composition; functions

(a) The Navy, within the Department of the Navy, generally includes combat and support forces at sea plus whatever aviation is part of it. The Navy must be organized, trained, and equipped to promote U.S. national security and prosperity in peacetime, and for quick, sustained combat operations at sea. The Navy prepares the naval forces needed for these jobs (unless assigned elsewhere) and, following joint mobilization plans, expands its peacetime forces to meet wartime needs. (b) The Navy's combat forces must include at least 11 working aircraft carriers and at least 31 working amphibious warfare ships, at least 10 of which must be amphibious assault ships. A carrier or amphibious ship still counts as "operational" even if it's temporarily unavailable for worldwide deployment because of routine or scheduled maintenance or repair. (c) All naval aviation is part of the Navy within the Department of the Navy. It includes combat, support, and training forces; land-based naval aviation; air transport essential to naval operations; all air weapons and techniques used in Navy operations; and the rest of the Navy's aviation organization and personnel. (d) The Navy develops its own aircraft, weapons, tactics, techniques, organization, and equipment for combat and support units. When these matters also concern the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Space Force, the services must coordinate together. (e) The Secretary of the Navy must make sure: (1) the Navy keeps at least 9 carrier air wings until either the Navy has enough carriers to fully support a 10th wing, or October 1, 2025 — whichever comes first; (2) after that date, the Navy keeps at least 10 carrier air wings; (3) each carrier air wing has its own dedicated, fully staffed headquarters; and (4) the Navy prioritizes maintenance and repair to keep enough amphibious warfare ships available to meet operational needs. (f) (1) (A) From the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 through September 30, 2027, the Secretary of the Navy may not (i) retire an EA-18G aircraft, (ii) cut funding for EA-18G personnel or maintenance in a way that assumes Congress will later approve retiring the aircraft, (iii) put an EA-18G into storage, or (iv) keep an EA-18G in "excess and awaiting disposal" status. (B) This ban doesn't apply to a specific EA-18G the Secretary decides, case by case, is no longer flyable and not worth repairing because of an accident. (2) (A) The Secretary must keep a total inventory of at least 158 EA-18G aircraft, with at least 126 of them classified as primary mission aircraft. (B) The Secretary may drop below that minimum for a specific aircraft the Secretary decides, case by case, is no longer flyable and not worth repairing because of an accident. (C) "Primary mission aircraft inventory" means aircraft assigned to a unit for its wartime mission, to a training unit for crew training or qualification, to a test unit for research and testing, or for other missions. (g) A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier can't be retired before it gets its first refueling. (h) In this section, "amphibious warfare ship" means a ship classified as an amphibious assault ship (general purpose, LHA), an amphibious assault ship (multi-purpose, LHD), an amphibious transport dock (LPD), or a dock landing ship (LSD).