WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- In a plan submitted to the Congress Tuesday, the U.S. Navy envisions expanding its fleet by 32 ships to a total of 313 within several years.

    The plan is aimed at reversing the continuous shrinking of the U.S. Navy fleet size over the years, in order to meet the demands of the global war on terrorism and other missions, Mike Mullen, the chief of naval operations, told a Pentagon news conference.

    The move will require raising the Navy shipbuilding budget from 9.5 billion U.S. dollars proposed in the 2007 budget that U.S. President George W. Bush sent to Congress Monday to an average of 13.5 billion dollars a year starting 2008.

    Mullen said he may have to reduce spending on new navy aircraft in the future to find the extra money for ships, which he described as the biggest challenge he faces as his service's uniformed leader.

    This year the U.S. Navy is scheduled to bring 14 new ships into its fleet while retiring 12.

    The net gain of two will increase the total number to 283 and end a string of annual declines that began in 1990 when Bush's father was president.

    The fleet peaked at 594 ships in 1987 and has dropped nearly every year since.

    Meanwhile, Mullen's plan calls for taking the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy out of the fleet, a move the Navy proposed last year but was rejected by the Congress, which passed legislation requiring the Navy to keep the carrier fleet at 12 ships.

    Mullen said he hoped to get that legislation changed "as soon as possible." Enditem