The US Navy is running its ships and sailors ragged, and a shrinking fleet plus political meddling in ship design means the strain is likely to get worse.

• Deployments keep getting longer, with carriers now staying out 250 to 270 days instead of the target seven months.
• The USS Abraham Lincoln has been away since November and went months without a real port stop because Iran hit the ports it would normally use.
• Burnout is now the top reason sailors quit; two from the Lincoln's group jumped overboard, and the Navy is paying big bonuses to keep pilots.
• The fleet is down to about 293 ships from 594 in 1987, and China can build ships far faster than America can.
• Trump wants old steam catapults and a World War II-style layout on a carrier still being built, changes analysts say would cost billions and add years.

Outlook: A record ship building budget is coming, but worker shortages, fragile supply chains, and design changes mean new ships arrive late while China keeps closing the gap.