Clark appreciates that Mabus understands how important it is to improve the personal lives of servicemen and women.

“Programs that have had cost problems or performance problems are going to be subject to renegotiation,” said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The LCS program is “tailor-made for the new administration to revisit.”

The deadline for submitting budgets to OSD is Thursday, the senior defense official said, adding that the Navy's will not incorporate the cuts. Ultimately that means that Carter's budget wonks will have to do the cutting themselves and the Navy may not like what they decide to cut, said Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments… 

"Trump promised to grow the military ... and end mandatory budget caps, but did not address other specific initiatives or how to pay for them," said Bryan Clark, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, who calls the mandatory spending limits imposed by sequestration "the most significant and pervasive institutional challenge DoD faces today."

Inside the Pentagon, Mattis was known for being assertive with the use of U.S. forces, said Bryan Clark, who was a top aide to Adm. Jon Greenert, the chief of naval operations from 2011 to 2015.

It’s too early to tell how the Trump administration might view the plans. But Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said advancements in undersea warfare should continue to be a priority for the Navy.