From a physical perspective, NAVSEA has four shipyards for shipbuilding, conversion, and repair, ten "warfare centers" (two undersea and eight surface), the NAVSEA headquarters, located at the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington D.C., and other locations in 15 states and 3 overseas continents.

NAVSEA's primary objective is to engineer, build, buy, and maintain the U.S. Navy's fleet of ships and its combat systems.

[1] The origin of NAVSEA dates to 1794, when Commodore John Barry was charged to oversee the construction of a 44-gun frigate and ensure that all business "harmonized and conformed" to the public's interest.

The directorates are:[14] NAVSEA's eight affiliated Program Executive Offices (PEOs) are responsible for the development and acquisition of Navy and Marine Corps platforms and weapons systems.

PEOs report to the NAVSEA commander for planning and execution of in-service support, and to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) for acquisition-related matters.