Given tightening defence budgets, the US Navy should settle on one of the two different designs for the Littoral Combat Ship being built by Lockheed Martin Corp and General Dynamics Corp, a leading defence analyst said on Wednesday.
Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said the Navy faced enormous budget pressures in coming years and the total bill for the ships it hoped to buy would probably cost twice the $11 billion it would have available each year.
"They need to pick one of the two warships if they want to get the savings that were supposed to be part of the plan," said Thompson, who is due to testify on the Navys future shipbuilding needs before the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee on Thursday.
Continuing with two different designs for the new coastal warship would reduce the cost benefits that could be gained if the Navy opted for just one design, said Thompson. The Navy plans to buy 55 of the fast, nimble warships to help expand the US fleet to 313 ships, but the cost of each ship has more than doubled from the $220 million price tag initially forecast, raising doubts about whether the Navy will be able to afford all the ships it wants to buy.
Thompson said the Littoral Combat Ship, designed to carry out a variety of single focused mission packages, depending on the need, was an interesting concept, but it had not yet been tested. Ive always been skittish about the Littoral Combat Ship because everything about it is different from the way the Navy usually does business and it hasnt been tested," he said.
To minimise the risk. Thompson said the Navy should consider buying frigates based on the more conventional National Security Cutter that Northrop Grumman Corp is building for the US Coast Guard. The cutter was a more conventional ship that would more easily fit in with the Navys historic way of operating, he said, noting that having the cutter as a "backup" plan could also result in some savings since the ship would be built and operated by two services.
The suggestion about the Northrop Grumman ship has also been raised by the subcommittees chairman, Representative Gene Taylor, but the Navy has not explained its views on the issue. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Victor Chen said the Navy still believed that it needed to test the LCS warships and see them in operation for some time before it decided whether to opt for just one model or continue with both.
Lockheed delivered its first LCS ship, which is based on a monohull design, in October, and the ship went into service in November. General Dynamics is still working on its first LCS ship, based on a trimarin design, and hopes to deliver it this summer.
The Navy on Monday awarded Lockheed a contract for a second LCS ship using fiscal 2009 funds, which includes options for up to three more ships in 2010. The Navy says it plans to award two ships to one company and one to the other, depending on their performance on the fiscal 2009 ships, but says it will reserve the right to award all three 2010 ships to one bidder. It is still in talks with General Dynamics about a contract for the 2009 ship.