LCS-1 on course

From Aviation Week

LCS-1 On Course, Lockheed And Navy Say

Jan 15, 2009

By Michael Fabey

The U.S. Navy’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1), USS Freedom, has been performing up to specifications in sea trails, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin, and the Navy says the program is back on course following its restructuring.

“We were out on Lake Michigan for 10 days in all kinds of water,” said Joe North, Lockheed vice president and LCS program manager. “The more she rises [off the surface at speed], the more stable she is. But there was nothing that surprised us. We had been doing this on paper for so many years.”

Commissioned in November, the ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy later this year. What was critical, according to analyst James McAleese of McAleese and Associates, is that the ship was commissioned before the Obama administration took office.

Now, McAleese said, the Navy needs to keep the cost between $550 million and $600 million per ship – a far cry from the $220 million the sea service initially contended the vessel would cost. But, McAleese and other observers say, the ship is worth the current and revamped cost. “It’s affordable and operational,” he said.

The Navy plans to deploy LCS in so-called surface action groups (SAGs), independently or integrated in carrier and expeditionary strike groups. A good portion of its time will be spent in forward-deployed SAGs that can join with in-theater strike groups as a need dictates.

The Freedom is currently undergoing a 60-day industrial post-delivery availability – a repair and work period – at Colonna’s Shipyard in Norfolk, Va. Next it will face a special trial and proceed into planned post-delivery developmental testing and operational testing.

Meanwhile, LCS-2, constructed by a General Dynamics-led team at the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Ala., is expected to be delivered to the Navy later this year.

“The Navy is working diligently with both industry teams to identify and evaluate program cost and schedule risk,” said Capt. James Murdoch, LCS program manager. “The Navy will continue to drive efficiency and cost reduction as these ships enter serial production, building effective warships at a fair price.”

The Congressional Research Service puts the total LCS price tag for the desired 55-ship buy at $29.4 billion.

“The program acquisition costs for the ships currently under construction are considered competition-sensitive because of the ongoing fiscal ’09-’10 ship procurement,” Murdoch said. “The acquisition strategy for FY ’11 and beyond is under development. The Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for FY ’09 illustrates 18 ships within the [long-term defense budget] and a 55-ship class.”

But, he added, “Navy leadership actively monitors LCS program performance and cost, and have maintained an active and consistent dialogue with Congress.”

In his November 2008 report on the LCS, CRS Naval affairs specialist Ronald O’Rourke said, “The Navy demonstrated strong oversight when it terminated the contracts for LCS-3 and LCS-4 in 2007.”

For now, according to McAleese, the Navy wants to keep both contractors in the competition.