The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular plug-and-fight mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and dieselelectric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters. Navy plans call for fielding a total force of 52 LCSs. Twelve LCSs were funded from FY2005 through FY2012. Another four (LCSs 13 through 16) were funded in FY2013, although funding for those four ships has been reduced by the March 1, 2013, sequester on FY2013 funding. The Navy's proposed FY2014 budget requests $1,793.0 million for four more LCSs (LCSs 17 through 20), or an average of about $448 million per ship. Two very different LCS designs are being built. One was developed by an industry team led by Lockheed; the other was developed by an industry team that was led by General Dynamics. The Lockheed design is built at the Marinette Marine shipyard at Marinette, WI; the General Dynamics design is built at the Austal USA shipyard at Mobile, AL. LCSs 1, 3, 5, and so on are Marinette Marine-built ships; LCSs 2, 4, 6, and so on are Austal-built ships. The 20 LCSs procured or scheduled for procurement in FY2010-FY2015 (LCSs 5 through 24) are being procured under a pair of 10-ship, fixed-price incentive (FPI) block buy contracts that the Navy awarded to Lockheed and Austal USA on December 29, 2010.
Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Updated September 27, 2013
2013
96 pages
Report
No indication
English
Business & Economics , Marine Engineering , Logistics Military Facilities & Supplies , Littoral zones , Naval budgets , Naval procurement , Naval vessels(Combatant) , Quantity , Shipbuilding , Boats , Contracts , Inshore areas , Legislation , Lessons learned , Mines(Ordnance) , Modular construction , Naval architecture , Risk , Shipyards , Littoral combat ship , Cost growth , Sequestration , Program restructuring , Ship cancellations , Dual-award acquisition strategy