Navy LPD-17 Amphibious Ship Procurement: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Abstract

Some Members of Congress expressed interest in 2008 in the option of procuring a 10th San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious ship in FY2009, so as to help meet the Marine Corps' goal for amphibious lift capability. The Navy's proposed FY2009 budget did not request funding for a 10th LPD-17 and instead proposed ending LPD-17 procurement with the ninth ship, which was procured in FY2008. The Navy's planned 313-ship fleet calls for a 31-ship amphibious force that includes 10 LPD-17s, and the Marine Corps states that a 33-ship amphibious force that includes 11 LPD-17s would be required to fully meet the Marine Corps' amphibious lift goal. Procurement of a 10th LPD-17 was the Number 2 item on the Navy's FY2009 Unfunded Requirements List (URL) and the Number 1 item on the Marine Corps' FY2009 URL. Fully funding the procurement of a 10th LPD-17 in FY2009, the Navy and Marine Corps FY2009 URLs stated, would cost $1,700 million. Congress, as part of its action on the FY2008 defense budget, provided $50 million in advance procurement finding for a 10th LPD-17. The Marine Corps' goal for amphibious lift is to have a force of amphibious ships with enough combined lift capacity for the assault echelons (AEs) of two Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs). This goal, Marine Corps officials state, reflects responsibilities assigned to Marine Corps forces in U.S. regional war plans. The Navy's FY2009 30-year (FY2009-FY2038) shipbuilding plan, if implemented, would achieve and maintain a 32- or 33-ship amphibious force including nine LPD- 17s. This 32- or 33-ship force would fall short of meeting the 2.0 MEB AE lift goal in terms of square feet of storage space for wheeled vehicles. The compromise version of the FY2009 defense appropriations act (H.R. 2638/P.L. 110-329 of September 30, 2008) provides $933.2 million in procurement funding for procuring a 10th LPD-17 in FY2009.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 21, 2008
Accession Number
ADA491624

Entities

People

  • Ronald O'Rourke

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Amphibious Operations
  • Amphibious Ships
  • Engineers
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Governments
  • Landing Craft
  • Lessons Learned
  • Marine Transportation
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Vessels
  • Navy
  • Personnel Management
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting

Technology Areas

  • Space