Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

A total of 20 Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) have been funded through FY2014. The Navy had been planning to procure an eventual total of 52 LCSs, but on February 24, 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that the Department of Defense (DOD) intends to truncate the program to 32 ships. As a successor to the LCS program, Secretary Hagel announced on February 24 that the Navy is to submit alternative proposals to procure a capable and lethal small surface combatant, generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate. I've directed the Navy to consider a completely new design, existing ship designs, and a modified LCS. LCSs have been procured since FY2010 under a pair of 10-ship, fixed-price incentive (FPI) block buy contracts that the Navy awarded to the two LCS builders Lockheed and Austal USA on December 29, 2010. Under these contracts, which cover the years FY2010-FY2015, four LCSs (numbers 21 through 24) were to be requested for procurement in FY2015. The Navy s proposed FY2015 budget, however, requests funding for the procurement of three rather than four LCSs, suggesting that one of the two LCS block buy contracts will not be fully implemented in its final year. The Navy s request for three rather than four LCSs in FY2015 and DOD s desire to truncate the LCS program to 32 ships and begin work on a new ship generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate raise several potential oversight issue for Congress, including the Navy's plan for determining which of the two LCS builders will receive one LCS in FY2015 rather than two, the analytical basis for DOD s plan to truncate the LCS program, and the analytical basis and acquisition process foundation for DOD s plan to succeed the LCS program with a program for a ship generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 05, 2014
Accession Number
ADA599383

Entities

People

  • Ronald O'Rourke

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Antisubmarine Warfare
  • Boats
  • Business Administration
  • Data Analysis
  • Employment
  • Littoral Combat Ships
  • Management Personnel
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Vessels
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Maritime Systems

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.