Post by ferryfast admin on Sept 20, 2011 12:10:05 GMT -5
Smooth sailing for Austal's first JHSV a bright spot in Navy shipbuilding
blog.al.com/press-register-business/2011/09/smooth_sailing_for_austals_fir.html
MOBILE, Alabama -- Spearhead, the first joint high-speed vessel Austal USA is building for the U.S. Navy, has had for the most part an unremarkable production schedule.
Costs are over budget, but still close enough to original estimates to be profitable, Austal officials said. The company plans to deliver the ship to the Navy early next year, just a few months behind schedule.
The unremarkable nature of the construction must be a breath of fresh air for Navy officials, who have dealt with a series of difficulties with first-in-class ships in recent years -- soaring costs, years-long delays and major mechanical problems.
Austal's success with Spearhead could be a long-term boon for the company, which is Mobile's largest industrial employer with more than 2,100 workers. Austal has contracts to build six more JHSVs, with options for three more. It is worth $1.6 billion if all options are exercised.
Beyond that, the Navy plans to build 23 of the lightly armed transport ships in the next 30 years. Being able to build JHSVs quickly and efficiently could put Austal in the catbird seat for future contracts.
"They're doing a good job with them," said Jay Korman, an analyst with Washington D.C.-based The Avascent Group. "The Navy's going to buy a lot more of these things, and Austal's shown it's on the right track do them serially."
The Navy hasn't been so lucky with other recent first-in-class vessels. The USS San Antonio amphibious transport dock was three-and-a-half years late when it was commissioned in 2006, and cost more than $1.4 billion, or 70 percent, over budget, according to reports.
The San Antonio has since spent large chunks of time out of commission dealing with various mechanical problems.
The Navy's first two littoral combat ships, which were built in different shipyards with drastically different designs, both cost more than three times the original $220 million budget, according to a Reuters report.
One of the LCS, USS Independence, was built at Austal's shipyard by a team led by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. Austal is building a second LCS for Bath. Last year Austal won as the prime contractor a deal to build up to 10 LCS, worth $3.6 billion if all options are exercised.
JHSVs are 338 feet long, weigh 727 tons, can carry up to 600 tons of cargo and travel at an average speed of about 35 knots, or 40 mph. The ships will be used to move troops, weapons or cargo, but are not designed as combat vessels.
Capt. Henry Stevens, the Navy's JHSV program director, said there are a variety of reasons why the JHSV has had a relatively smooth ride.
For one thing, he said, since it isn't a warship it does not have complex weapons systems to integrate into the vessel.
And unlike other new warships, Stevens said, the JHSV wasn't designed from scratch. Instead it was based on a design for a commercial ferry that Austal had experience building.
"We were in a situation where we were able to understand what we were building before building it," he said.
Despite the success of the program, Korman said he doesn't expect it to revolutionize Naval shipbuilding.
"It's hard to push that forward and make it relevant to another shipbuilding program," he said. "It's not an expensive, complex warship, it's just a transport vessel. It's not going to be a case study for how to do every Naval acquisition in the service.
blog.al.com/press-register-business/2011/09/smooth_sailing_for_austals_fir.html
MOBILE, Alabama -- Spearhead, the first joint high-speed vessel Austal USA is building for the U.S. Navy, has had for the most part an unremarkable production schedule.
Costs are over budget, but still close enough to original estimates to be profitable, Austal officials said. The company plans to deliver the ship to the Navy early next year, just a few months behind schedule.
The unremarkable nature of the construction must be a breath of fresh air for Navy officials, who have dealt with a series of difficulties with first-in-class ships in recent years -- soaring costs, years-long delays and major mechanical problems.
Austal's success with Spearhead could be a long-term boon for the company, which is Mobile's largest industrial employer with more than 2,100 workers. Austal has contracts to build six more JHSVs, with options for three more. It is worth $1.6 billion if all options are exercised.
Beyond that, the Navy plans to build 23 of the lightly armed transport ships in the next 30 years. Being able to build JHSVs quickly and efficiently could put Austal in the catbird seat for future contracts.
"They're doing a good job with them," said Jay Korman, an analyst with Washington D.C.-based The Avascent Group. "The Navy's going to buy a lot more of these things, and Austal's shown it's on the right track do them serially."
The Navy hasn't been so lucky with other recent first-in-class vessels. The USS San Antonio amphibious transport dock was three-and-a-half years late when it was commissioned in 2006, and cost more than $1.4 billion, or 70 percent, over budget, according to reports.
The San Antonio has since spent large chunks of time out of commission dealing with various mechanical problems.
The Navy's first two littoral combat ships, which were built in different shipyards with drastically different designs, both cost more than three times the original $220 million budget, according to a Reuters report.
One of the LCS, USS Independence, was built at Austal's shipyard by a team led by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. Austal is building a second LCS for Bath. Last year Austal won as the prime contractor a deal to build up to 10 LCS, worth $3.6 billion if all options are exercised.
JHSVs are 338 feet long, weigh 727 tons, can carry up to 600 tons of cargo and travel at an average speed of about 35 knots, or 40 mph. The ships will be used to move troops, weapons or cargo, but are not designed as combat vessels.
Capt. Henry Stevens, the Navy's JHSV program director, said there are a variety of reasons why the JHSV has had a relatively smooth ride.
For one thing, he said, since it isn't a warship it does not have complex weapons systems to integrate into the vessel.
And unlike other new warships, Stevens said, the JHSV wasn't designed from scratch. Instead it was based on a design for a commercial ferry that Austal had experience building.
"We were in a situation where we were able to understand what we were building before building it," he said.
Despite the success of the program, Korman said he doesn't expect it to revolutionize Naval shipbuilding.
"It's hard to push that forward and make it relevant to another shipbuilding program," he said. "It's not an expensive, complex warship, it's just a transport vessel. It's not going to be a case study for how to do every Naval acquisition in the service.