Post by ferryfast admin on Apr 24, 2012 11:46:49 GMT -5
Watchdog group: Cancel half of Navy's littoral ship program
By Jeanette Steele
www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/24/watchdog-group-cancel-half-navys-littoral-ship-pro/
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A government watchdog group is calling on Congress to cancel one half of a long-controversial new Navy ship class, based on what it calls a history of design problems and equipment failure.
The Project on Government Oversight dispatched a letter to the Senate and House armed services committees yesterday that thrashes the littoral combat ship program – a new kind of light, fast warship that debuted in 2010. The first 16 littoral ships are scheduled to be assigned to San Diego. The second is slated to arrive early next month.
The littoral program is split into two ship versions: The Freedom, a mono-hull variety designed by Lockheed Martin, and the Independence, an aluminum trimaran by General Dynamics and Austal USA.
“POGO’s position has long been that only one of the LCS variants is necessary, and that the current dual-development is a corporate subsidy we can’t afford. As a result, we have recommended eliminating one variant to save taxpayer dollars. Now, based on the new evidence we have uncovered, we recommend that the more expensive and severely flawed Lockheed variant be eliminated,” the group's letter said.
The Navy and Lockheed Martin counter that the design and equipment problems are old issues that already have been addressed.
“The Navy is reviewing the concerns mentioned in the letter, however, nearly all of these issues were well-reported and have been corrected as warranted. Additionally, the Navy has worked closely with the operational test and evaluation community to address their concerns. USS Freedom is a first-of-class ship, and it is expected the Navy will discover and correct issues as they are identified. This is not unique to LCS, but standard for all first-of-class ships. We are fully confident that LCS 1 and the rest of the class will perform as designed,” said Christopher Johnson, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command, in a response late Monday.
A Lockheed spokeswoman said it's typical to work out problems in the first ship of a class.
“Any issue that has arisen in the development, testing and usage of this lead ship has been, or will be, addressed to ensure she and future Freedom-class ships meet or exceed the Navy’s needs,” Lockheed's Dana Casey said Tuesday.
While not taking a point of view, the Congressional Research Service also chimed in with a report released this month that lists eight separate issues for Congress to consider about the littoral program. They include questions about whether the littorals are formidable enough to survive in combat, hull cracking and corrosion seen in the first two ship versions and changes to the interchangeable mission “modules” that are supposed to make the littorals able to switch from an anti-mine capability to anti-submarine or ship-against-ship missions.
Both reports could get a public airing in Congress as early as Thursday, when the seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee meets to mark up its portion of proposed fiscal year 2013 defense budget.
The littoral ship has suffered a number of setbacks that have been well documented in the defense industry press. Also, Congress – especially Republicans Sen. John McCain and Rep. Duncan Hunter from San Diego – have questioned the program's cost overruns and utility. The littoral program is sometimes mentioned in the same breath as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the top troubled military spending programs.
The Washington, D.C.-based Project on Government Oversight's letter said the group has obtained documents showing that Lockheed’s Freedom has at least 17 known cracks and repeated engine-related failures.
On during the initial voyage from Mayport, Fla., to San Diego in 2010, there were more than 80 equipment failures on the ship., the group said in its letter. During one, in March 2010, while the ship was performing drug seizures off South America, the Freedom's electricity went out, leaving the ship dark.
The watchdog group also said that before and during the ship’s second set of rough water trials in February 2011, 17 cracks were found on the ship. (The POGO letter includes close-up photos.) The result of the cracking is water leaks, which dampen one of the ship's chief selling points: Its ability to go fast, up to 40 knots.
The group's report concludes that the cracking program has turned the Navy's “cheetah of the seas” into a clunker that only goes freighter speeds.
______________________
Project on Government Oversight
pogo.org/
By Jeanette Steele
www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/24/watchdog-group-cancel-half-navys-littoral-ship-pro/
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A government watchdog group is calling on Congress to cancel one half of a long-controversial new Navy ship class, based on what it calls a history of design problems and equipment failure.
The Project on Government Oversight dispatched a letter to the Senate and House armed services committees yesterday that thrashes the littoral combat ship program – a new kind of light, fast warship that debuted in 2010. The first 16 littoral ships are scheduled to be assigned to San Diego. The second is slated to arrive early next month.
The littoral program is split into two ship versions: The Freedom, a mono-hull variety designed by Lockheed Martin, and the Independence, an aluminum trimaran by General Dynamics and Austal USA.
“POGO’s position has long been that only one of the LCS variants is necessary, and that the current dual-development is a corporate subsidy we can’t afford. As a result, we have recommended eliminating one variant to save taxpayer dollars. Now, based on the new evidence we have uncovered, we recommend that the more expensive and severely flawed Lockheed variant be eliminated,” the group's letter said.
The Navy and Lockheed Martin counter that the design and equipment problems are old issues that already have been addressed.
“The Navy is reviewing the concerns mentioned in the letter, however, nearly all of these issues were well-reported and have been corrected as warranted. Additionally, the Navy has worked closely with the operational test and evaluation community to address their concerns. USS Freedom is a first-of-class ship, and it is expected the Navy will discover and correct issues as they are identified. This is not unique to LCS, but standard for all first-of-class ships. We are fully confident that LCS 1 and the rest of the class will perform as designed,” said Christopher Johnson, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command, in a response late Monday.
A Lockheed spokeswoman said it's typical to work out problems in the first ship of a class.
“Any issue that has arisen in the development, testing and usage of this lead ship has been, or will be, addressed to ensure she and future Freedom-class ships meet or exceed the Navy’s needs,” Lockheed's Dana Casey said Tuesday.
While not taking a point of view, the Congressional Research Service also chimed in with a report released this month that lists eight separate issues for Congress to consider about the littoral program. They include questions about whether the littorals are formidable enough to survive in combat, hull cracking and corrosion seen in the first two ship versions and changes to the interchangeable mission “modules” that are supposed to make the littorals able to switch from an anti-mine capability to anti-submarine or ship-against-ship missions.
Both reports could get a public airing in Congress as early as Thursday, when the seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee meets to mark up its portion of proposed fiscal year 2013 defense budget.
The littoral ship has suffered a number of setbacks that have been well documented in the defense industry press. Also, Congress – especially Republicans Sen. John McCain and Rep. Duncan Hunter from San Diego – have questioned the program's cost overruns and utility. The littoral program is sometimes mentioned in the same breath as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the top troubled military spending programs.
The Washington, D.C.-based Project on Government Oversight's letter said the group has obtained documents showing that Lockheed’s Freedom has at least 17 known cracks and repeated engine-related failures.
On during the initial voyage from Mayport, Fla., to San Diego in 2010, there were more than 80 equipment failures on the ship., the group said in its letter. During one, in March 2010, while the ship was performing drug seizures off South America, the Freedom's electricity went out, leaving the ship dark.
The watchdog group also said that before and during the ship’s second set of rough water trials in February 2011, 17 cracks were found on the ship. (The POGO letter includes close-up photos.) The result of the cracking is water leaks, which dampen one of the ship's chief selling points: Its ability to go fast, up to 40 knots.
The group's report concludes that the cracking program has turned the Navy's “cheetah of the seas” into a clunker that only goes freighter speeds.
______________________
Project on Government Oversight
pogo.org/