Navy Should Delay Next Carrier Amid Troubles, GAO Audit Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
The U.S. Navy should delay the award of a multibillion-dollar contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII) to build the second aircraft carrier in a new class as the first one faces failings from its radar to the gear that launches planes, congressional investigators said.
“Technical, design and construction challenges” with the first carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, have caused “significant cost increases and reduce the likelihood that a fully functional ship will be delivered on time,” the Government Accountability Office said in a draft report obtained by Bloomberg News.
The Ford, already the most expensive warship ever built, is projected to cost $12.8 billion, 22 percent more than estimated five years ago.
The report raises questions about the future of U.S. seapower in a time of reduced defense budgets and about whether new carriers are affordable as they assume greater importance in the Pentagon’s strategy to project U.S. power in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Update #1: Delay expected for USS Gerald R. Ford completion -- Wavy.com
Update #2: GAO recommends delay in ordering second carrier from Huntington Ingalls -- Sun Herald
My Comment: The USS Gerald Ford is already 20% over budget .... these problems will only mean greater costs and more delays.
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