Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.



GAO Sees Risk in Both LCS Acquisition Strategies
Source: Government Accountability Office

Successful business cases for shipbuilding programs require balance between the concept selected to satisfy warfighter needs and the resources--technologies, design knowledge, funding, time, and management capacity--needed to transform that concept into a product. Without a sound business case, program execution will be hampered, regardless of the contracting strategy.

The LCS, given its stage of maturity and its unique mission, design, and operational concept, still faces design and construction risks. As with the Navy's estimate of savings, most of these risks appear to be inherent to the program, regardless of which acquisition strategy is followed.

Navy officials believe that experience to date on the program, coupled with fixed price contracts and a sufficient budget for ship changes, mitigates this risk. However, much work and demonstration remains for LCS, and other shipbuilding programs have had difficulty at this stage.

On the other hand, a second ship design and source provided under the dual award strategy could provide the Navy an additional hedge against risk, should one design prove problematic. Mission equipment packages are common to both ships and would pose the same execution risks, apart from integration.

Under both the existing down-select strategy and the proposed dual award strategy, the Navy plans to award fixed-price incentive contracts for new seaframes. This type of contract provides for adjusting profit and establishing the final contract price by application of a formula based on the relationship of total final negotiated cost to total target cost.

The final price is subject to a price ceiling, negotiated at the outset. Navy officials expressed confidence that their cost estimate supporting the dual award provides details on the costs to operate and support both designs.

However, since little actual LCS operating and support data are available to date, the Navy's estimates for these costs are currently based on data from other ships and could change as actual cost data become more available.

These estimates are also based on new operational concepts for personnel, training, and maintenance that have not been fully developed, tested, and implemented. For example, the Navy has not yet implemented a comprehensive training plan, and it is possible that the plan could cost more or less than the training costs currently accounted for by the Navy.

The Navy's request to double its current 10-ship authorization to 20 ships--at a time when the mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and antisubmarine warfare mission packages continue to face significant developmental challenges--highlights the Navy's risk of investing in a fleet of ships that has not yet demonstrated its promised capability.

Absent significant capability within its mission packages, seaframe functionality is largely constrained to self-defense as opposed to mission-related tasks.


General Dynamics Awarded $7 Million for Development of Advanced Submarine Technologies
Source: General Dynamics

GROTON, Conn. --- General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $7.4 million contract modification by the U.S. Navy to develop advanced submarine technologies for current and future undersea platforms. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.

Under this award Electric Boat will perform advanced submarine research and development studies in support of a wide range of technology areas including manufacturing, maintenance, survivability, hydrodynamics, acoustics and materials. Electric Boat also will conduct research and development work in areas such as manning, hull integrity, performance, ship control, logistics, weapons handling and safety.

The contract also supports near-term Virginia-class technology insertion, identification of Ohio-class replacement technology options, future submarine concepts and core technologies.

If all options are exercised and funded, the contract has a potential value of $711.4 million over a total of five years.

This work will help support the more 3,000 design and engineering personnel employed at Electric Boat. Possessing proven technical capabilities, these employees are engaged in all facets of the submarine lifecycle from concept formulation and design through construction, maintenance and modernization.




The Birth of the Continental Navy – The 13 Frigates

Today’s is the anniversary of the The Birth of the Continental Navy.




The 13 Frigates

Today’s website is The 13 Frigates. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1775 - The Continental Congress authorizes the building of 13 frigates.
1941 - Cmdr. William A. Sullivan designated the first supervisor of salvage, giving the supervisor an office in New York City.


Photo of the Day



USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) underway in the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Gator