Navy shipbuilding acquisition programs and budget requirements of the Navy's shipbuilding and construction plan: hearing before the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first session, hearing held March 9, 2011.

Navy shipbuilding acquisition programs and budget requirements of the Navy's shipbuilding and construction plan: hearing before the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first session, hearing held March 9, 2011.

The Navy is beset with long-standing problems that affect its ability to accomplish ambitious goals for its shipbuilding portfolio. Significant cost growth and long schedule delays are persistent problems. Making headway on these problems is essential in light of the serious budget pressures facing the nation. This testimony focuses on the following: (1) cost growth in shipbuilding; (2) acquisition approaches in the LPD 17, Littoral Combat Ship, DDG 1000, and CVN 78 programs; and (3) steps the Navy can take to improve its acquisition decision making, particularly the adoption of a knowledge-based framework. While GAO is making no new recommendations in this testimony, GAO has made numerous recommendations through the years to improve business cases for Navy acquisitions as well as other Department of Defense weapon acquisitions. The Department's acquisition policies largely incorporate these recommendations, but they have not been implemented on actual programs.

Discusses the U.S. Navy¿s proposed FY 2010 budget requests funding for eight new Navy ships. This total includes two relatively expensive, high-capability combatant ships (a Virginia-class attack submarine and a DDG-51 class Aegis destroyer) and six relatively inexpensive ships (three Littoral Combat Ships [LCSs], two TAKE-1 auxiliary dry cargo ships, and one Joint High Speed Vessel [JHSV]). Concerns about the Navy¿s prospective ability to afford its long-range shipbuilding plan, combined with year-to-year changes in Navy shipbuilding plans and significant cost growth and other problems in building certain new Navy ships, have led to concerns about the status of Navy shipbuilding and the potential future size and capabilities of the fleet. Illus.

Statement of Eric J. Labs on the Navy¿s plans for its shipbuilding programs and corresponding budget. Contents: (1) Changes in Ship Requirements Under the 2011 Plan; (2) Ship Purchases and Inventories Under the 2011 Plan: Combat Ships; Logistics and Support Ships; (3) Ship Costs Under the 2011 Plan: The Navy¿s Estimates; CBO¿s Estimates; Changes from the 2009 Plan; (4) Outlook for Individual Ship Programs; Aircraft Carriers; Submarines; Large Surface Combatants; Littoral Combat Ships; Amphibious Ships. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.