US Navy should pick one coastal warship maker- analyst

Given tightening defense budgets, the U.S. Navy should settle on one of the two different designs for the Littoral Combat Ship being built by Lockheed Martin Corp and General Dynamics Corp, a leading defense analyst said on Wednesday.

Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said the Navy faced enormous budget pressures in coming years and the total bill for the ships it hoped to buy would probably cost twice the $11 billion it would have available each year.

"They need to pick one of the two warships if they want to get the savings that were supposed to be part of the plan," said Thompson, who is due to testify on the Navy's future shipbuilding needs before the House Armed Services seapower subcommittte on Thursday.

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