Buying Two Littoral Combat Ship Designs Saves the Navy $600 Million, Official Says

Under the plan, both Lockheed Martin and Austal USA will build Littoral Combat Ships.

Six hundred million dollars — that’s how much the Navy is saving over the next five years by buying two competing versions of the littoral combat ship, a senior official said Jan. 11 at the Surface Navy Association annual symposium in Arlington, Va.

“This is a good deal. It is the right thing to do,” said Rear Adm. Frank C. Pandolfe, director of the Navy’s surface warfare division. “That allows you to buy an extra LCS without raising the budget and to put additional monies to other programs that need it,” he added.

The littoral combat ship is the Navy’s newest warship. The service intends to buy a fleet of 55 LCS that can sail close to shore and carry mission packages to accomplish operations in anti-surface, anti-submarine, and counter mine warfare.

Read more