Littoral combat ship program under scrutiny

A federal watchdog agency and at least two key lawmakers are questioning the wisdom of the U.S. Navy's $40 billion littoral combat ship program, which is supporting thousands of jobs and has already injected hundreds of millions of dollars into Wisconsin's economy.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office says the warships — which cost up to $480 million each and are under construction in Marinette and in Mobile, Ala. — might not perform as expected. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is among the lawmakers expressing serious reservations about the program.

So far, two of the ships have been built by Wisconsin's Marinette Marine under a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. Four more are under construction in Marinette, and two more are under contract for construction there in 2015.

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