Costs Ballooning for New Combat Ship

[GreatAmerican]

<p><a href=“http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/11/navy_lcs4_canceled_071101w/[/url]”>http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/11/navy_lcs4_canceled_071101w/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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The Navy announced Thursday it had canceled the fourth Littoral Combat Ship in the service’s latest dose of tough love to shipbuilders.</p>

<p>Over the past months, the Navy has halved its orders for the small, next-generation ships; Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics now are building one LCS sea frame each, based on separate designs. Originally the contractors were to build two apiece.</p>

<p>The Navy cited cost overruns on LCS 2, now under construction by General Dynamics at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala., as the main reason for the cancellation of the second General Dynamics ship, LCS 4. The Navy terminated the contract for Lockheed Martin’s second sea frame, LCS 3, in the spring…

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