Not looking so good for Austal on LCS contract...

Adm. on LCS decision, "all about procurement cost," w/cost cap of $480 million per ship & GD/Austal LCS-2 costing over $700 million, Lockheed/Martin LCS-1 looking like a winner:

From: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1819337020100218?type=marketsNews

"Cost is critical factor in LCS competition-US Navy"
Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:04pm EST
By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Cost will be the critical factor the U.S. Navy uses to judge competing designs from General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) for a new class of fast, flexible, shallow-water warships, a top admiral said on Thursday.

Rear Admiral William Landay, program executive officer for Navy ships, said both designs met the Navy's requirements for its new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), and the deciding factor would be procurement cost, even if one design offered certain advantages.

"While there are a number of factors in our RFP (request for proposals) ... in the end, for this particular acquisition, the cost of that ship is critically important to us, and that was our key overarching driver," Landay told reporters after addressing a conference hosted by Aviation Week magazine...

But at this point, procurement cost was the Navy's primary concern, given its plan to buy 55 of the ships and a congressional cost cap of $480 million per ship. "We're going to downselect to one, and the cost is going to be a critical piece of that. It's just the reality of it," Landay said.

The Navy gave industry the final terms for the competition in mid-January, and bids are in mid-March. It will pick a single winner to build 10 ships and combat systems for five more in late spring or early summer, Landay said...>>>Rest of Article>>>

LCS-1 Freedom to deploy ahead of schedule

From: http://www.al.com/business/press-register/index.ssf?/base/business/12555982076330.xml&coll=3

Business Briefs

Thursday, October 15, 2009

LCS Freedom to deploy ahead of schedule

The littoral combat ship Freedom will be deployed two years early, in early 2010, U.S. Navy officials announced Tuesday.

In a written statement, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead called the decision "a big step forward in getting this ship where it needs to be," operating in shallow waters in the Pacific and near South America.

Built by Lockheed Martin Corp., Freedom is the first of two LCS. The second, Independence, was built in Mobile at Austal USA by a General Dynamics Corp.-led team

Independence is in testing and scheduled for delivery by year's end.

The Navy has said it will, in 2010, choose between the two LCS designs before ordering additional ships...

LCS Bids Submitted to U.S. Navy...LCS-1 vs. LCS-2

From: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4218071&c=AME&s=SEA

"LCS Bids Submitted to U.S. Navy"
By Christopher P. Cavas
3 Aug 2009

Bids to build the next Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) have been submitted by both industry teams to the U.S. Navy.

Lockheed Martin announced its proposal was sent to the Navy on July 31, and rival General Dynamics confirmed its plans were sent in by the Aug. 3 deadline.

At stake are contracts to build three ships requested in the 2010 defense budget. The Navy has said the competition winner will receive two construction contracts, while the other team will get one ship.

House appropriators, however, passed their version of the defense bill with four LCS ships, while both House and Senate authorizers have agreed to the three ships in the president's budget. Senate appropriators have yet to pass their version of the defense bill.

Neither industry team would discuss specifics of their proposals. Congress has laid on a cost cap for each of the 2010 LCS ships at $460 million, although both Navy and industry sources call that goal a "challenge," at least until shipbuilders get more ships to build and can realize economies of scale.

Lockheed and its primary shipbuilder, Marinette Marine, delivered their first ship to the Navy last fall. General Dynamics and its shipyard, Austal USA, have run preliminary trials on their first ship and are working to deliver it in a few weeks.

Each shipbuilder received contracts this spring to begin work on a second ship.

No contract awards are expected until after the 2010 defense bills are enacted into law.

Regarding the LCS-2 builder's trials almost one year after LCS-1 builder's trials:

From MarineLog...July 29, 2009
"Navy releases video of LCS 2 sea trials"

Reports filtering out on the builder's trials of LCS 2 Independence, indicate that the Austal-built Littoral Combat Ship attained 43 knots with all diesels, gas turbines and waterjets on line, but at less than full power. Teething troubles encountered have included a leak in the port gas turbine shaft seal.

Meantime, the Navy recently released video of the trials, shot on June 12

Video comparing LCS-2 to LCS-1: