The price tag for the most expensive destroyer built for the U.S. Navy is still growing.
Updated figures from the Congressional Research Service indicate the cost of three ships in the Zumwalt class has grown 3.7 percent, or $450 million, from the previous fiscal year. That lifts the total for the three ships to $12.74 billion.
The first-in-class Zumwalt that’s under construction at Bath Iron Works has successfully completed builder trials, and it will undergo acceptance trials later this month before delivery to the Navy, said Matt Wickenheiser, a spokesman for the company. It’s due to be commissioned in October.
It will be followed by two more of the stealthy destroyers that feature an angular shape to reduce radar signature.
The Navy wasn’t overly alarmed by the revised cost estimates for the 600-foot ships.
Capt. Thurraya Kent, a Navy spokeswoman, said the ships remain “well within the program baseline.”
Cost overruns are common in first-in-class military systems.
There’s likely plenty of blame to go around, and that includes the Navy’s decision to serve as systems integrator instead of leaving the task to the shipyard, which is a subsidiary of General Dynamics, said Loren Thompson, defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.
The shipyard said it’s focusing on delivering the ships.
(AP)
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The US Navy’s project office on large ship propellers in Wash, D.C. lost 10-20 million dollars. The propellers were built incorrectly–i.e. the aircraft carriers needed to go in “reverse” in order to go forward—yikes–the personnel at the navy’s office are still there !!
The multi-billion dollar Aegis cruisers and destroyers were totally negated by a Russian ECM plane in the Black Sea in April two years ago. The Aegis project is still on-going. Why ?? The project hires retired admirals, captains as “advisors” and Lockheed Martin employees. In a crude way, Russia has exposed the terrible Naval incest system. Bath Iron Works in Maine, build the ships. Hughs aircraft in California, the displays, Sperry Univac in Minnesota the computer, the ship yards in Pascagoula Miss, an Aegis ship builder and a company in Pennsylvania Microwave tubes,. etc. All key congressmen and senators watch over these companies like a hawk. No competition whatever but reelected politicians. America loses and our enemies rejoice.
The real answer is for all Jews to avoid the goy (including me) and do more Talmud Torah, more davvening and more Chessed. Avoid the US Navy !!!!
Shalom,
A goy,
Gerry Mullen