It is a rare occasion when the press puts out a story on the LCS that doesn't include a cost increase, Marinette Marine labor problems, a shipyard fire, or some other form of bad news.
It would appear SECNAV is making some headway in his tough stance, or at least he gives that impression in this article.
Navy Secretary Donald Winter, who recently has turned up the heat on U.S. shipbuilders, dropped by the Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard on Friday to see how Lockheed Martin's construction was progressing. The shipyard is a subsidiary of the Manitowoc Company Inc. (MTW).
New Navy construction regulations, startup manufacturing snags and a shipyard fire all have contributed to a rocky start to LCS construction. The Navy has said it will hold Lockheed Martin's feet to the fire to get the program back on track. But on Tuesday, officials said they liked what they saw last week.
"The Secretary had a very good visit to Marinette last week," said Navy spokeswoman Capt. Beci Brenton. She said he was pleased with the construction progress over the past year, and upbeat about its chances to meet to the current schedule goals.
"He is now hopeful that the shipyard will meet its goal of starting sea trials in December," Brenton said.
Not exactly the stuff cigars are lit for, but better than the alternative. Getting to sea trails in December is important for Lockheed Martin. If Marinette Marine can get sea trials in before the winter ice, they will hopefully be able to identify a majority of the problems on the ship and fix those issues during the ice period. That would allow Marinette Marine to emerge in the spring thaw with a ready to go LCS. That is very important to Lockheed Martin, which still believes they are in the competition despite the cancellation of LCS 3. With the DDG-1000 cost growing out of control, the Analysis of Alternatives coming out this November, and a skeptical Congress frustrated over a shrinking fleet while feeling heat from lobbies inside the industry regarding work, there is a lot of incentive to salvage the reputation of the LCS for Lockheed Martin.
Getting to sea trials in December would be a big deal, and emerging in the spring thaw with a warship that is in top form would go a long way in raising the confidence of both Congress and the Navy regarding the Lockheed Martin and their version of the LCS. I believe if both LCS 1 and LCS 2 are on time, and completed beyond what we have seen with the LPD 17s from NGSS the Navy will elect to buy a large number of both versions of the LCS under pressure from Congress, however, if LCS 1 isn’t ready by the spring thaw, they will be eliminated from the competition.
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