Strategery in Surface Combatant Shipbuilding

Yes, I am invoking Saturday Night Live. I've mentioned lately that I have two problems with the Navy right now, surface combatants and the necessity for straight, honest talk from Navy leadership on the challenges the Navy is facing. I want to briefly explain why I am frustrated. As they say, misery enjoys company.

There is something quietly out in the broad daylight staring the Navy directly in the eye that nobody appears to want to highlight, the thought of which says absolutely nothing good about the state of the Navy today. I don't know if it is the election next week, or all the furious activity by the various industry players who are posturing for their programs, or simply the constant distractions of other issues, but shipmate..., you have a serious problem on your hands.

What is the Navy's current surface combatant shipbuilding program? Did you know as of right now, TODAY, there are in fact currently ZERO surface combatant shipbuilding plans. Think about it.

Technically speaking, the Navy has pushed back the CG(X) and truncated the DDG-1000. The DDG-1000 officially ended in the Navy's view in FY09, and this was reinforced when Congressional appropriations did not fund the $51 million long lead funding for the 4th DDG-1000 in the FY09 budget.

Technically speaking, the Navy has not had the DDG-51 plan approved, so it doesn't actually exist and it is the responsibility of the next administration to put the DDG-51 plan forward. Finally, while the LCS is NOT a surface combatant, both Lockheed Martin and the Navy foolishly believe it is. Technically, it is also a shipbuilding program without an official shipbuilding plan, also to be released with the next administrations budget. Sure, there is money out there for something, but there was money out there for a LCS funded in FY08 that is no longer going to be built.

The LCS program, as of today, is essentially a Prototype program of 2 types, with no official, finalized follow on plan as of today. With the next administration coming on, not to mention all the questions, it is in a perfect place to have a new administration walk in and ask for an analysis of the program before moving forward. In other words, due to position and timing, it is in a perfect place to be truncated at two ships, just like DDG-1000 as the new administration arrives.

If the next administration is paying attention, which is a guarantee, they have the option to walk in and cancel the entire Seapower21 hi/low shipbuilding plan outright by simply not approving anything. After nothing but problems in 21st century surface combatant shipbuilding, we officially end the Bush administration with 0 official plans for surface combatants. I think it is interesting that nobody has been discussing this blatantly obvious and troubling reality of the moment.