And The Senator Declares the Winner

You won't find any proof in today's DoD contract announcements, but Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alb) had an interesting press release on his website today regarding the Joint High Speed Vessel contract.

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today applauded the Navy’s decision to award the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) contract to Austal USA, located in Mobile, Alabama. This award will sustain Austal’s current workforce in south Alabama.

“I am pleased that the Navy continues to recognize Austal’s tremendous shipbuilding capabilities,” said Shelby. “This $1.6 billion award for ten vessels is a testament to Alabama’s stellar workforce. This award enhances south Alabama’s defense community and complements our state’s service to our armed forces.”

The JHSV is a joint Navy-Army program for a high-speed, shallow draft vessel intended for rapid intra-theater transport of cargo. It reaches speeds up to 45 knots and allows for the rapid transit and deployment of troops as well as equipment and supplies. The JHSV will include a flight deck for helicopter operations and an off-load ramp that will allow vehicles to quickly drive off the ship. It will transport Army and Marine Corps company-sized units with their vehicles, or be a troop transport for an infantry battalion.

The Navy’s current acquisition plan calls for building ten vessels between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2015.

I guess we should take his word for it?

If true, and Tim Colton and MarineLog both say it is, this is great news for Austal, but considering all the problems the Hawaii ferry has had it really makes one wonder how they won. Usually with contracts like this the experience of similar products is accounted for, and the fact is the Rolls-Royce high speed vessels in service in Europe have remarkable records for reliability, as do the Incat high speed vessels in use all over the Pacific, while the Austal built Hawaii Superferry has turned out to be a maintenance nightmare.

Previous discussion here.