The High Cost of Cheap Ships

If someone suggested the Navy had moved USS Independence (LCS 2) to Area 51, I'd probably give it serious thought. This ship is in a witness protection program somewhere in Alabama no where to be seen, and there is no news (supposedly).

But we do have a contract announced today worth pondering.

General Dynamics—Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $37,750,000 basic ordering agreement for Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) on the Littoral Combat Ship, USS Independence (LCS-2). The orders to be issued will encompass services which support the total PSA effort which include, but are not limited to, program management, advance planning, engineering, material kitting, liaison, scheduling and participation in PSA planning conferences and design reviews, and preparation of documentation as required by the Contract Data Requirement List. The orders will also encompass material and labor to perform the PSA for LCS 2, all testing, including post repair trials required to verify the accuracy and completion of all shipyard industrial work, non-standard equipment when approved, and technical manuals for non-standard equipment. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (53 percent); Norfolk, Va. (24 percent); and Mobile, Ala. (23 percent), and is expected to be completed by Dec. 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-G-2301).

Maybe this means the ship will soon find the sea.