Some Recent U.S. Defense Programs in Trouble, part 3
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The Navy originally awarded contracts to Lockheed Martin and to General Dynamics, each of which was to build two LCS prototypes. In April 2007, the Navy canceled Lockheeds second prototype because of major cost overruns on the first ship. In November 2007, it also canceled the second General Dynamics ship, also because of major cost overruns on its first ship. The estimated per ship price tag has ballooned from $220 million to $550 million. The Navy now plans to award new contracts to Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics in 2009, each for one ship, and then hold a competition for another three vessels in 2010.
The first phase of this Marine Corps program yielded an EFV prototype that was deemed unacceptable in terms of performance, cost, and schedule. In August, the Marine Corps awarded General Dynamics a $766.8 million contract to develop and manufacture two more EFV prototypes. The program is now running eight years behind schedule and the per-vehicle price is now 168 percent higher than first estimated.
This program to develop a software-defined radio system first began development in 2002, at a planned cost of $3 billion over the fiscal years 2003 through 2007. Technical issues led to delays in the development and production, which then necessitated the purchase of $5.7 billion of legacy radios for the Army and Marine Corps. So far $2.5 billion has been spent on JTRS development. While a legacy vehicle radio costs about $20 000, its JTRS replacement is estimated to cost up to 10 times as much.For more articles and special features, go to What's Wrong with Weapons Acquisitions?
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IMAGE CREDITS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE): U.S. AIR FORCE; U.S. NAVY; U.S. ARMY; LOCKHEED MARTIN; U.S. AIR FORCE; LOCKHEED MARTIN; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; LOCKHEED MARTIN; U.S. MARINE CORP.; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE |