By Geoff Fein

During a recent inspection of General Dynamics‘ [GD] Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), bowing was discovered in the transverse beams that support the ship’s flight deck, according to the Navy.

The Navy late yesterday released the following statement: “Recently, Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding (SUPSHIP) personnel observed various degrees of bowing in the transverse beams that support the flight deck on LCS-2. A Navy/Industry team is reviewing the cause of these deflections, verifying that the ship structure is stable, and developing any corrective actions that might be required. The cost and schedule impact will be determined upon completion of the Navy/industry review.”

The USS Independence (LCS-2) is an aluminum hull ship being built by General Dynamics and Austal USA, in Mobile, Ala.

A General Dynamics spokesman told Defense Daily the company does not know the extent of the issue or if it is even a problem.

“It was a distortion of a number of transverse frames,” Jim DeMartini said. “We don’t know if it’s a problem yet.”

He added the company wouldn’t define it as a problem until the full extent of the issue is known.

DeMartini said it’s too early to determine whether the issue might impact launch of the Independence.

The distortion was discovered within the past 10 to 14 days, DeMartini added.

Last month, General Dynamics notified the Navy it was delaying the launch of Independence until April to complete work before the ship goes into the water. Independence was scheduled to launch this month.

Last week it was learned that the cost for both LCS-2, and the lead ship, Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] USS Freedom (LCS-1), had grown beyond the $400 million mark.

Budget documents released last week showed Independence, with a construction cost of $440 million, is lower than the $471 million cost to build Freedom. However, adding in the final system design, mission system and ship integration, outfitting and post delivery, the cost for Independence was $636 million compared to $631 million for Freedom (Defense Daily, Feb. 6).