By Geoff Fein
The Navy last month issued a request for proposals (RFP) to both General Dynamics [GD] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] for the fiscal year ’10 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).
The proposals are due July 27. The Navy’s plan is to award a contract for quantity. However, the sea service cannot say whether that means one team will build two of the three ships or it will be a winner take all competition.
As with previous LCS RFPs, the FY ’10 RFP is competition sensitive and was released only to the two industry teams, according to Lt. Clayton Doss, a Navy spokesman.
Unlike the two FY ’09 ships recently awarded, the three FY ’10 ships will have to be built under the existing congressionally mandated cost cap of $460 million per LCS.
“Like the recent FY ’09 contact awards, the FY 2010 ships will be fixed-price contracts to ensure cost and schedule adherence remain a primary focus of both the industry and the government program teams,” Doss said. “The FY ’09 and FY ’10 ships will be designated as Flight 0+ and will include existing approved engineering changes along with improvements to construction or fabrication procedures.”
The Navy has stable warfighting and technical requirements for the LCS program, he added. “Any changes to the FY ’09 and FY ’10 ships incorporating lessons learned from LCS-1 and -2 will be minimized to those essential for safety and/or operability.”
In March ’08 the Navy had issued a RFP for one LCS in FY ’08 and two in FY ’09. At the time, sources said the bids submitted in May by both teams reflected what each would build under the $460 million cost cap.
According to sources, both teams’ bids lacked gun and combat systems, among other things (Defense Daily, Oct. 17).
In October ’08, the Navy altered its LCS acquisition plan and issued a new LCS Flight 0+ RFP that came on the heels of Congress’ decision to cut funding for a single LCS in FY ’08, leaving two ships in FY ’09 (Defense Daily, Oct. 22). The FY ’09 defense appropriations bill lifted the cost cap on the two FY ’09 ships (Defense Daily, Oct. 17).
Earlier this year, the Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for the Fort Worth (LCS-3), the first contract award for the program since cancellation of the original LCS-3 in 2007 (Defense Daily, March 24).
Because the competition to build the FY ’09 ships has a bearing on the three ships planned in the FY ’10 acquisition, neither the Navy nor Lockheed Martin would divulge the cost of the March ’09 contract award.
At the time, Doss, the Navy spokesman, said, “[LCS-3] will cost less than LCS-1.”
“The Fort Worth is expected to cost less than Freedom, a result of stable design, readiness of production facilities, an experienced build team in place and a fixed- price contract,” he said (Defense Daily, March 24).
Lockheed Martin is holding a keel laying ceremony for the Fort Worth, Saturday at Wisconsin-based Marinette Marine.
The USS Freedom (LCS-1) is expected to cost in excess of $500 million. Lockheed Martin delivered Freedom in September ’08 and the ship is now going through an availability period before further testing begins.
The Navy has recently begun exploring an early short-term deployment for Freedom (Defense Daily, June 15).
Last month, General Dynamics was awarded a contract for the Coronado (LCS-4).
The company, and its partner, Mobile, Ala.-based Austal USA, are completing work on the Independence (LCS-2). The ship was christened on Oct. 4 and is expected to deliver in September 2009, with initial builders trials and acceptance trials to complete before ship delivery.