
Sticking to his re-election campaign platform last year, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) on Wednesday suggested that the production line for the Coast Guard’s flagship National Security Cutter (NSC) remain open before new programs begin.The Coast Guard in March year awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] a $500 million contract to construct the eighth and final planned Legend-class of NSCs, which are replacing 12 aging Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters.That NSC program has been the service’s top funding priority the past…