The FY ’19 defense appropriations bill conference report funds three Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs), conditional approval of a two-aircraft carrier buy, and kicks in some extra money for the submarine industrial base.

Most notably, the conferees agreed to funds three more LCSs at a total of $1.6 billion, two ships and $925 million over the Navy’s request of $646 million for a final LCS. This largely matched the House appropriations bill’s preference for three total ships, while the original Senate appropriations bill provided for the one ship requested.

The Navy’s last Force Structure Assessment (FSA) in late 2016 planned for 32 LCSs before the Navy moves on to 20 FFG(X) future frigates, for 52 total small surface combatants.

The future USS Wichita (LCS-13) conducts acceptance trials in Lake Michigan in July 2018. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
The future USS Wichita (LCS-13) conducts acceptance trials in Lake Michigan in July 2018. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

The single LCS the Navy requested would be the 33rd vessel because in the FY ’18 budget Congress funded three LCSs, one more than requested.

However, House authorizers earlier opposed building just one more LCS due to fears that this could pause production lines at one of the two LCS shipyards which in turn could lead to layoffs and reduce the chance of favorable pricing on the FFG(X) competition (Defense Daily, April 25).

The LCS outcome largely matches the FY ’19 national defense authorization act (NDAA), where the House version preferred three LCS and the Senate originally one, while the final bill resulted in three.

Back in May, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition James Geurts said the possibility of Congress adding LCSs beyond the request was not changing the service’s plans to buy at least 20 new frigates. He added the Navy would see what Congress would authorize and appropriate n the marks “and then well go execute accordingly” (Defense Daily, May 2).

The conferees also included a provision similar to one in the FY ’19 NDAA that allows the Secretary of the Navy to use FY ’19 funds for a two-carrier buy, with some conditions.

The Navy is pursuing a two-carrier buy for the third and fourth Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, CVN-80 and 81. Last month, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer said the Navy and shipbuilding Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] are looking at upward of $2.5 billion in savings from a two-carrier purchase compared to buying them one by one (Defense Daily, Aug. 14).

The FY ’19 NDAA allowed early procurement of CVN-81 as an addition to the contract covering CVN-80. However, the Senate authorization negotiators added an amendment requiring Spencer to certify to the congressional defense committees that the two-carrier buy will result in “significant savings” compared to the anticipated costs of carring it out in annual contracts  within 30 days before entry into the contract (Defense Daily, July 24).

Echoing the FY ’19 NDAA conference report, the appropriators noted “the congressional defense committees have not received information justifying the validity of a proposed “two carrier block buy,” including an Independent Cost Estimate, an analysis of the impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, an updated future years defense program, or an extended planning range budget.”

In August Spencer said he hoped the Navy would be able to tell Congress more precisely how much the two-carrier buy would save by mid-fall.

The report also added $225 million to advanced procurement funds for the Columbia­-class Ohio replacement ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) program. The Navy requested over $3 billion but House appropriators took off $56 million for ordnance and electronics not needed. Then, separately the Senate added $250 million in submarine industrial base expansion.

This matches the FY ’19 NDAA, which added $237 million over the Navy’s request for the Columbia-class program. That authorization is aimed at submarine industrial base expansion.

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) underway on its own power for the first time during its builder's sea trials in April 2017. (Photo: U.S. Navy).
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) underway on its own power for the first time during its builder’s sea trials in April 2017. (Photo: U.S. Navy).

The NDAA conference report said the extra funding would help expand the capabilities of second- and third-tier contractors, which should cause more cost savings to meet the Columbia-class schedule and help the Virginia-class program achieve higher number requirements in the FSA (Defense Daily, July 25).

These additional funds may be an effort to allay concerns by defense committee members to bolster other submarine procurement funds. In June the House rejected an amendment by the heads of the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee to add $1 billion to fund long-lead time materials to procure two more Virginia-class (SSN) submarines from FY 2022 – 2023, for a total of three each year (Defense Daily, June 28).

The Navy currently plans to build two SSNs per year but Spencer told a March hearing of the subcommittee that the industrial base could build the additional submarines if the resources are added by Congress (Defense Daily, March 21).