By Geoff Fein
The Navy yesterday awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a contract for the third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), but the award amount was not made public due to the ongoing competition for the program.
This is the first contract award for the program since cancelation of LCS-3 in 2007.
The Flight 0+ LCS-3, the USS Fort Worth, will be built at Marinette Marine [MTW] in Marinette, Wis.
The ship was named earlier this month by then-Navy Secretary Donald Winter.
The Navy has been in lengthy negotiations with both Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics [GD], the other LCS builder, since rewriting the 2008 request for proposals last year. The Navy had hoped to award both teams contracts for one ship each by the end of 2008.
Because the competition to build the FY ’09 ships will have a bearing on the three ships planned in the FY ’10 acquisition, neither the Navy nor Lockheed Martin would divulge the cost of the latest contract.
However, according to Lt. Clayton Doss, Navy spokesman, “[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,” Doss said.
The USS Freedom (LCS-1) is expected to cost in excess of $500 million. Lockheed Martin delivered the Freedom in September ’08 and the ship is now going through an availability period before further testing begins.
General Dynamics is building the USS Independence (LCS-2).
“The Navy intends to procure a total of two LCS seaframes in FY ’09 and is conducting a competition for three additional seaframes in FY ’10. All of these contract awards will be fixed-price type contracts, with the Navy anticipating that each of the LCS prime contractors, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works, receives one ship in FY ’09. The Navy is in discussions with General Dynamics regarding the company’s proposal for the second FY ’09 ship,” Doss said.
The design for both ships is mature and we are incorporating revisions to specific areas based on the lessons learned from the construction of the initial ships, proposed production improvements and acceptance inspections. Those revisions will be in place for the start of construction of the FY ’09 ships., he added
“The current Flight 0+ phase of the LCS program includes ships procured during FY ’09 and FY ’10, and will incorporate the existing designs from the incumbent industry teams along with all approved Engineering Change Proposals, improved production techniques and material improvements discovered as a result of the construction and testing of LCS-1 and -2.” Doss said.