WASHINGTON: The conference version of the defense policy bill for 2016 puts the Navy on notice in multiple high-priority programs. In three areas — carriers, the UCLASS drone, and LCS — Sen. John McCain‘s tough positions prevailed over the House, albeit with some compromises around the edges. In a fourth — Ticonderoga-class cruisers — it was a House leader, Rep. Randy Forbes, who pushed harsher measures and got a partial victory.
- Carriers. Congress has ensured it will keep a very close eye on the Ford class. The conference bill (Sec. 121) includes a strict Senate-designed system of quarterly reports about any changes to Ford that adds at least $5 million to the cost — that’s less than 0.05 percent. The Navy Secretary and Chief of Naval Operations must personally certify the necessity for each change, the bill says. And they can’t leave this to their underlings. They are “precluded from delegating the certification.” The bill also demands a separate, one-time report detailing the Navy’s methodology for calculating inflation on the carriers, a continuing bone of contention with the Hill.
- UCLASS. The House wanted to approve the Obama administration’s $135 million request for UCLASS, while continuing to press the Navy to change its requirements. The Senate wanted to zero out the existing UCLASS program and add $725 million to new research dn development into carrier-launched drones. The final bill compromised. On the one hand, it not only keeps the UCLASS program alive but more than doubles its budget, to $350 million. On the other, it gives the Navy strict direction to use the money to develop bombers: “penetrating, air-refuelable, UCLASS air vehicles capable of performing a broad range of missions in a non-permissive environment.” The bill also insists the Navy make use of the existing X-47B demonstration drones — basically proto-prototypes — rather than mothballing them to save money.
- Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The House agreed to Senate language (Sec. 130) limiting expenditures on the beefed-up second-generation LCS, called a frigate, until the Navy submits detailed justifications of why they chose this particular set of upgrades. The House did get the Senate’s limit dialed down, however: Instead of “fencing” 75 percent of LCS frigate funds until the Navy’s report comes in, the conference only restricts use of 50 percent.
- Ticonderoga-class cruisers, aging Aegis ships that the Navy wants to overhaul. The admirals’ original plan had been to scrap seven cruisers, which Congress rejected. But many on the Hill believe the current plan to overhaul them is so slow, and so poorly funded, that it amounts to scrapping in disguise. So, led by the fire-breathing Rep. Randy Forbes, a fierce critic of the administration, the House had passed language required the overhauls to start next year and to proceed on a brisk schedule thereafter. The final conference bill omits Forbes’s provisions. But the conference report unmistakably endorses his distrust and puts the Navy on notice.
Related/Background:
- Pentagon budget 2016: Authorisation bill would add USD350 million for UCLASS - IHS Jane's 360
- Press Release | Press | United States Commitee on Armed Services
- NDAA - National Defense Authorization Act - Armed Services Republicans
- Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) | Defense Daily Network
- The War over UCLASS (And Future of Naval Power Projection) Continues | The National Interest Blog
- spendergast: UCLASS in "acquisition hell"
- Delivery of US Navy's USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier further delayed - Naval Technology
- A closer look at the “Modified LCS” | Intercepts | Defense Newsx
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