Navy's littoral ships to be slashed?

[unhappycamper]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/16/littoral-pentagon-cut-build-32/?st



Report says Pentagon told Navy to build only 32 ships, 20 fewer than planned

Navy's littoral ships to be slashed?
Jeanette Steele
11:40 a.m.Jan. 16, 2014Updated8:04 p.m.

In a move long expected by analysts and critics, the Pentagon has instructed the Navy to cut its littoral shipbuilding program by almost 40 percent to 32 vessels, according to two defense-industry press reports.

A Jan. 6 memo to the Navy from acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox came after the Pentagon got final 2015 budget guidance from the Obama administration, according to the Navy Times and Bloomberg News, citing unnamed Defense Department sources.

At stake is an originally $37 billion program scheduled to include 52 vessels, nearly a fifth of the U.S. fleet. These next-generation ships are intended to be fast, light and operate in coastal waters with a minimal crew and interchangeable weapons. The first dozen are expected to be assigned to San Diego.

Critics in Congress have questioned the ship line for a few years. They were given ammunition by a 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office that recommended pausing the program until the Navy stabilizes the design and makes more progress in testing weapons packages.

[bemildred]

1. Well, who knows when we will need to do a massive invasion again? nt