Navy Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to LCS Program

Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-1) questioned Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michelle Howard about the future of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program during a House Armed Services Committee hearing today.

The Independence-class LCS is built in the Port of Mobile by Austal USA, providing 4,000 direct jobs in Alabama’s First Congressional District. Congressman Byrne has been a strong advocate for the LCS program and the entire naval fleet during his service on the House Armed Services Committee.

In summarizing the hearing, Congressman Byrne said: “I was pleased to hear our Navy’s leadership reaffirm their strong support for the LCS program and express the importance of not interrupting production on these vessels. The men and women at the shipyard in Mobile do a great job of building ships in a cost-efficient way, and it would be a great disservice to disrupt that production schedule. As always, I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee to protect the LCS program as a critical piece to a strong, fully-capable naval fleet.”

Congressman Byrne asked the Navy leaders to explain the negative consequences of breaking production on the LCS program as the Navy moves towards implementing design upgrades recommended by the Small Surface Combatant Task Force.

“You lose some very skilled craftsmen. It is very hard to get that back. The industrial base impacts are enormous,” Secretary Mabus said of the impact interrupting production would have on the workforce. “I cannot overemphasize how devastating it would be to break production for economic reasons because you are going to end up getting fewer ships at a much higher cost.”

Admiral Howard made clear that slowing down the build rate for the ships would also have a negative impact on readiness and the future of the entire naval fleet. “The longer we stretch out that gap as the frigates go away, the less we can offer to the [Combatant Command] needs,” Admiral Howard said.

Secretary Mabus reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to the LCS program and the need for a total of 52 ships, but he expressed concern with the current budget timeline. “We have a need, a demonstrated need, for 52 of these small surface combatants. We will not get there under the current budget and under the current bill plan until 2028,” Secretary Mabus said.

Congressman Byrne also confirmed with the Navy leaders that it is common to change ship designs as the military understands new circumstances and needs.

“That is the very nature of modernization for all our services. The genius of LCS was to create the mission package, the weapons systems, separate from the platform. So that we can more quickly adjust to emerging threats,” Admiral Howard noted.

In December 2014, then Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recommended  updating the current versions of the LCS, making them more lethal and survivable, rather than designing a new ship, using a foreign design or repurposing another ship currently available in the fleet. He made it abundantly clear that the Navy has a requirement for 52 Small Surface Combatants and that requirement has not changed.