A stunning Navy decision to abort a $20 billion plan for a new fleet of destroyers yesterday threw into question the future of Raytheon Co.'s largest defense program and renewed longstanding concerns about the fate of the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine. Cancellation of the 14,000-ton, Zumwalt-class destroyer, called the DDG-1000, after just two ships were funded, was made public by Maine's two Republican senators, Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins, and US Representative Thomas H. Allen, a Democrat whose district includes the Bath shipyard. The lawmakers said they were informed by top Navy officials that with costs rising 50 percent, to $3 bil lion per ship, the program has become too expensive and would make it impossible for the Navy to meet its overall goal of a 313-ship fleet. The service currently has about 280 ships. The lawmakers said they were also told that the Navy had concluded the destroyer's design was not well suited to combating the evolving threat of long-range missiles.
Cancellation of the 14,000-ton, Zumwalt-class destroyer, called the DDG-1000, after just two ships were funded, was made public by Maine's two Republican senators, Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins, and US Representative Thomas H. Allen, a Democrat whose district includes the Bath shipyard. The lawmakers said they were informed by top Navy officials that with costs rising 50 percent, to $3 bil lion per ship, the program has become too expensive and would make it impossible for the Navy to meet its overall goal of a 313-ship fleet. The service currently has about 280 ships.
The lawmakers said they were also told that the Navy had concluded the destroyer's design was not well suited to combating the evolving threat of long-range missiles.
Is it ARGeezer who keeps harping on the US navy being obsolete for exactly this reason?
you are the media you consume.
A stunning Navy decision
Is it stunning because it's so rare for a defence contract to be cancelled, no matter how much the price increases? or because the navy must continue to buy ships that don't meat its requirements? or that the navy would put off buying seven more ships towards its dream number? Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
