The US Navy has received DoD approval to buy the third and fourth Ford-class aircraft carriers in one contract instead of two, an approach that is expected to create efficiencies that will save $4 billion compared to purchasing the ships individually.
DoD acquisition chief Ellen Lord signed off on the block buy, and the Pentagon formally notified Congress of the decision on 31 December. Under a provision in the FY19 Defense Authorization Act, the navy must wait until 30 days after the notification before awarding the construction contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division.
The navy said
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Forming part of the Reconciliation Bill, the funding will support multiple efforts involving autonomous capabilities, interceptors, missiles, rockets and torpedoes.
The delivery acceptance of the future USS Pierre marks the conclusion of the construction phase for the Independence-variant.
The new Barracuda version has been engineered to perform enhanced subsea and seabed warfare missions.
The nearly $25 billion investment will cover USCG procurement of cutters, aircraft, helicopters, training simulators and Polar capabilities over the next four years.
After commissioning, FRC Frederick Mann will operate in Alaska and perform multiple missions.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) created new units, including five Programme Executive Offices (PEOs), to facilitate and speed up the procurement of new capabilities.
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