DD (X) Gets Go-Ahead Through Milestone B Review

DD (X) Destroyer On Veteran’s Day, DID covered the DD (X) destroyer program‘s upcoming Defense Acquisition board review, and noted the fact that DD (X) disputes were one of the main obstacles holding up the FY 2006 defense appropriations bill. We’ve noted past articles covering GAO reports and the DD (X)’s likely cost of over $3 billion per ship, the July 2005 Critical Design Review, threatened cost caps from the House and examination of alternatives, to the concept behind its AGS long range naval gun. The program that once hoped to produce 32 ships will now spend a significant percentage of the Navy’s shipbuilding budget on a class that is slated to include only 8 ships according to the new Destroyer Acquisition Decision Memorandum, and may well go as low as 5 ships if further cost slippages occur. Based on the memo and the amount left for system development & design, the DD (X) program can be expected to spend about $30 billion more if it remains within budget. This figure would not include operations and maintenance costs. GAO director of acquisition and sourcing management Paul L. Francis’ comments re: managing the program from this point forward [Congressional testimony, PDF […]