Ronald O'Rourke
Specialist in Naval Affairs
The Navy’s FY2013 budget submission calls for procuring nine Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyers in FY2013-FY2017, in annual quantities of 2-1-2-2-2. The five DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2013-FY2015, and one of the two scheduled for procurement in FY2016, are to be of the current Flight IIA design. The Navy wants to begin procuring a new version of the DDG-51 design, called the Flight III design, starting with the second of the two ships scheduled for procurement in FY2016. The two DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2017 are also to be of the Flight III design. The Flight III design is to feature a new and more capable radar called the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR). The Navy this year is requesting congressional approval to use a multiyear procurement (MYP) arrangement for the nine DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2013-FY2017.
The Navy’s proposed FY2013 budget requests $3,048.6 million to complete the procurement funding for the two DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2013. The Navy estimates the total procurement cost of these ships at $3,149.4 million, and the ships have received $100.7 million in prior-year advance procurement (AP) funding. The FY2013 budget also requests $466.3 million in AP funding for DDG-51s to be procured in future fiscal years. Much of this AP funding is for Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) procurement of selected components of the nine DDG-51s to be procured under the proposed FY2013-FY2017 MYP arrangement. The Navy’s proposed FY2013 budget also requests $669.2 million in procurement funding to help complete procurement costs for three Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyers procured in FY2007-FY2009, and $223.6 million in research and development funding for the AMDR.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released on January 24, 2012, discusses several potential oversight issues for Congress regarding the Navy’s plans for procuring DDG- 51s, particularly the Flight III version. Some of these issues were first raised in this CRS report; the GAO report developed these issues at length and added some additional issues. Potential FY2013 issues for Congress concerning destroyer procurement include the following:
•
whether
actions should be taken to mitigate the projected shortfall in cruisers and destroyers;
•
whether to
approve the Navy’s request for a DDG-51 MYP arrangement beginning in
FY2013, and if so, whether it should include Flight III DDG-51s;
•
whether
there is an adequate analytical basis for procuring Flight III DDG-51s in lieu
of the previously planned CG(X) cruiser, and whether an analysis of alternatives
(AOA) or the equivalent of an AOA should be performed before committing to
the development and procurement of Flight III DDG-51s;
•
whether the
Flight III DDG-51 would have sufficient air and missile capability to adequately
perform future air and missile defense missions;
•
cost,
schedule, and technical risk in the Flight III DDG-51 program;
•
whether the
Flight III DDG-51 design would have sufficient growth margin for a projected
35- or 40-year service life;
•
whether the
categorization of the Flight III DDG-51 program in the DOD acquisition
process provides for a sufficient level of oversight for the program; and
•
schedule
risk for recently procured Flight IIA DDG-51s.
Date of Report: April 3, 2012
Number of Pages: 57
Order Number: RL32109
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
Posts
