Ronald O'Rourke
Specialist in Naval Affairs
CVN-78, CVN-79, and CVN-80 are the first three ships in the Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford (CVN- 78) class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs).
CVN-78 was procured in FY2008 and was funded with congressionally authorized four-year incremental funding in FY2008-FY2011. The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget estimates the ship’s procurement cost at $11,531.0 million (i.e., about $11.5 billion) in then-year dollars. The Navy’s proposed FY2011 budget requested $1,731.3 million in procurement funding as the final increment to complete this estimated procurement cost; the FY2011 Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 1473/P.L. 112-10 of April 15, 2011) reduced this request by $9.3 million.
CVN-79 is scheduled for procurement in FY2013, and has received advance procurement funding since FY2007. The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget estimates the ship’s procurement cost at $10,253.0 million (i.e., about $10.3 billion) in then-year dollars and requests $554.8 million in advance procurement funding for the ship.
CVN-80 is scheduled for procurement in FY2018, with advance procurement funding scheduled to begin in FY2014. The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget estimates the ship’s procurement cost at $13,494.9 million (i.e., about $13.5 billion) in then-year dollars.
Oversight issues for Congress for the CVN-78 program include:
- the possibility that DOD will propose deferring procurement of CVN-79 by two years, to FY2015;
- the potential for cost growth on CVNs 78, 79, and 80; and
- technical and design issues for CVN-78 class carriers that were raised in a December 2010 report from the Department of Defense (DOD) Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E).
Date of Report: October 18, 2011
Number of Pages: 36
Order Number: RS20643
Price: $29.95
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