GAO report on CVN 78

tankercaptain

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SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 — The GAO released a report yesterday that says that the Navy faces technical, design, and construction challenges to completing the nuclear aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) that have led to significant cost increases and reduced the likelihood that a fully functional ship will be delivered on time. The report also says that the ship won't be designated operationally ready until nearly three years after delivery.

Back in May, Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that the launch of the carrier at Newport News Shipbuilding had been pushed back from July to November 2013 which would, in turn, delay delivery. A NAVSEA statement at that time said delivery was now scheduled for second quarter FY 2016 (see earlier story).

The GAO report raises questions about how functional the ship will be after delivery. A draft version of the report recommended that the Navy delay the commissioning of the carrier in March 2016. GAO dropped that recommendation after taking account of DOD comments.

"We made the decision to remove this recommendation based on information DOD provided about unintended consequences associated with delaying the commissioning of the ship, including potential issues related to how a noncommissioned ship would operate effectively within the Navy’s chain of command," says GAO

GAO says the intent of the draft recommendation was to highlight the operational limitations that will be associated with the ship when it is commissioned, "but DOD noted in its response that the ship will not be designated operationally ready until testing and trials are completed—an estimated 34 months after delivery. Until the ship is judged operationally ready, it will lack the ability to conduct assigned operations for which it is designed."

http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/657412.pdf
 
Wn was the last time a defense contractor has delivered a naval vessel (including USCG) on time and on budget?
 
GAO says the intent of the draft recommendation was to highlight the operational limitations that will be associated with the ship when it is commissioned, "but DOD noted in its response that the ship will not be designated operationally ready until testing and trials are completed—an estimated 34 months after delivery. Until the ship is judged operationally ready, it will lack the ability to conduct assigned operations for which it is designed."

Pardon my ignorance (and I am ignorant on this topic) but isn't it always true that any ship goes through testing and trials after delivery and is not designated operationally ready until some time later? Is it that three years is an inordinate amount of time? Is it really an inordinate amount of time for a new carrier class?

Not trying to be sarcastic. Nor are the questions merely rhetorical. Really trying to learn with these questions.
 
Well, I guess this, from another article, begins to answer some of my questions:
F-35 initial capability was scheduled to occur prior to the shipbuilder’s delivery of the first ship to the Navy in 2016. But because of the F-35 delays, the Navy will not field the aircraft until at least 2017 — one year after the carrier delivery. As a result, the Navy has deferred F-35 integration activities, "which introduces risk of system incompatibilities and costly retrofits to the ship after it is delivered to the Navy," the GAO reported.
 
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