The U.S. Navy’s proposed fiscal 2006
budget has cuts that foreshadow a “major disruption in
shipbuilding,” including possible reductions or delays in large
weapons programs, according to a draft industry study.
Ship industry officials and defense analysts also believe
the Navy is compounding the problem by inadequately explaining
the rationale for top programs such as the DD(X) destroyer being
jointly developed by Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co., and
the Littoral Combat Ship, which is still under competition, said
the unreleased August 10 draft by the Government Electronics &
Information Technology Industry Association.
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Shipbuilding will be “in churn for years,” with budget
pressures that cut planned programs “a lot,” according to the
draft. Although there will some growth, the industry should
expect “turbulence,” said the draft. The Navy also has
“difficulties in translating concepts to force structure,” it
said.
“The implication is that the industry thinks there is not a
lot of solidity to the Navy’s flagship programs,” said Stuart
Slade, a naval budget analyst for Forecast International, a
defense market survey group. Regarding the report’s observations
that the Navy is unclear in outlining its requirements, “This is
a plea from industry to the Navy to ‘tell us what you need,'”
Slade said.
Bloomberg News
