US Navy Awards Lockheed, Austal $1.4 Billion In LCS Contracts

The U.S. Navy has awarded contracts Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal Ltd worth nearly $1.4 billion to buy four more Littoral Combat Ships, the U.S. Defense Department said on Monday.

Lockheed won a contract valued at $699 million to build two more of its steel monohull-design ships, while Austal won a contract worth $684 million to build two more of its aluminum trimaran design, the Pentagon said. contracts.

Lockheed and Austal each build a different model of the LCS-class ships, which are designed to carry interchangeable equipment packages for mine-hunting, surface warfare or anti-submarine missions.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced last month that he wants to stop building the current configuration of ships after 32 ships, instead of building all 52 that were planned, and focus instead on ships with more firepower and protection.

The Navy is in the middle of executing separate 10-ship block buys with both Lockheed and Austal, which will bring the total number of LCS ships to 24.

Lockheed and Austal are waiting for details on how the Navy plans to procure the next eight ships that bring the total to 32 before shifting gear toward a more survivable ship.

Joe North, vice president of littoral ship systems at Lockheed, said that his company would be able to offer the best pricing to the Navy if it ordered the next eight ships as part of a block buy, rather than ordering them one year at a time.

North said he remained convinced that the LCS ships were the most cost effective ships in the Navy, and said Lockheed was standing by to learn about what additional capabilities the Navy wanted to add to the class in future years.

The Pentagon said work on the next two Lockheed LCS ships would be completed by August 2018. The next two Austal ships would be completed by June 2018, it said.