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Navy asks Congress for both LCS designs

Rival teams from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA have been waiting all year to see which of their designs would be chosen for the U.S. Navy\'s Littoral Combat Sh...

Federal News Network Staff

November 4, 2010 9:40 am

< a min read

If you can’t decide which one you like more, buy both! That philosophy might work for some shopping trips, it’s a little harder for Congress. The Department of Defense says that rival teams from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA have been waiting all year to see which of their designs would be chosen for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship competition. Now, DefenseNews.com reports the Navy is asking lawmakers to consider buying both designs. The Navy is convinced that the competition has driven down the cost for the ships so Congress should grant permission for each team to win contracts to build 10 ships, for a total of 20 new LCS hulls. Once they have their LCS acquisition strategy finalized, the Navy will have to take their proposal to the Defense Acquisition board.

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