Frigate-choice decision by FY-18

Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s order to cut the Littoral Combat Ship program by 12 and select one of the two LCS shipyards to build future Navy frigates is pushing the service’s timeline for making a decision. Naval Sea Systems Command officials say they're making adjustments to avoid incurring extra costs as a result of the speeded-up schedule. Captain Dan Brintzinghoffer, program manager for future frigates, told attendees of the Sea Air Space expo May 18 that the Navy was officially planning to select a frigate variant and choose between Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., or Lockheed Martin to build them in FY 2018. In order to keep the deadline from raising costs, Brintzinghoffer said DOD is backing off both shipbuilders and allowing more freedom to design their frigate-specific variants. (Source: Military.com 05/19/16) Previously, the timeline had been FY 2019.