Austal expanding LCS involvement

Austal USA is looking to deepen its ties with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program by pursuing multiple efforts to stay involved in maintenance and the life cycle management for the LCS program,, which is nearly halfway through construction. The Mobile, Ala., shipyard is in talks with the Navy regarding opportunities to do post-delivery maintenance at its shipyard; conduct planning yard services and maintenance in San Diego and other West Coast shipyards; and support for ships’ forwardly deployed in Singapore. Terry O’Brien, VP of business development for Austal, told USNI News that the firm wanted to be involved in the LCS program from “cradle to grave.” The first opportunity out of the game is conducting post-delivery work in Mobile. The Navy awarded Austal a $16.3M contract on Jan. 24 to conduct “extended industrial post-delivery availability work” in a new arrangement that is “a first for Austal USA and the Navy,” according to an Austal media release. Under the new model, being tested on the future USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), two kinds of work would be done at Austal. (1) Any work not completed during construction that Navy chooses to postpone until after delivery and commissioning would be done at the post-shakedown availability (PSA); and (2) Any guarantee work to correct deficiencies found during sea trials in the Gulf. “It’s a little bit on the innovative side,” O’Brien explained. It appears to assist the Navy by getting the job done quicker and at a lower cost, he said, and when the ship arrives in San Diego it makes it more available for training. One issue still to be worked out is whether the ship would conduct a full shakedown period in the Gulf of Mexico, or some work in Mobile and followed by more sea time in San Diego and a shorter follow-on PSA. O’Brien said the Navy contract is for one LCS for now, but if it goes well Austal hopes their remaining nine of its Independence class of LCS would do similar post-delivery maintenance in Mobile. (Source: USNI News 02/11/19)