House and Senate conferees authorized two Littoral Combat Ships in the fiscal year 2009 defense authorization bill, while deciding to delay enforcing a cost cap on the nascent vessels to FY-10 or later, according to the conference report released late last night. Members of the House and Senate armed services committees authorized $920 million for two LCSs, heeding an August appeal by the Pentagon to cuts in the House and Senate mark-ups of the FY-09 authorization bills. The Senate Armed...
