Carrier Costs

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has sent Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, a letter responding to the senator's call for a detailed plan for controlling soaring costs in the multibillion-dollar program to build new aircraft carriers.

In the coming weeks, the Navy and shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries "must develop a credible plan to control costs" for the lead ship in the new carrier class, the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), and the following two ships, McCain counseled Mabus in a March 21 letter.

Mabus' eight-page reply, dated March 26 and first reported earlier today by Defense News, lays out the Navy's approach for ensuring CVN-79 and follow ship affordability focuses on tackling a handful of key challenges "while applying the many lessons learned in the course of CVN-78 procurement."

We have Mabus' letter.