Lawmakers on LCS

In response to a January news report that the Obama administration was looking to cut 20 ships from the planned 52-ship Littoral Combat Ship fleet, two congressional supporters of LCS sent a letter to the president yesterday stating their concern.

Lawmakers called the reduced buy a "direct contradiction" to what Navy leaders have advocated for during visits to Capitol Hill. The letter was signed by Reps. Bradley Byrne (R-AL) and Reid Ribble (R-WI) who both have LCS-related work in their districts.

"We worry that the recommendation from the Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense to reduce the program by 20 ships is arbitrary in nature," the letter reads.

Cutting the ship buy without performing a thorough analysis of the service's strategic requirements is "akin to steering a rudderless ship," Byrne and Ribble said.

"If we slow or cut our production now, we will only increase costs to the program while doing nothing to fill the Navy's requirement for the vessels the LCS is set to replace," lawmakers wrote.

The plan to slash part of the Navy's LCS program was revealed in a Defense News report in January, which cited a Jan. 6 Pentagon memo calling for the fleet to be cut down to 32. The directive stemmed from budget guidance sent to the Pentagon from the Office of Management and Budget, which led to a memo from acting Deputy Defense Secretary Christine Fox that included the proposed LCS cut.