Congressional auditors believe the $128 billion cost estimate to develop and build the new Columbia-class submarine fleet is "optimistic" and that program costs are likely to exceed requested funding, despite the Pentagon's adoption last year of the higher of two independently prepared cost estimates. The Government Accountability Office, in a Dec. 21 report, found the Navy underrepresented technology risks during a 2015 readiness assessment and as a result "it is more likely than not that the Columbia-class program will exceed"...
