Navy discloses LCS mine-sub cost spike

[unhappycamper]

Navy discloses LCS mine-sub cost spike
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 14:04:01 EST

The total cost of a Navy remotely piloted submarine has grown so much that top service officials notified Congress this week that it could end up more than 85 percent above original estimates, the Navy said Friday.

Navy officials say the Remote Mine-hunting System, which includes an unmanned submarine and its AN/AQS-20 sonar, could together cost about $22.4 million per copy, a spike of 85.3 percent over the original estimate, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Victor Chen.

The mini-sub, the Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle, by itself could cost $12.7 million per copy, or almost 52 percent more than the original estimate.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’s office told Congress about the cost increase on Thursday, Chen said, as required by a law that mandates the Pentagon notify lawmakers about such spikes. The rule, known as Nunn-McCurdy after the law that created it, means Congress must review the program in question, although very few Nunn-McCurdy breaches result in Congress or the Pentagon canceling projects.

Officials said the increase in cost for the RMS was caused by the Navy’s decision to delete the unmanned sub from the anti-submarine mission packages designed for littoral combat ships. The RMS will remain a part of the mine countermeasure mission modules. The revised goal of buying 54 such mini-subs, instead of 108, caused the unit costs to increase, Chen said.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/navy_rms_cost_breach_121809w/