Pentagon Orders Navy To Only Buy 40 LCS Ships And To Use Only One Shipbuilder

USS Freedom (LCS-1), left, and USS Independence (LCS-2) in 2012. US Navy Photo

Defense News: Pentagon Cuts LCS to 40 Ships, 1 Shipbuilder

WASHINGTON — The US Navy's fight to buy 52 variants of its littoral combat ship (LCS) from two shipbuilders may have taken a fatal blow this week after the secretary of defense directed the service to cap its buy at 40 ships and pick only one supplier. The directive also orders the Navy to buy only one ship annually over the next four years, down from three per year.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in a Dec. 14 memo to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, told the Navy to "reduce the planned LCS/FF procurement from 52 to 40, creating a 1-1-1-1-2 profile, for eight fewer ships in the FYDP, and then downselect to one variant by FY 2019."

More News On The Pentagon Cutting Back Its LCS Program

Exposed: Pentagon's Latest Fleet Overhaul Cuts LCS -- National Interest
Navy Fights For 52 LCS After SecDef Cuts To 40: Presence vs. Warfighting -- Breaking Defense
Rough sailing ahead: Defense secretary calls for LCS cutback -- Al.com
Sec. Carter Directed the Navy to Decrease LCS Fleet Size from 52 to 40 -- Scout
Carter directs US Navy to cut LCS, frigate numbers while boosting aircraft procurement -- IHS Jane's 360
SECDEF Carter Directs Navy to Cut Littoral Combat Ship Program to 40 Hulls, Single Shipbuilder -- USNI News
Builders Defend Littoral Combat Ships after Carter Orders Program Cuts -- Military.com
Congressmen will resist SecDef effort to cut LCS buy -- Marine Log
Why the Pentagon Is Cutting Back Orders on Its New Combat Ship -- Martin Matishak, Fiscal Times