Friday, October 23, 2009

I'll trade once LCS for ....

.... it looks like two CVN deployments.

Another $7 million is on the way for repairs to the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the aging matriarch of the U.S. naval fleet.

The Navy this week approved spending the additional money on the ship's dry-dock maintenance project at Northrop Grumman's Newport News shipyard, boosting the total cost of the project to $605 million.

The cost of keeping the carrier in the fleet for two additional deployments now is 33 percent higher than its initial $453.3 million price tag…

Northrop was scheduled to redeliver the ship to the Navy last month, when it was supposed to complete the 16-month project. But in August, the Navy delayed the Enterprise’s delivery by three months to December.

During its extensive repair and inspection process, Northrop has encountered a number of unexpected problems on the flat top that have required additional attention and materials…

Built in Newport News, the Enterprise is the world’s first nuclear-powered carrier. The ship is nearing 49 years old.

Northrop has a contract with the Navy to provide all remaining maintenance to the ship until it is decommissioned in 2012.

Hat tip Lex.

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