Expert questions Navy budget credibility
By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 5, 2007 5:39:13 EDT
The U.S. Navy’s plans for building new ships and aircraft are in jeopardy from potentially shrinking future defense budgets and significant underestimation of costs, a key analyst said Monday.
Risks in cost growth are greater for ships than aircraft, Eric Labs, a defense analyst with the Congressional Budget Office, told an audience at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
“The Navy shipbuilding plan is primed for significant cost growth,” he said, referring to the 30-year, 313-ship fleet plan that is guiding Navy acquisition.
Citing budget numbers issued by the Navy, Labs noted the service needs an average of $17 billion a year over the next 30 years to meet its fleet goal. But Labs has testified to Congress on numerous occasions that his calculations show a figure of about $22.5 billion is more realistic, and only then if the Navy can put a hold on cost growth.
more at http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/06/navy_budgetcredibility_070605/
