The Navy is slashing the number of multimillion-dollar catamarans it plans to acquire from Mobile, AL-based shipbuilder Austal USA, a move that could terminate the Joint High Speed Vessel program years earlier than previously planned. An Oct. 13 report from Congressional Research Service analyst Ron O'Rourke reveals that last month the Navy began briefing Capitol Hill on a new version of its plan for a 313-ship fleet. The new plan reduces the overall shipbuilding goal for the Joint High Speed Vessel program from 21 to 10 ships, O'Rourke writes. Included in the new 10-ship total are the five JHSVs that the Army agreed earlier this year to transfer to the Navy with an understanding that they would primarily perform Army missions.
展开▼
