Comments on Defense Secretary Hagel's Announcement, Future of LCS

Statement

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) issued the following statement today in response to comments from Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, about the Littoral Combat Ship:

"I was greatly troubled to hear Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's remarks on Monday in which he suggested a plan to reexamine the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program and potentially end the LCS shipbuilding plan after 32 ships.

This would be a very unwise decision: it will not help restore our Navy to a 300-ship fleet, it will not improve our naval combat capabilities, and it will not save money. I am very disappointed that this decision was made without consulting the Congress and in contravention of the Navy's settled plans. Indeed, this decision was made despite a rigorous and established military requirements process that validated 52 ships as the minimum number the Navy and combatant commanders around the globe need to meet their missions. In fact, even facing a reduced budget, the Navy had planned to continue the program at the 52-ship level.

It is important to note, however, that Secretary Hagel favors more ships and his statement indicates that LCS will still be considered as an option for more production, although perhaps in a different configuration.

The LCS program has enjoyed the support of senior Navy leadership for over a decade to include successive Secretaries of the Navy and every Chief of Naval Operations since Admiral Vern Clark. It is one of the top shipbuilding priorities of the Secretary of the Navy and of all current senior Navy leadership--uniformed and civilian.

It is suggested that LCS was designed only to operate in "relatively permissive environments.' This is inaccurate. In fact, according to the Navy, LCS is envisioned to be capable of operating in every region and across the full spectrum of conflict: it can operate independently in low-to-medium threat environments, and in high threat environments it will operate as part of a larger battle force, leveraging the combat capabilities of other ships and aircraft--much in the same way our aircraft carriers deploy with other ships and aircraft.

The LCS program will give us the capabilities, flexibility, and small crews that Congress and Defense and Navy secretaries have demanded along with the number of ships our warfighters need--all at a relatively low cost. Over the past five years in particular, the program has performed remarkably well and is now considered by some experts to be a model program. In fact, the unit cost of production for LCS is on a marked, steady decline and, as a result, the Navy is now purchasing LCS below the congressionally-mandated cost cap. This is a tribute to the thousands of hardworking employees at the shipyards in Alabama and Wisconsin.

We now have a "hot line' at these shipyards as they are reaching full efficiency. To curtail or slow production now will lose the benefits from the efficient production rates these yards have achieved.

I am convinced the Littoral Combat Ship must be a critical part of our Navy and our plans to return to a 300 ship fleet the nation needs. I have talked at some length with Secretary Hagel, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, and the new nominee to the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense, Bob Work, about this issue and I will continue to strongly press this point in the days ahead. This matter is not over."

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