Stormbound: Littoral combat ship could slip behind schedule as price tag nears $500 million.

• Author: Jean, Grace
• Position: NAVY

In the midst of a contentious debate about the Navy's embattled littoral combat ship program, the service's coveted warship has come under fire by its own supporters on Capitol Hill.

A combination of escalating costs and uncertain procurement plans have raised questions about the Navy's ability to keep the LCS afloat, analysts warn.

"It's clear that Congress is really worried about this program," says Robert Work, senior naval analyst for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

As Congress battles over the Defense Department's budget, lawmakers have signaled their displeasure at LCS cost overruns and delays. The number of littoral combat ships that policymakers allow the sea service to buy in 2008 could portend whether the program uprights itself in the next few years, say analysts.

"I think this is going to be a big, big deal, whether they get one or two, and whether Lockheed Martin's given a ship. This will tell us what the Navy--and the Congress--is thinking," says Work.

The littoral combat ship is the Navy's new surface combatant for operations in shallow, coastal waters. There are two designs under construction, one by Lockheed Martin Corp. and the other by General Dynamics.

Touted as an inexpensive warship, the LCS originally had been advertised at $220 million per hull. The Navy intends to buy 55 of them in an effort to build its fleet to 313 ships from 277. But in recent months the price tag has more than doubled, setting off alarms among lawmakers.

Navy officials requested $910 million for three ships in the 2008 defense budget. But after significant cost overruns materialized in January on the first-of-class ship, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter amended the request, asking for two ships instead of three.

Congressional leaders have voiced their concern over the price increases in their defense spending deliberations.

In the House, lawmakers passed a bill that gives the Navy $710.5 million for two LCSs. The Senate's committee on armed services took a more drastic measure, cutting the Navy's budget request by almost half in its recommendation of $480 million for one LCS.

"Before awarding contracts for additional ships in the LCS program, we need to maintain focus on delivering the most capability possible for the $1.6 billion invested thus far for six ships," wrote the committee.

Congress funded the first two LCS prototypes through the Defense Department's research and development budget. In 2006, it provided money for the Navy's third LCS and allocated additional funds for two more ships. In the 2007 budget, Congress approved funding for LCS 5 and 6. However, it appears poised to rebuke the Navy in the 2008...