{"id":56163,"date":"2019-12-10T15:16:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T15:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/10\/congress-lowers-cost-caps-on-future-carriers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:09:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:09:33","slug":"congress-lowers-cost-caps-on-future-carriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2019\/12\/10\/congress-lowers-cost-caps-on-future-carriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress lowers cost caps on future aircraft carriers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Congress intends to drop the cost of future aircraft carriers<\/a>, a move that lawmakers often employ to try to force the U.S. Navy and shipyards \u2014 in this case, Huntington Ingalls Industries \u2014 to stay inside their fiscal limits, according to the new defense authorization bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost for Enterprise (CVN-80) is capped at $12.2 billion, and the unnamed CVN-81 is capped at $12.45 billion, according to the text of the bill. The previous cost cap was in the vicinity of $12.57 billion for CVN-80, according to a recent Congressional Research Service<\/a> report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reduction in the cost cap is meant to complement the savings the Navy promised in its pitch for a the two-carrier buy: In January, the Navy announced it was contracting for Enterprise and CVN-81 simultaneously<\/a>, which it said could save the Navy upward of $4 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the National Defense Authorization Act conference report released Monday night, Congress cemented a new upper limit for expenditure on Ford (CVN-78) at $13.22 billion, which adds in recent cost growth associated with labor to fix ongoing issues. With the latest adjustments, the butcher\u2019s bill for cost growth on Ford is about 25 percent of higher than its original 2008 target when it was contracted.<\/p>\n\n\n\t