...Lockheed Ruins Eight 123' Coast Guard Cutters!

"They stopped after ruining eight boats..."




This is the company that is to rebuild our manned space
program. Was Lockheed the better choice, or were
they just better connected?



Coast Guard's Deepwater program blasted
By Maria Recio

Seattle Times
Nation and World
Sun May 20, 2007

WASHINGTON - When the Coast Guard's first large cutter
in 35 years was christened in November at Northrop Grumman's
Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard, it was a gleaming symbol of the
service's ambitious $24 billion Deepwater program to update its
aging fleet.

Six months later, Deepwater is listing under a storm of congressional
criticism for design mistakes, cost overruns and lax oversight.
A botched program to lengthen existing patrol boats from 110 feet
to 123 feet has forced the Coast Guard to cancel the conversions
and scrap eight ships.

The Pascagoula-built National Security Cutter, at 418 feet the crown
jewel of the Deepwater program, is under scrutiny for metal fatigue
that critics say shortens its 30-year life to less than five years.

Four government audits have criticized management of the project,
which involves 91 new ships and 240 aircraft. Some of those vessels
would be based in Washington state waters.

"Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., calls the failed 110-foot conversion
program "the poster child" of what's wrong with Deepwater.

"They stopped after ruining eight boats," said Taylor, a former
Coast Guard reservist who commanded patrol boats. "What angers
me is we have eight ruined boats, $100 million spent and no one
is held accountable. No one has been demoted."

The 13-foot section added to lengthen the ships ended up
causing the hull to buckle under the stress of rough waters."

The Coast Guard has responded to the hammering from lawmakers by
taking oversight of Deepwater from the contractor, Integrated Coast Guard
Systems (ICGS), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and
Northrop Grumman; canceling the conversions; and making design
modifications to the National Security Cutter.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...epwater20.html