“Coast Guard program to upgrade its fleet is taking on water”, more failures from privatization. [View All]

[jody]

Coast Guard program to upgrade its fleet is taking on water

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 badly 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 completely scrap eight ships.
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"Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, along with more than 600 suppliers from over 41 states and many best-of-breed manufacturers from around the world, form the industry team that is committed to supporting the Coast Guard's Deepwater program," Margaret Mitchell-Jones, ICGS communications director, said in a statement.
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"Why did they farm it out in the first place?" asks Taylor. "We've discovered the hard way that we were doing it the right way in the first place."