The House unveiled a 2019 defense budget proposal Wednesday that calls for the purchase of three littoral combat ships after outcry from lawmakers and shipyards.
The proposal by a House Armed Services subcommittee marks a major increase over the Navy’s plans to buy a single ship. It’s also a signal that Congress will follow analysts’ predictions and keep production humming next year at the shipyards in Wisconsin and Alabama that build the LCS.
The subcommittee is recommending the ships be added to the House Armed Services’ annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Navy plans to transition away from the small surface ship and replace it will a new frigate.
But the shipyards and lawmakers in those regions have warned that a single LCS purchase in 2019 could lead to job losses and even shipyard closures.
The Freedom-class variant of the ship is built at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin by Lockheed Martin, and the trimaran Independence-class variant is built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal USA.
Lawmakers from Wisconsin and Michigan, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, wrote a letter last week to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer saying a single LCS purchase could cause “irreversible harm” to the Marinette shipyard and lead to layoffs.
Spencer testified in March that the Navy’s purchase plan was adequate and would sustain the two shipyards.
Both the Marinette and Mobile facilities could compete to build the Navy’s future frigate. Analysts say the loser would face an uncertain future, and a smaller Navy purchase in 2019 could disadvantage one of the yards before the competition begins.
