Letter to James Mattis, Secretary of Defense - Wittman, Scott Lead Letter in Support of Block Buy for Aircraft Carriers in FY19 Share

Letter

Dear Secretary Mattis,

As you continue preparation of the fiscal year 2019 Budget Request for the Department of Defense, we are writing to express our interest in a dual procurement of Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers in the upcoming fiscal year.

Over the last several months, both the Department of the Navy and industry have conducted analysis to determine the feasibility of dual procurement of CVN 80 (the future USS Enterprise) and the yet to be named CVN 81. We understand that initial cost savings estimates of $2.5 billion could be attained from a dual ship procurement when compared to single ship procurement with no additional future funding required beyond current Navy plans. We applaud the Department's willingness to examine smarter and better acquisition approaches that serve the interests of both our warfighters and taxpayers. Accordingly, if the Department of Defense concludes that these savings are attainable, we encourage the Navy to seek appropriate authorities to execute this dual procurement approach in the fiscal year 2019 budget request.

In addition to the potential cost savings, a dual procurement of aircraft carriers would enable the Department of the Navy to reach and maintain a fleet of twelve aircraft carriers more quickly than current plans. Our nation's carrier fleet is deployed worldwide and is extremely busy, with three of eleven carriers deployed and as many as seven carriers underway in recent weeks. Dual procurement of aircraft carriers will enable the Navy to better meet future combatant commander requests for aircraft carrier presence worldwide.

Finally, a dual procurement of aircraft carriers would send a strong signal to the shipbuilding industrial base about our national resolve to reach a 350+ ship fleet. With the massive consolidation of the shipbuilding industrial base over the last 25 years, the approximately 3000 remaining aircraft carrier suppliers nationwide will benefit greatly from the predictability and stability of the workload. Furthermore, we expect this approach will enable shipbuilding suppliers to create efficiencies and invest in their own businesses and therefore benefit other Navy shipbuilding programs as well.

In closing, given the potential savings available to the taxpayer, the benefit to our Navy from additional aircraft carrier force structure, and the predictability and stability to the shipbuilding industrial base, we believe the dual procurement of Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers in fiscal year 2019 should be considered. Therefore, we urge the Department to conclude its analysis of potential savings and, if validated, request all applicable authorities in the upcoming budget request for dual aircraft carrier procurement. Thank you for your consideration and your service to our country.

Source