The successful on-time completed island lift on the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) on 29 May at the Newport News Shipbuilding dry dock shows that, despite recent US Government Accountability Office (GAO) concerns to the contrary, the shipbuilder is meeting schedule and manpower estimates, James Geurts, assistant US Navy (USN) secretary of the navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, said at an on-ship ceremony for the event.
Newport News Shipbuilding successfully completed the island-lift for the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) on schedule. (Michael Fabey)
“The proof is in the pudding,” Geurts said, standing on the carrier deck near the newly installed island. “And we are standing on the proof.”
GAO had called into question USN cost and labour predictions.
“Costs for CVN 79 are also likely to increase as a result of optimistic cost and labor targets, putting the ship at risk of exceeding its USD11.4 billion cost cap,” the GAO said in a report on major Pentagon progammes released on 7 May.
“The CVN 79 cost estimate assumes unprecedented construction efficiency—labor hours will be 18% lower than CVN 78,” the GAO reported. “However, our analysis shows the shipbuilder is not meeting this goal and is unlikely to improve performance enough to meet cost and labor targets.”
Geurts contended the labour costs for Kennedy are 18% below those of CVN 78 thus far. CVN, now about 58% complete, will be ready for delivery about three months early, in November 2019, he said.
He also said the navy expects to see an additional 18% labour cost reduction for the Enterprise (CVN 80).
This article, first published 29 May 2019, has been updated with new imagery.
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