As of the end of FY2004, the Navy operated 35 amphibious ships, and the Military Sealift Command operated 16 maritime prepositioning force (MPF) ships for the Marine Corps. The Navy is currently building a new amphibious assault ship called LHD-8 and also is procuring new LPD-17 class amphibious ships. A total of 12 LPD-17s were originally planned, but the FY2006-FY2011 Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) proposes reducing that figure to 9, with the final 2 to be procured in FY2006 and FY2007. The FY2006-FY2011 FYDP also calls for procuring new-design amphibious assault ships called LHA(R)s in FY2007 and FY2010, for starting procurement of a new type of MPF ship called the MPF(F) in FY2009, and for starting procurement of two new types of sealift 'connector' ships in FY2009 and FY2010. Three developments have caused the Navy to reconsider its plans for procuring amphibious ships, maritime prepositioning ships, and connector ships. One is a new concept of operations for conducting expeditionary operations ashore, called enhanced networked sea-basing, or sea- basing for short. A second is a new concept for crewing and deploying Navy ships called Sea Swap. A third is the rising Navy ship procurement costs. These developments have led to uncertainty concerning the total number of LPD-17s to be procured; the design, unit cost, and total number of LHA(R)s to be procured; the total number of amphibious ships to be maintained in the fleet; the design, unit cost, and total number of MPF(F) ships to be procured; and the designs, unit costs, and total numbers of connector ships to be procured. Uncertainty in Navy plans for procuring amphibious ships, maritime prepositioning ships, and connector ships can contribute to business-planning uncertainty for the firms that build these ships, and can make it potentially more difficult for Congress to conduct effective oversight of these programs. The issue for Congress is how to respond to uncertainty in Navy plans regarding these ships.


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