(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today urged newly appointed Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Mike Mullen to reconsider the Navy’s procurement of the costly DD(X) program.  Admiral Mullen replaces Admiral Vern Clark, a staunch supporter of the DD(X) Next-Generation Multi-Mission Surface Combatant Ship program.  The DD(X) program has already consumed $3.59 billion in research and development.  Projected costs have risen 417 percent, while the total number of ships to be procured has fallen from 24 to 12.

“The appointment of Admiral Mullen presents a fresh opportunity to reassess the DD(X) program,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “The only thing certain about DD(X) is its skyrocketing cost; its defense value and technological feasibility are highly suspect.”

During a July 19 hearing before the House Armed Services Projection Forces Subcommittee, witnesses from the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense were asked to provide estimates of the cost per ship at which the DD(X) would become unaffordable.  Estimates ranged from $4 to $4.5 billion for the lead ship and a cost of $2.5-2.9 billion for the fifth ship in the class.  Although the Navy estimates that the lead DD(X) will cost about $3.3 billion, estimates by others approach the unaffordable price estimates by the Navy and the Department of Defense.  The Congressional Research Service said that the cost may be 20-30% higher than the Navy estimated.  According to the Pentagon’s Cost Analysis Improvement Group, the lead ship will actually cost $4.1 billion.

House authorizers and appropriators have cut funding for the DD(X).  Both the House Defense Authorization and appropriations bills have cut funding for the DD(X), providing $700 million in research and development funds and no ship construction funds.  The House Authorization Bill also includes a $1.7 billion cost cap for the next major surface combatant.  The President’s fiscal 2006 budget request calls for cutting $3 billion and two ships from the DD(X) program.  Senate appropriators have not yet released their DD(X) funding figures.

“With the cost of the war on terror continuing to rise, choices must be made,” said Schatz.  “The DD(X) program is one of the Navy’s three big-ticket shipbuilding programs with major affordability issues and may need to be eliminated.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.