http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-biz_fordcosts_0925sep26,0,6541131.story?track=rss
Federal investigators raised more red flags Monday on the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, warning that the cost of the Gerald Ford warship will likely exceed budget forecasts.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said the budget for the first in a new line of carriers is "optimistic" and that "substantial risk remains" in the development of new technologies needed for the ship.
Expanding on warnings first issued in July, a new GAO report faults the Navy for providing "insufficient cost surveillance" and for assuming that the complex new ship can be built in less time than was needed for the previous two carriers.
The Ford, scheduled to get under construction in Newport News next year, carries an estimated price tag of $13.7 billion. That includes $8.1 billion for construction and $5.6 billion in design and development work that will be used on all succeeding carriers in the class.
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