Defense
U.S. Marine New Hovercraft Sees ‘Significant’ Cost Increases
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Textron Inc.’s new hovercraft for the U.S. Marines, which had been plagued by propeller cracks, gear defects and initial delivery delays, is seeing cost growth of nearly 20% per vessel, according to new Navy figures.
The Ship-To-Shore connector program has seen its total per-ship cost, which includes research, development and procurement amortized over a 72-vessel program, increase more than 18% to about $64 million, according to newly disclosed Navy figures. The procurement cost alone has increased to $56.4 million per vessel from a $47.2 million estimate in 2011, according to the figures.