Priciest U.S. Warship Spurs Haggling on Who Pays for Crucial Fix

  • General Electric, Huntington Ingalls in talks over the repair
  • Navy asked Congress for $30 million as advance for a fix
The USS Gerald R. Ford in 2017.Source: U.S. Navy/Getty Images 
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Four years after the U.S. Navy’s costliest warship was hobbled by a flaw in its propulsion system, prime contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. and subcontractor General Electric Co. are still haggling over who will pay for fixing the defect.

The $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford was forced to return to port during post-delivery sea trials in early 2018 after the failure of a main thrust bearing, a key propulsion system component that’s made by GE.