Navy Eyes $1 Billion Support Ships To Supply Carrier Strike Groups

Sea Power, Oct 2004 by Burgess, Richard R

The new carrier will have no engine overhaul facility for the Joint Strike Fighter, Clarey said, so the T-AOE(X) will need the capability to transfer the heavy engines to and from the carrier.

Because the T-AOE(X) is an auxiliary ship, the Navy could fund it through the National Defense Sealift Fund, said Ron O'Rourke, a naval analyst with the Congressional Research Service. The Sealift Fund is managed separately from the Navy budget and was established by Congress in fiscal year 1993 to build, operate and maintain DoD sealift ships.

However, Congress has permitted the Navy to fund some T-AKE ships through the Sealift Fund, even though they are Navy auxiliaries rather than sealift ships. Congress has signaled its support for funding other auxiliaries procured through the Sealift Fund, as well.

The Sealift Fund enables the government to pay for ships incrementally. Ships procured through the Navy budget are nominally required to be fully funded in the year they are purchased.

O'Rourke cautioned that although the ongoing analysis of alternatives is directed at refining the characteristics of the T-AOE(X), broader issues may alter the direction of the program. He cited such examples as the Joint Command and Control Ship concept, which morphed into a command module on a prepositioning ship, and the changing design of the LHA(R), an amphibious assault ship. The outcome of these programs could affect the design of the T-AOE(X).

By RICHARD R. BURGESS

Managing Editor