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Navy Ship Propulsion: Viability of New Engine Program in Question

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date June 7, 1996
Report No. NSIAD-96-107
Subject
Summary:

Although the Navy has spent more than four years and nearly $225 million in a joint venture with the British and French to develop a new gas turbine ship propulsion system, the effort has encountered serious problems in development. Navy officials have raised many questions about the new engine, including the practicality of using it in the DDG-51 destroyer. They also have concerns about whether the new engine will provide a viable and timely return on the large investment to develop it. GAO urges the Pentagon to reassess the need for this program. As the Navy restructures the engine development program, it must decide how and if it will use the $5.4 million test facility that it built in Philadelphia. The Navy now plans to conduct almost all of its engine testing at a test site in the United Kingdom. The Navy must also decide whether to test the engine at sea in a pilot ship. The cost to do so is estimated as high as $12.5 million.

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