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Editorial: No more amphib excuses

Through all the design delays, construction problems and cost overruns that have plagued the amphibious transport dock San Antonio, Navy and industry leaders repeatedly have given the same excuse: You will always have issues with the first ship in a class.

They also said that the follow-on ships — the Navy wants to build at least nine — will benefit from the lessons learned from the first one. That argument floated until mid-August, when the second ship of the class, the New Orleans, fared poorly during its final contract trials.

The verdict for the $1.8 billion ship: New Orleans “cannot support embarked troops, cargo or landing craft” and was deemed “degraded in her ability to conduct sustained combat operations” by Navy inspectors. The ship is supposed to deploy in early 2009.

That’s as bad as it gets when an amphib’s very purpose is to support troops, cargo and landing craft.

Unfortunately for the Navy, one day after the report surfaced, the San Antonio failed to deploy on time with the rest of its strike group because of problems with the stern gate. The ship got underway two days later, but it marked the latest in a long series of high-profile embarrassments for the program.

While bad inspections have many fathers, amphib experts believe most of the blame sits with the decision to accept these ships from Northrop Grumman before they were completed. The Navy has said it’s beneficial to do so because it frees up the shipyards and cuts repair costs. But based on the San Antonio and New Orleans, it also passes along problems to the sailors who have to make the ships work.

These versatile ships are crucial, not only for the many relevant missions they will perform, but also because the Navy has so many old amphibs that need replacing.

Northrop Grumman needs to hold up its end of the contract and deliver state-of-the-art amphibs that are ready and able to get underway. And it is the responsibility of Navy leaders to ensure that sailors and taxpayers aren’t stuck with a lemon.