[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 9 (Friday, February 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       CENTURION ATTACK SUBMARINE

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, recently the Defense Acquisition Board 
[DAB] met to consider whether the Centurion attack submarine was ready 
to move from concept definition to demonstration and validation. The 
DAB adjourned without decision. Instead, Under Secretary of Defense 
Deutch has issued a memorandum that is a concise, thorough summation of 
the cost and technical questions that still linger over the Navy's 
plans for the Centurion. Before Milestone I is approved, Mr. Deutch's 
thoughtful concerns must be addressed.
  Let me say that I have been very impressed by the Under Secretary's 
handling of the DAB. If there is a downside to Mr. Perry's ascension to 
Secretary of Defense, it is that Mr. Deutch, who is likely to advance 
to the Deputy Secretary spot, will be removed from direct oversight of 
acquisition during critical DAB reviews.
  I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Deutch's memorandum for the 
Secretary of the Navy be included in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                               The Under Secretary of Defense,

                                 Washington, DC, January 24, 1994.
     Memorandum for the Secretary of the Navy.
     Attention: Service Acquisition Executive.
     Subject: Follow-up Actions From the January 12 Defense 
         Acquisition Board (DAB) Review of the Proposed New Attack 
         Submarine (NSSN).
       Thank you for the effective presentation to the January 12 
     DAB on the proposed NSSN. A properly planned and executed 
     nuclear attack submarine program is vital to our nation's 
     security. However, in these tight budget times it is 
     essential before granting Milestone I approval that we have 
     the strongest possible rationale for proposed modernization 
     programs if we are to be successful in explaining major new 
     expenditures to the public and the Congress.
       I request that you undertake the following three steps as 
     expeditiously as is reasonable and inform me of their 
     proposed completion dates:
       (1) Under the direction of Bill Lynn of PA&E, please 
     continue to analyze the costs and impact on all elements of 
     the submarine industrial base of the alternative SSN building 
     programs listed in the attachment, both for the upcoming FYDP 
     period FY96-00 and beyond. The Joint Staff, Comptroller, and 
     members of the USD(A&T) staff should be involved as 
     appropriate and kept informed of the progress of this 
     analysis.
       (2) Please arrange for a briefing for me from the 
     appropriate Navy experts on the process and technical trade-
     offs between speed, quieting, payload, combat system, and 
     cost that were explored in arriving at the current NSSN 
     baseline requirements and design. I am particularly 
     interested in understanding the relationship between the 
     power plant size and power density and the speed, 
     displacement, and payload of the design.
       (3) I request your assistance in assembling a group of 
     outside technical experts to review the NSSN baseline 
     design's ability to perform its military missions from the 
     viewpoints of its major characteristics of speed, quieting, 
     payload, combat system, and cost represented in the baseline 
     design. As you know, we have assembled outside groups to 
     support our deliberations in several recent DAB program 
     reviews, and I have found such reviews very useful. This 
     review should provide an independent check that we have asked 
     all the right questions, and I anticipate it will help equip 
     us for questions we will face later in the Spring during 
     congressional budget hearings.
                                                   John M. Deutch.
       Attachment.

   Attachment--Alternative SSN Building Programs for Further Analysis

       Option 1: SSN-23 in FY96/NSSN Starting in FY98 (BASELINE).
       Option 2: SSN-21s Only.
       Option 3: NSSN in FY00/SSN-21s in the interim.
       Option 4: NSSN in FY04/SSN-21s in the interim.
       Option 5: NSSN Only.
       Option 6: Notional ``High Tech'' SSN in FY03/SSN-21s in the 
     interim.

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