Force Structure: Navy Is Complying With Battleship Readiness Requirements
(Letter Report, 04/12/99, GAO/NSIAD-99-62).
Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Navy's
compliance with the reporting requirements stated in section 1011 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, focusing on
whether the Navy: (1) lists and maintains at least two Iowa class
battleships on the Naval Vessel Register that are in good material
condition and capable of providing adequate fire support for an
amphibious assault; (2) retains the existing logistical support
necessary to keep at least two Iowa class battleships in active service,
including technical manuals, repair and replacement parts, and ordnance;
and (3) keeps the two battleships on the register until the Secretary of
the Navy certifies that the Navy has within the fleet an operational
surface fire support capability that equals or exceeds the fire support
capability that the Iowa class battleships would be able to provide for
the Marine Corps amphibious assaults and operations ashore.
GAO noted that: (1) the Navy is complying with the battleship readiness
requirements stated in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1996; (2) the Navy placed two Iowa Class battleships on the
register about 2 years after the act's requirement took effect; (3) both
ships are in good material condition and have been maintained on the
register in the highest readiness category for inactive ships; (4) the
Navy's Board of Inspection and Surveys had declared all four of the Iowa
Class battleships fit for further service at the time of their last
decommissioning; (5) the Navy is retaining the existing logistical
support necessary for active operations of the battleships, including
technical manuals, repair and replacement parts, and ordnance; (6) the
battleship logistics support structure is largely intact, and according
to the Navy, production of 16-inch ammunition and propellant could be
resumed within a few months; (7) further, two Navy shipyards have the
capabilities and facilities needed to work on battleship-size vessels;
(8) according to officials, the Navy plans to keep the battleships on
the register until its naval surface fire support gun and missile
development programs achieve operational capability, which is estimated
to occur between fiscal year 2003 and 2008; (9) at that time, it plans
to remove the battleships from the register and certify that the fleet
has an operational surface fire-support capability that equals or
exceeds that of the battleships; (10) in the interim, the Navy does not
intend to return any battleships to active service; (11) the Navy states
that the battleships cannot meet naval surface fire support requirements
for range accuracy and cost too much to operate; and (12) the Marine
Corps supports this position.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: NSIAD-99-62
TITLE: Force Structure: Navy Is Complying With Battleship
Readiness Requirements
DATE: 04/12/99
SUBJECT: Reporting requirements
Defense capabilities
Defense contingency planning
Military vessels
Combat readiness
Logistics
Equipment maintenance
Naval warfare
Weapons systems
IDENTIFIER: Naval Vessel Register
U.S.S. Iowa
U.S.S. New Jersey
U.S.S. Missouri
U.S.S. Wisconsin
Tomahawk Cruise Missile
Navy Land Attack Standard Missile
Iowa Class Battleship
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NS99062.book GAO United States General Accounting Office
Report to Congressional Committees
April 1999 FORCE STRUCTURE Navy Is Complying With Battleship
Readiness Requirements
GAO/NSIAD-99-62
GAO/NSIAD-99-62
United States General Accounting Office Washington, D. C. 20548
Lett er
Page 1 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
GAO
National Security and International Affairs Division
B-280495 Letter April 12, 1999 The Honorable John Warner, Chairman
The Honorable Carl Levin, Ranking Minority Member Committee on
Armed Services United States Senate
The Honorable Floyd Spence, Chairman The Honorable Ike Skelton,
Ranking Minority Member Committee on Armed Services House of
Representatives
This letter responds to one of our three reporting requirements
stated in section 1015 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999. The reporting requirements
involve issues associated
with the status and future of the Navy's Iowa class battleships.
This letter addresses our requirement to report on the Navy's
compliance with battleship readiness requirements contained in
section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1996. Specifically, we evaluated the Navy's compliance with
the requirements to (1) list and maintain at least two Iowa class
battleships on the Naval Vessel Register (NVR) that are in good
material condition and capable of providing adequate fire support
for an amphibious assault; (2) retain the existing logistical
support necessary to keep at least two Iowa class battleships in
active service, including technical manuals, repair and
replacement parts, and ordnance;
and (3) keep the two battleships on the register until the
Secretary of the Navy certifies that the Navy has within the fleet
an operational surface fire support capability that equals or
exceeds the fire support capability that the Iowa class
battleships would be able to provide for Marine Corps
amphibious assaults and operations ashore. The NVR is the official
inventory of ships and service craft in custody or titled by the
Navy and includes those assigned to the Military Sealift Command.
Section 1015 also requires us to report on (1) the Navy's plans
for executing the naval surface fire support mission and the
short- term and long- term costs associated with these plans and
(2) the Navy's assessment of
alternative methods and costs for executing the fire support
mission,
B-280495 Page 2 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
including the alternative of reactivating two battleships. As
agreed with your offices, these issues will be addressed in
separate reports.
Results in Brief The Navy is complying with the battleship
readiness requirements stated in the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996. The Navy placed two Iowa
Class battleships on the register about 2 years after the act's
requirement took effect. Both ships are in good material condition
and have been maintained on the register in the highest readiness
category for inactive ships. The Navy's Board of Inspection and
Surveys had declared all four of the Iowa Class battleships fit
for further service at the time of their last decommissioning.
The Navy is retaining the existing logistical support necessary
for active operations of the battleships, including technical
manuals, repair and replacement parts, and ordnance. The
battleship logistics support structure is largely intact, and
according to the Navy, production of 16- inch ammunition and
propellant could be resumed within a few months.
Further, two Navy shipyards have the capabilities and facilities
needed to work on battleship- size vessels.
According to officials, the Navy plans to keep the battleships on
the register until its current naval surface fire support gun and
missile development programs achieve operational capability, which
is estimated to occur between fiscal year 2003 and 2008. At that
time, it plans to remove the battleships from the register and
certify that the fleet has an operational surface fire- support
capability that equals or exceeds that of the
battleships. In the interim, the Navy does not intend to return
any battleships to active service. The Navy states that the
battleships cannot meet current naval surface fire support
requirements for range and
accuracy and cost too much to operate. The Marine Corps supports
this position. Background Four Iowa class battleships were built
for the Navy during World War II.
Each ship is equipped with nine 16- inch guns that can fire a
variety of projectiles weighing up to 2,700 pounds to a range of
23 nautical miles (see fig. 1). Although they were designed
primarily for combat with other ships, the battleships have been
used to strike shore targets and provide fire support to
maneuvering ground troops.
B-280495 Page 3 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
Figure 1: U. S. S. Iowa
Source: U. S. Navy.
Since their construction, these ships have been decommissioned and
reactivated many times and were in inactive service more than in
active service. For example, the U. S. S. Iowa was in inactive
service twice as long as it was in active service (36 years, 9
months, compared to 18 years, 11 months). During the 1980s, the
Navy spent about $1. 7 billion to modernize and reactivate the
four Iowa class battleships U. S. S. Iowa, U. S. S. New Jersey, U.
S. S. Missouri, and U. S. S. Wisconsin. During their
reactivation, each of these ships was fitted with 16 Harpoon and
32 Tomahawk missile launchers, along with updated communications,
fire control, and target acquisition systems. After the Cold War,
the Navy again decommissioned these ships, but it kept them in a
mobilization status and
B-280495 Page 4 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
maintained their logistical support structure. The U. S. S.
Missouri and the U. S. S. Wisconsin were used in the Gulf War to
provide Tomahawk missile strikes and naval surface fire support
(NSFS) to ground forces. The Navy decommissioned these two
battleships in 1991 and 1992. All four were removed from the
register in 1995.
Ships removed from the NVR can be disposed of by donation and used
as memorials, sold to foreign governments, or scrapped. When the
Iowa class battleships were removed in 1995, the Navy intended for
them to be
donated and used as memorials. When the battleships were listed on
the NVR in February 1998, they were placed in maintenance category
B, which is the highest category for a mobilization asset. To
preserve vessels in a category B, the Navy dehumidifies them,
provides a special protection to the hull, and installs fire and
flooding alarms.
Battleships in Good Condition Added to Naval Register
About 2 years after section 1011 was enacted, the Navy reinstated
two battleships on the NVR. Navy officials said part of the delay
in complying with section 1011 was caused by the 1996 Department
of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act's prohibition against spending
any of the appropriated funds to return any Iowa class battleships
to the NVR or to retain the logistical support necessary to
support such a battleship in active service.
There was also a lack of action on the Navy's part to reinstate
the battleships on the NVR after the funding prohibition expired.
However, the Navy had suspended demilitarization and stopped the
disposal of parts
before section 1011 was enacted. According to the Navy, as
originally drafted, section 1011 would have required the Navy to
list the two battleships that were in the best condition on the
NVR. These were the U. S. S. Missouri and the
U. S. S. Wisconsin. However, since the U. S. S. Missouri was in
the process of being donated, the requirement was changed from
best to good condition in the final bill. The Navy's Board of
Inspection and Surveys had declared all four of the remaining Iowa
class battleships fit for further service at the time of their
last decommissioning. Since the Navy considered all four
battleships to be in good condition, it placed the
U. S. S. New Jersey and the U. S. S. Wisconsin on the NVR and
cleared the way for donation of the U. S. S. Missouri.
Since February 1998, the Navy has listed these two battleships (U.
S. S. Wisconsin and U. S. S. New Jersey) on the NVR in
mobilization category B, the highest readiness category for
inactive ships that can be
B-280495 Page 5 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
recalled to active service in an emergency. Before section 1011
was enacted, the Navy had begun to demilitarize the U. S. S. New
Jersey by welding down the training mechanisms of its 16- inch
guns. Despite this action, the Navy selected the U. S. S. New
Jersey over the U. S. S. Iowa,
which had one of its 16- inch gun turrets rendered inoperable, due
to an earlier explosion 1 because repair cost estimates for the
latter were greater. In the Strom Thurmond National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999, Congress directed the Navy
to substitute the U. S. S. Iowa for the
U. S. S. New Jersey on the NVR and to arrange for its donation.
The Navy made this change in January 1999. Officials from the Navy
Inactive Fleet said the three battleships are in good material
condition and the two listed on the NVR are being maintained in
the highest readiness category for inactive ships. Our visual
inspection of these three ships and our review of documentation on
the ships' condition confirm the Navy's statement.
Necessary Logistic Support Being Retained
The Navy is complying with the section 1011 requirement to retain
the existing logistical support necessary to keep at least two
operational Iowa class battleships in active service, including
technical manuals, repair and replacement parts, and ordnance. The
Navy estimates that it costs about $600,000 annually to maintain
three battleships in the inactive fleet and about $440,000 per
year to store and maintain the 16- inch ammunition and propellant
powder. The Navy did not provide an estimate for sustaining the
other parts of the battleship logistic support structure.
The Navy is storing most of the battleship repair parts inventory
in the climate- controlled interiors of the U. S. S. New Jersey
and the
U. S. S. Wisconsin. Technical manuals for the battleships have
also been consolidated on these two ships. Additional spare and
replacement parts are stored primarily at naval facilities at
Bell, California; Bremerton, Washington; and Crane, Indiana.
According to the Navy, the current inventory of unique and other
spare parts is adequate to keep two battleships in active service
for a number of years. If needed, additional battleship- unique
parts could be manufactured, or made available by
cannibalizing ships that have been donated, as was the practice
when the Navy reactivated the Iowa class ships in the 1980s.
1 See Issues Arising From an Explosion Aboard the Battleship Iowa
(GAO/NSIAD-91-4, Jan. 29, 1991).
B-280495 Page 6 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
There was some concern about the availability of very large
hammerhead cranes needed for future battleship repair work (e. g.,
repair of the damaged turret on the U. S. S. Iowa). We verified
with Navy officials that the naval shipyards at Norfolk, Virginia,
and Bremerton, Washington, have cranes that are large and powerful
enough to service battleships.
The Navy is currently maintaining 26 usable 16- inch gun barrel
spares at Hawthorne, Nevada, and Dahlgren and Portsmouth,
Virginia. About 15,000 rounds of usable 16- inch gun ammunition
and associated propellant charges are stored at the Army
Ammunition Plant, McAlester, Oklahoma, the Crane Army Ammunition
Activity (CAAA), Crane, Indiana, and the Hawthorne Army Depot,
Nevada. CAAA still maintains a 16- inch ammunition repair and
renovation capability and operable propellant mixing and stacking
machinery. Thus, according to CAAA officials, production of 16-
inch projectile bodies could be restarted in only a few
months, at an estimated cost of $7,000 per projectile. Final
assembly of the 16- inch projectiles would be performed at the
Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Oklahoma. Officials there said
that the explosive pressing and
fuse installation assembly line could be restarted within a year,
at an estimated average cost of $3,000 per projectile, and that
they would also need about $600,000 to restore and modernize the
production facility.
The Navy has estimated the cost of maintaining battleships in the
inactive fleet at about $200,000 per ship, per year, which
excludes the cost of sustaining the battleship logistics support
structure. Because the ships are
maintained under dehumidification and special rust protection,
maintenance of parts on board costs nothing extra. According to
CAAA officials, DOD's cost to store and maintain the 16- inch
ammunition and propellant powder there is about $294,000 per year.
Annual storage costs to DOD for 16- inch ammunition and propellant
at the Hawthorne Army Depot and the McAlester Army Ammunition
Plant are about $121,000 and
$26,000, respectively. Navy Plans to Keep Battleships on the
Register
Section 1011 required the Navy to list and keep two battleships on
the NVR until the Secretary of the Navy certified that the Navy
has within the fleet an operational surface fire support
capability that equals or exceeds the
fire support capability that the Iowa class battleships would be
able to provide for Marine Corps amphibious assaults and
operations ashore. With the retirement of the battleships, the
Navy's existing surface fire support capabilities are limited to
5- inch/ 54 caliber guns and munitions on cruisers
B-280495 Page 7 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
and destroyers. These munitions, however, lack the range,
accuracy, and lethality the Marine Corps says it needs for naval
fire support. To address this deficiency, the Navy initiated a
near- and long- term program
to develop NSFS capabilities. The near- term phase of the program
consists of developing a modified 5- inch/ 62 caliber gun and
precision guided munitions with a 41- 63 nautical mile range and a
land attack missile for the current classes of destroyers and
cruisers. The Navy and the Marine Corps stated that they need
naval gunfire support to these ranges to meet current
requirements. The gun and precision guided munition are expected
to reach operational capability 2 in fiscal year 2002. The Navy
expects the Land Attack Standard Missile to reach operational
capability in fiscal year 2003. The long- term phase consists of
developing more lethal and longer range guns, projectiles, and
missiles.
Navy officials state that they plan to remove the battleships from
the NVR as soon as they can certify that the performance of the
gun, projectiles, and missiles being developed equals or exceeds
that of the battleships. Navy officials believe their development
programs will achieve operational capabilities between fiscal year
2003 and 2008 and then they will be able to make the required
certification.
Agency Comments In written comments, DOD concurred with a draft of
this report (see app. I). DOD also provided technical
clarifications that we incorporated as appropriate.
Scope and Methodology To determine the extent of the Navy's
compliance with the requirements of
section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1996, we:
interviewed officials and obtained documentation from the Office
of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, the Naval
Sea Systems Command, and its subordinate activities; inspected
the U. S. S. Iowa, the U. S. S. New Jersey, and the
U. S. S. Wisconsin and discussed their condition with officials
from the 2 Initial operational capability is the first attainment
of the capability to employ effectively a weapon, item of
equipment, or system of approved specific characteristics with the
appropriate number, type, and mix of trained and equipped
personnel necessary to operate, maintain, and support the system.
B-280495 Page 8 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
Headquarters, Navy Inactive Fleet, and subordinate maintenance
activities in Bremerton, Washington, Newport, Rhode Island,
Portsmouth, Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
reviewed documentation regarding the condition of the battleships
from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy; and viewed and
received briefings and documentation on 16- inch ammunition
production facilities and ammunition, propellant, and parts
storage facilities at NSWC Crane; ammunition and spare gun barrels
stored at the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant; and spare gun
barrels
located at Dahlgren, and Norfolk, Virginia. We conducted our
review from July 1998 through December 1998 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
We are also sending copies of this report to Senator Ted Stevens,
Chairman, and Senator Robert C. Byrd, Ranking Minority Member,
Senate Committee on Appropriations; Representative C. W. Bill
Young, Chairman, and Representative David R. Obey, Ranking
Minority Member, House Committee on Appropriations. We are also
sending copies of this report to the Honorable William Cohen,
Secretary of Defense; the Honorable Richard
Danzig, Secretary of the Navy; the Honorable William J. Lynn,
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); and the Honorable Jacob
Lew, Director, Office of Management and Budget. Copies will also
be made available to others upon request.
Please contact me at (202) 512- 4841 if you have any questions
about this report. The major contributors to this report are
listed in appendix II. James F. Wiggins Associate Director Defense
Acquisitions Issues
Page 9 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
Appendix I Comments From the Secretary of Defense Appendi x I
Page 10 GAO/NSIAD-99-62 Force Structure
Appendix II Major Contributors to This Report Appendi x I I
National Security and International Affairs Division, Washington,
D. C.
Martha J. Dey Jack G. Perrigo, Jr. Richard J. Price
Office of General Counsel, Washington, D. C.
Stephanie J. May Norfolk Field Office Anton G. Blieberger
(707369) Let t er
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