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Summary:
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is to be a small, fast Navy surface combatant with modular weapon systems. Two industry teams are developing separate designs for the LCS. For FY2006, the Navy has requested $613.3 million for the program, including $240.5 million in research and development funding to build the second LCS, $336.0 million in additional research and development funding, and $36.8 million in procurement funding for LCS mission modules. The Navy may want to build 63 to 82 LCSs. A 63- to 82-ship program might have a total acquisition cost of about $25.3 billion to $32.7 billion. The LCS program raises several issues for Congress. For a longer discussion of the LCS program, see CRS Report RL32109.1 This report will be updated as events warrant.
