company:huntington ingalls industries inc.

Navy Seeks $30 Million to Fix Gear That Hobbled Its New Carrier - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/navy-seeks-30-million-to-fix-gear-that-hobbled-its-new-carrier

The Navy is asking Congress to shift $30 million from other accounts to start repairing a damaged gear on the service’s costliest warship, the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.

The request for funds to repair the $13 billion carrier is part of a Pentagon package asking congressional approval to shift $4.7 billion in previously approved Army, Air Force and Navy funding into new programs or higher-priority projects. The package must be approved by all four congressional defense committees, where it’s pending.

The $30 million is needed to pay for repairs to the propulsion-system gear while the carrier’s builder, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., “seeks compensation from the original manufacturer for warranty defects,” Naval Sea Systems spokesman William Couch said in an email.

The Ford was forced to return to port after the failure in January of a “main thrust bearing” that’s a key propulsion system component. It returned to sea after the damage was contained. The defective gear was the result of “machining errors” by a General Electric Co. unit, according to Navy documents. Full repairs will take place during the vessel’s current yearlong shakeout period.

U.S. Navy’s Costliest Vessel Just Got Even Pricier - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-11/navy-busts-12-9-billion-cap-on-costliest-u-s-aircraft-carrier

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iys0TdgPv2xM/v0/1200x800.jpg

The Navy’s costliest vessel ever just got pricer, breaching a $12.9 billion cap set by Congress by $120 million, the service told lawmakers this week.

The extra money for the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. is needed to replace faulty propulsion components damaged in a January failure, extend the vessel’s post-delivery repair phase to 12 months from the original eight months and correct deficiencies with the “Advanced Weapons Elevators” used to move munitions from deep in the ship to the deck.

The elevators on the ship, designated CVN 78, need to be fixed “to preclude any effect on the safety of the ship and personnel,” the Naval Sea Systems Command said in a statement to Bloomberg News on Friday. “Once the adjustment is executed, the cost for CVN 78 will stand at $13.027 billion”, the Navy said.
[…]
Navy officials didn’t disclose the propulsion failure or elevator problems during budget hearings before Congress in recent weeks, and House and Senate lawmakers didn’t ask about it.

Rappel des autres éléments du feuilleton USS General R. Ford :

The Ford’s propulsion system and elevator flaws are separate from reliability issues on its troubled aircraft launch and recovery systems.

After its delivery last May, the ship operated for 70 days and completed 747 shipboard aircraft launches and recoveries, exceeding the goal of about 400, the Navy said.

None of the 11 weapons elevators are operational but at least two are being used for testing “to identify many of the remaining developmental issues for this first-of-class system,” the Navy has said. The command said all 11 elevators “should have been complete and delivered with the ship delivery” in May 2017.

Catapulte, F-35, etc.

Huntington Ingall to Pay $9.2 Million to Settle False Billing Allegations – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/huntington-ingall-pay-9-2-million-settle-false-billing-allegations

U.S. government shipbuilder and defense contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII) has agreed to pay $9.2 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly overbilling the government for labor on U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships at its shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
[…]
The settlement resolves allegations originally raised in a lawsuit brought by Bryon Faulkner, a former HII employee, under the qui tam, or #whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. Faulkner will receive $1,590,144 for bringing the mischarges to attention of the government.

▻https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qui_tam