Northrop Grumman Corp. cost overruns on the first two vessels in the U.S. Navy's new class of amphibious warfare ships, already $1 billion, could increase by $300 million more, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.
That would bring the cost of these first two of a planned nine vessels to about $3 billion, or 76% more than their budgeted cost of $1.7 billion, the GAO said in an 85-page report. The U.S. taxpayer pays all of Northrop's cost overruns on the program, according to the Navy's contract with its No. 1 shipbuilder.
