§8669c Assessments required prior to start of construction on first ship of a shipbuilding program

Summary

The Secretary of the Navy must wait 15 days after sending a report to Congress and making two written promises before allowing work to start on the first ship in a major shipbuilding program. The Secretary must say that a production readiness review supports starting construction and must say that at least 95 percent of the basic and functional design drawing packages are finally approved. The report must say how finished the design drawings are, whether the shipyard and workers are ready, the Navy’s estimated delivery date and any risks, whether the program has ways to track and manage risks, how the Navy will oversee the first ship’s construction, a clear definition of “start of construction” for the first ship (and that this definition is not after 5 percent of lightship displacement or after advance procurement/advance construction), any hull or superstructure work done early, and how vendor and government information shows the design is mature (including vendor selection, final specs, and factory testing). Definitions: basic and functional design = computer models (3D for manned combatants) that show hull, hydrodynamics, and major systems routing; first ship = the first built in the program or the first at a yard that hasn’t started that program before; major shipbuilding program = construction of combatant and support vessels in the annual naval vessel construction plan; production readiness review = a formal check before building to confirm design and production planning are ready.