Information Regarding Trident II (D-5) Missile Configured Trident Submarine Costs and Schedule

GAO reviewed the Trident II D-5 missile configured submarine to provide the Navy's: (1) cost information on the program; and (2) scheduled milestone estimates for the program.

Trident submarine program costs will increase for fiscal years 1981-1984 due to the procurement and the installation of the D-5 launch tubes, navigation equipment, and fire control mechanisms. The Navy believes that the restructured program will be less costly than the alternative of installing the C-4 system during new construction and subsequently backfitting these submarines with a D-5 capability. Firm Navy estimates concerning the D-5 impact on Trident program costs are not yet available, but the Navy has provided preliminary costs for the ninth and tenth D-5 configured submarines to Congress. The estimated total cost of $1,692 million for the ninth submarine includes $80 million in one-time costs that are traditionally charged to the lead ship of a class and represents $492 million more than the estimate for construction of the ninth C-4 configured submarine. The preliminary cost estimate of the tenth D-5 configured submarine, $1,816.4 million, represents an increase of $332.2 million over the previously planned tenth C-4 configured Trident submarine. The decision to introduce the D-5 missile system into earlier submarine construction than initially planned will extend some submarine construction timeframes. Program officials estimate that the schedule to construct the ninth, tenth, and eleventh D-5 configured submarine will be extended by 1 year, 1 year, and 4 months respectively. This extension is primarily a result of D-5 government-furnished equipment's not being available to support the construction on these submarines.