Senators ask Defense secretary to review Navy destroyer plans

A bipartisan group of 12 senators on Thursday asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to review the Navy's decision this week to end its DDG-1000 destroyer program after the first two ships are built and instead buy older but more affordable destroyers.

In a letter, the senators told Gates they were alarmed by the Navy's plans, which follows more than a decade of statements from senior service officials expressing the need to modernize the surface combatant fleet.

"In light of this apparent disconnect between more than a decade of Navy testimony and the recent advocacy against the President's budget, we urge you to undertake a thorough review and evaluation of the Navy's proposal," they wrote.

If the Navy wants to make major changes to its shipbuilding plans, they added, the service should provide a detailed explanation to the relevant committees. "Until such time, we believe the Navy should continue to support the president's fiscal 2009 budget request," they wrote. The fiscal 2009 request includes $2.5 billion for the third DDG-1000.

Senate Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and ranking member Mel Martinez, R-Fla., signed the letter, along with Maine Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who fear program cuts will result in layoffs at their state's Bath Iron Works.