The life-cycle cost estimates for the Coast Guard Deepwater program’s suite of sensors, computers and communication equipment has swelled from $1.3 billion to $6.7 billion, according to government auditors.
The Deepwater program is a system of small boats, ships and aircraft that will be tied together in a network of command, control, computer, communication systems, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors (C4ISR).
Some of the increased costs can be attributed to a change in accounting, a recent Government Accountability Office overview of the program said.
The 2007 baseline budget life-cycle costs for these systems was estimated at $1.3 billion, but that was when operations and maintenance of the electronics were included in the individual ship or aircraft program.
Parsing the C4ISR out into its own accounting category is one reason for the higher number, but the GAO warned that these costs may go higher because of all the unknowns associated with integrating ever-changing technologies into the program’s new fleets of small boats, ships and aircraft.
There are several other factors for the ballooning costs, GAO said.
After cost overruns and delays attributed to a lack of oversight of prime contractor, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, the service took control of the program in 2007. That meant taking responsibility for tasks normally carried out by the contractor.
“When the Coast Guard made the decision to become system integrator, it also assumed greater oversight of the software development and maintenance associated with C4ISR,” the government watchdog said. It must now establish and fund laboratories to develop, integrate and support the software.
Recent requirements to upgrade software for security reasons have also increased costs.
Since the Coast Guard has not fully defined all the capabilities it wants its C4ISR systems to perform, especially in the latter years of the program, coming up with cost projections is nearly impossible, GAO suggested.
The complex nature of the systems, in which one segment builds on another, could “lead to cascading effects on cost and schedule if one is delayed,” the GAO warned.
As reported last year, the overall Deepwater baseline budget has increased from $24.2 billion to $28 billion and is no longer “feasible,” GAO said. It recommended that the service deliver a comprehensive review of the program including “what trade-offs need to be made considering fiscal constraints.”