Breaking: Navy takes control of shipbuilding

This sounds like good news for our troubled, Cold War era shipyards. From the Washington Post:

Stung by cost overruns, the Navy is looking to return to a
past when it controlled the shipbuilding process from beginning to end.
The
change follows a period when the Navy told shipyards what it wanted the ships to
do and then let them deliver rather than getting mired in design details....The
growing cost of warships in recent years has led the Navy to reduce its orders,
and the resulting loss of economies of scale has driven costs of individual
warships even higher. That spiral has left everyone unhappy, including the Navy,
members of Congress, defense contractors _ and shipbuilders who fear for their
jobs...

Critics say the Navy should shoulder some of the blame for
escalating costs for asking for too many features on its ships. Also,
shipbuilders account for only a portion of a ship's cost. Much of it is devoted
to high-tech weapons systems made elsewhere.

Let me say "Amen" to the last comment, and add that Congress is also to blame. Navy should be asking for ships that are "good enough" and can be placed into service quickly, rather than decades long gestation periods which allow costs to skyrocket. This could go for planes, armored vehicles, as well as ships. And the politicians should see this to fruition.