Virginia-class submarine USS Vermont (SSN-792) as she returns home to Submarine Base New London on Thursday, on Dec. 24, 2020. US Navy Photo
Some parts on Virginia-class attack boats are wearing out faster than the Navy anticipated 20 years ago, and buying replacement parts is further straining a nuclear submarine industrial base that’s already juggling an expansion of construction of new hulls and maintaining the current fleet.
Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo
Sailors underway on submarines with steel from a company that pleaded guilty to providing the Navy with fraudulent materials aren’t at risk, the service’s top acquisition official told reporters on Thursday. Read More
Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo
The Columbia ballistic-missile submarine program has seen some COVID-19-related challenges – including difficulties conducting oversight audits to ensure suppliers can keep to the tight schedule that has no room for further delays – but the program executive officer is confident that the prime shipbuilder is managing the situation and keeping the program on track. Read More
Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB-4) under construction at General Dynamics’ NASSCO in San Diego, Calif. NASSCO photo.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy wants to take a holistic look at its surface shipbuilding supply base to understand what areas are healthy and where there’s risk, similar to a previous effort done by the submarine community. Read More
Artist’s rendering of the Columbia-class SSBN submarine. US Navy Image
This post has been updated to include additional information on the Columbia program cost.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy will spend the next year negotiating a contract for the first two hulls in the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program, in a strategy that would get the first two boats on contract and under construction quickly and then insert cost-saving lessons learned into later ships. Read More
