The US Navy’s Virginia-class submarine has reached its ‘Moment of Truth’

What you need to know: The U.S. Navy’s “Navigation Plan for the U.S. Warfare Navy” sets a goal of having 80% of the fleet combat-ready by 2027 to counter China’s military buildup. However, delays and budget overruns, especially on the Virginia-class submarine program, are putting this timeline in jeopardy.

-Projected costs for these submarines have exceeded budgets by $17 billion, and production schedules are two to three years behind. Congressman Ken Calvert and other critics have raised concerns about transparency in the Navy’s shipbuilding programs.

-Deficiencies in the maritime industrial base and skilled labor shortages also pose serious challenges, raising questions about the Navy’s readiness for a potential conflict with China.

Will Delayed Virginia Submarines Have an Impact on the U.S. Navy’s China Strategy?

In September, the US Navy announced it would adopt a new strategy to counter the military buildup underway in China. The Navy’s “Navigation Plan for the US War Navy” calls for preparedness for a possible conflict with the People’s Republic. of China before the end of this decade.

“By 2027, the Navy will be better prepared for sustained combat as part of a joint and combined force, prioritizing the PRC as the pace challenge,” the report said.

The timeline is “directly linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s goal of enabling the PLA to invade Taiwan by 2030,” Marine Insight reported. The US Navy aims to have more than 80% of its fleet ready for combat by the deadline.

However, it appears that the US Navy still has a lot of work to do, and a number of hurdles to overcome to achieve its goals. This includes the latest block of nuclear-powered Virginia-class fast attack submarines, now expected to cost more than $17 billion over its planned budget through the end of the decade.

This is “an issue emblematic of a crisis in the program,” Bloomberg reported, citing the House of Representatives’ top lawmaker on defense spending.

“It is clear that the Navy and shipbuilders have known about this shortage for at least 18 months (but) Congress was only notified two weeks ago,” said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-California), chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. in a statement ahead of last Thursday’s secret hearing with U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.

Virginia class boats are running late

The U.S. Navy has experienced significant delays with the Virginia-class boats, and the newest submarines are less than two or even three years behind schedule as prices continue to rise.

Calvert further suggested that the Virginia class is just one of many U.S. Navy programs that are “in crisis,” and he strongly criticized the naval service for not making the problems public.

“It is not clear to me that anyone other than the program’s executive officers has accurate information about the trajectory of any shipbuilding program, and since they change every two years, opportunities for long-term accountability are limited,” Calvert added to it. “For too long, this committee has been in a position to wonder what the Navy is hiding behind the curtain. It’s time to pull the curtain all the way down.”

The two prime contractors for the Virginia-class submarines, General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), were contracted to build two submarines per year, but as Bloomberg reported, the defense companies are only “on average completing one plus 20 % of submarines’. work on building a second submarine.”

It is now estimated that the companies “will not reach the biennial rate until 2028”, and more worryingly, the delays will not only impact the US Navy but could also “undermine” the AUKUS alliance with Australia. and the United Kingdom, as the US was accused of selling Canberra the first of as many as five Virginia-class boats from 2032.

Everything about that base

The U.S. Navy has acknowledged the issue, but in a statement after the hearing the service said it “advocates for improvements to the maritime industrial base and increasing funding to ensure the Navy meets its acquisition goals.”

For its part, the Navy has “established an independent Naval Cost Agency to improve cost estimates and established a Maritime Industrial Base Program to manage funding to support the industrial base.”

The source of the problem is easy to see. Since the 1970s, fourteen ‘defence-related shipyards’ have closed, while only one new shipyard has opened. In addition, the number of companies still active in the shipbuilding sector has decreased. In addition, the shipbuilding industry faces an ongoing challenge to attract, train and retain skilled workers. Just as the U.S. military is struggling to fill its ranks, the shipbuilding industry is facing a very serious labor shortage. There are not enough new workers to replace those who retire.

Given these problems, the U.S. Navy may have to reconsider how it will be ready to take on China in just over two years.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu, Defense expert

Peter Suciu is a writer from Michigan. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites with more than 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He writes regularly about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics and international affairs. Peter is also one Contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can send the author an email: (email protected).

Image credits: Creative Commons and/or Shutterstock.