Report: Navy can build two Virginia-class subs yearly for foreseeable future
By: Peter Rathmell
The U.S. Navy’s submarine shortage may not be as bad as
once thought, reports
USNI News. A recent Navy
report found that the service can continue adding a pair of Virginia-class
attack submarines to its fleet each year while still incorporating the future
Columbia-class ballistic missile attack subs.
The Navy has been under
fire recently as many of its current ballistic missile attack subs —
Ohio-class — are nearing retirement, creating a potential lack of
deployment-ready submarines. The Columbia-class subs will eventually replace
the Ohio-class, but they will not be ready for construction until 2021.
Originally, the Navy said it would have to build either
two Virginia-class subs per year or one Virginia-class and one Columbia-class
each, according to USNI News.
The report, however, found that building two
Virginia-class subs per year, on top of one Columbia-class — once they are
ready — is a “viable” option and would be highly beneficial for both the Navy
and the industrial base.
“For the Navy to come back with a very strong report
saying, yep, we don’t have to reduce Virginia-class in the Columbia-class
years, to me that needle really moved in terms of the Navy’s confidence, public
confidence, in having all these concurrent efforts stay on track and perform,”
Rep. Joe Courtney told USNI News.
Related post:
Virginia class attack submarine: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment