The Virgina-class USS Idaho was christened in a ceremony on March 16. - Bloomberg
Washington: The US Navy’s new Virginia-class submarines are projected to run US$17bil over their planned budget through 2030, a problem emblematic of a crisis in the programme, the House’s top lawmaker on defence spending says.
“It’s clear that the Navy and shipbuilders have known about this shortfall for at least 18 months” but “Congress was notified just two weeks ago,” Representative Ken Calvert, chairman of the House defence appropriations subcommittee, said in remarks released last Thursday before a classified hearing with Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
The programme for a new generation of nuclear-powered subs being manufactured by General Dynamics Corp and HII “has slipped two to three years” behind schedule “and is experiencing extraordinary cost growth”, Calvert said.
The US$17bil shortfall will increase the programme’s projected US$184bil total cost if the Navy can’t close the gap by finding ways to cut expenditures.
Several Navy ship programmes, including the Virginia class, “are in crisis,” he said. Calvert, a California Republican and usually an enthusiastic supporter of defence programmes, lambasted the Navy for what he called a lack of candour in disclosing problems and for poor metrics in overseeing multibillion-dollar programmes.
“It’s not clear to me that anyone has accurate information about the trajectory of any shipbuilding programme other than the programme executive officers – and since they switch out every two years, the options for long-term accountability are limited,” Calvert said.
“For too long, this committee has been put in a position of asking what the Navy is hiding behind the curtain. It’s time to pull down the curtain altogether,” he said.
The Navy said in a statement after the hearing that Del Toro “has been advocating for improvements to the maritime industrial base, and to increase funding to ensure the Navy meets its acquisition objectives”.
To demonstrate fiscal responsibility, the Navy has set up “an independent Naval Cost Agency to improve cost estimations and created a Maritime Industrial Base programme to manage the funding supporting the industrial base,” according to the statement.
The Navy said it’s working to improve ship design processes and investing in modern facilities.
General Dynamics spokesman Jeff Davis declined to comment last Friday. A representative for HII said the company would comment before House members on Friday.
The Virginia-class submarine is armed with both torpedoes and land-attack missiles and, starting later this year, with anti-ship Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The vessels are intended to give the United States a crucial advantage in any conflict with China. — Bloomberg
