Memos to Shipyards from Navy Leadership

The following are a pair of November memos from Navy acquisition chief James Geurts and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday to the U.S. shipbuilders. 

MEMORANDUM FOR AMERICA’S SHIP BUILDERS, MAINTAINERS, AND SUPPLIERS
Nov. 3, 2020

SUBJECT: Thank you and Keep Them Sailing Keeping the US Navy’s ships operating non-stop around the globe has been a hallmark of the United States Navy and its shipyards since the beginning of our great nation. The onset of the COVID pandemic this year, during a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/20/memos-to-shipyards-from-navy-leadership

Navy Confident It Could Build 3 Virginia SSNs a Year, Though More Study Needed On Shipyard Capacity

Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo

The Navy has “full confidence we can ramp up” to building three attack submarines per year if the Navy buildup proposed by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper were to be enacted, despite ongoing delays in Block IV Virginia-class construction, the program executive officer for submarines said today.

Esper’s Battle Force 2045 called for the Navy to reach 70 to 80 attack submarines, and he specifically ca...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/18/navy-confident-it-could-build-3-virginia-ssns-a-year-though-more-study-needed-on-shipyard-capacity

Submarine Industrial Base Ready to Grow – But Only If Pentagon, Congress Send the Right Signals

Virginia-class submarine Delaware (SSN-791) was moved out of a construction facility into a floating dry dock using a transfer car system in 2018. HII Photo

Huntington Ingalls Industries is confident its businesses are well-positioned for whatever the future of the Navy is – whether it’s the implementation of the Pentagon’s Battle Force 2045 plan or something else implemented by new leadership, according to the chief executive.

HII president and CEO Mike Petters told investors on Thursday that...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/06/submarine-industrial-base-ready-to-grow-but-only-if-pentagon-congress-send-the-right-signals

Bollinger Shipyards awarded contract for submarine drydock

Bollinger Shipyards LLC announced that it will build a state-of-the-art, floating drydock for General Dynamics Electric Boat to support the construction and maintenance of the U.S.’s new Columbia Class of ballistic missile submarines.

“Bollinger Shipyards is pleased to expand our current relationship with Electric Boat and to play a critical role in increasing the number of U.S. built drydocks to meet the expanding need to modernize and refurbish our nation’s aging fleet,” said Bollinger...

https://www.workboat.com/news/shipbuilding/bollinger-awarded-contract-for-submarine-drydock/

Senate Passes FY 2021 Defense Authorization Bill by Large Margin

The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN 780) departs Pearl Harbor on May 10, 2020, after completing a scheduled extended dry-docking selected restricted availability (EDSRA). Missouri’s routine maintenance and modernization work was completed five days ahead of schedule after successful sea trials and certification. US Navy photo

The Senate passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act with an 86 to 14 vote, following the House passing its...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/23/senate-passes-fy-2021-defense-authorization-bill-by-large-margin