Program Executive Office for Submarines

SECNAV: New Virginia Attack Boat Contracts Still Stalled Over Missile Insurance Issue; Lockheed, Northrop Clear SHypersonic Deal with Navy

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy and General Dynamics are still at an impasse over an insurance spat that has resulted in the 11-month delay to contracts for two Virginia-class attack submarines, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told USNI News on Wednesday.

The service and the submarine builder disagree on the share of responsibility in the event of an accident occurring either during...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/11/secnav-new-virginia-attack-boat-contracts-still-stalled-over-missile-insurance-issue-lockheed-northrop-clear-shypersonic-deal-with-navy

Virginia Attack Boat Program Stalled Over Tomahawk, Hypersonic Missile Insurance Rift

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

THE PENTAGON — Advanced procurement contracts for two of the Navy’s Block V Virginia-class attack submarines have been stalled for 10 months due to an impasse between the service and its lead submarine builder over insurance related to Tomahawk missiles and future hypersonic weapons, USNI News has learned.

General Dynamics and the Navy are split over which organization should be...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/15/virginia-attack-boat-program-stalled-over-tomahawk-hypersonic-missile-insurance-rift

Hypersonic Weapons on Track to Deploy on Attack Submarines in 2028

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy is still on track to deploy hypersonic weapons on its attack submarines in 2028, a service official said Thursday.

While the first Zumwalt-class destroyer will get a hypersonic weapon in 2025, the first Virginia-class submarine will deploy with hypersonics in 2028, Strategic Systems Programs director Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe said today at the annual Naval...

https://news.usni.org/2021/11/18/hypersonic-weapons-on-track-to-deploy-on-attack-submarines-in-2028

CBO Report on Nuclear Submarine Maintenance

The following is the March 24, 2021 Congressional Budget Office report, The Capacity of the Navy’s Shipyards to Maintain Its Submarines.

From the report

The U.S. Navy’s 70 submarines represent nearly one-quarter of its total fleet. Like all naval ships, those submarines require several periods of intensive maintenance during their service life. Navy policy dictates that most maintenance on nuclear-powered ships (all U.S. submarines are nuclear-powered) be performed by the four shipyards it owns...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/26/cbo-report-on-nuclear-submarine-maintenance

Submarine Force Changing Training, Acquisition to Focus on Warfare Against Sophisticated Adversary

Fire Control Technician 3rd Class Jacob Thompson, from Cleburne, Texas, initiates a Mark 48 advanced-capability torpedo launch aboard the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Chicago (SSN-721) in support of Valiant Shield 2020. US Navy Photo

The submarine fleet has shifted its focus from operational readiness to warfighting readiness, and with that new mindset has come changes in how the fleet conducts training, acquisition and maintenance, several officials said last week.

After a...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/25/submarine-force-changing-training-acquisition-to-focus-on-warfare-against-sophisticated-adversary

Navy New Virginia Block VI Virginia Attack Boat Will Inform SSN(X)

USS Vermont (SSN-792) transits the Thames River while conducting routine operations on Oct. 15, 2020. US Navy Photo

The submarine community is nearing a plan for its Block VI Virginia-class submarine, which will be an improvement in stealth and capability compared to the boats under construction today and will be a bridge to the upcoming SSN(X) program.

The Block V Virginia submarines – the first three of which have already begun construction – represent the first time the Navy has made a major...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/20/navy-new-virginia-block-vi-virginia-attack-boat-will-inform-ssnx

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

Navy Has ‘Mitigated’ Risk of Suspect Steel From Company in Federal Fraud Case

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.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts said the Navy had evaluated the potential risks for suspect steel that was used to build Navy submarines from...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/19/navy-has-mitigated-risk-of-suspect-steel-from-company-in-federal-fraud-case

Navy Studying Health of Surface Ship Supply Base

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.

Program Executive Officer for Ships Rear Adm. Bill Galinis said earlier this month at the annual Surface Navy Association conference that...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/29/navy-studying-health-of-surface-ship-supply-base

Sub Builders Confident Young Workforce Can Keep Virginia Attack Boats On Track

Virginia-class submarine Washington (SSN-787) under construction in 2016 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. HII Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy’s ability to keep on track its top acquisition program, the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, rests heavily on its ability to keep the Virginia-class attack boat program on track – something the two submarine builders have struggled with in recent years amid challenges with their workforce and supplier base as the Virginia program increased to a...

https://news.usni.org/2019/12/03/sub-builders-confident-young-workforce-can-keep-virginia-attack-boats-on-track

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