The latest issue of the annual Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment of major defense acquisition programs outlined remaining risks to the design and on-time production of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN).
In its Defense Acquisition Annual Assessment, published June 3, the GAO noted while the Navy reports the nuclear reactor technology as mature since 2018, “several other technologies we previously identified as critical remain immature.”
The GAO explained that manufacturing challenges delayed delivery of the first production-representative motor for the integrated power system by two years to 2019.
“The Navy still plans to concurrently test the motor, update its design, and build the lead submarine’s motor, then deliver the integrated power system to the shipyard in October 2022 as scheduled despite the compressed timeframe created by this delay,” the report says.
The Navy also does not expect the propulsor and shafting to reach maturity until the lead vessel is delivered in fiscal year 2026 because the Navy does not plan to test all components together in their final form and function before delivery.
However, “if deficiencies in these immature technologies emerge during testing, they could cause costly and time-intensive design changes and re-work, jeopardizing the lead submarine’s first patrol date,” the GAO warned.
The Navy plans starting around 2030 to deploy the 12-vessel Columbia-class fleet, which will ultimately replace today’s 14 Ohio-class boats.
The GAO report notes that as of September 2019, shipbuilder General Dynamics [GD] Electric Boat completed 100% of the basic and functional design of the submarine. However, the GAO still said “risks to design stability remain.”
Notably, it said design stability is based on assumptions about the final form, fit, and function of critical technologies and how they will perform in a realistic environment. However, the program has not demonstrated that yet.
