Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told senators that industry is ready for and able to build two Virginia-class attack submarines in fiscal 2021, even though the administration’s budget request would fund only one.
The Navy is under a Block V multiyear procurement contract that covers nine vessels with an option for a 10th. However, funding for the second boat would be used to help increase the National Nuclear Security Administration’s 2021 budget to almost $20 billion, 25% more than the 2020 appropriation of more than $16.5 billion.
During last week’s hearing, Gilday told the Senate Armed Services Committee he visited General Dynamics Electric Boat’s facility in Groton, Conn., recently and “I left that shipyard confident about the capability of that yard to produce boats at the rate of two a year … and they are planning for the significant increase of the work when the Columbia build begins in earnest. But that is a passionate, well-trained workforce up there and I think that they can handle two boats per year based on what I’ve seen.”
The Navy has contracted Electric Boat to build 12 Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines to replace the current fleet of Ohio-class vessels. The new boats are scheduled for deployment beginning in the 2030s and continuing into the 2080s.
Under questioning from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Gilday said the Navy is looking at how it can help mitigate workforce losses at General Dynamics Electric Boat by moving workers to Navy shipyards.
“With the lack of a submarine in the ’21 [budget], what we would do and are doing right now is take a look with Electric Boat at how we might be able to put some of their workforce that would otherwise potentially be furloughed to work whether that be at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and our facility up there or down in Newport News, Va.,” he said.
