Chief of Naval Operations nominee Adm. Daryl Caudle told a Senate confirmation hearing last week that shipyard recruitment has to expand and that more outsourcing production is needed.
The Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from Caudle on July 24.
“There’s more outsourcing opportunity that we need to do, even for our Virginia-class, the modular approach of how those ships are built with the floating decks, and how they can be just better outsourced to different vendors, like we’re doing in Austal shipbuilding is one example of that,” Caudle told the committee. “I think there can be more room for some of those ventures as well.”
Caudle added that since capacity has to increase, the shipbuilding industry has to make bigger swings to improve capacity, including potentially starting a new government national shipyard in addition to the current four that handle nuclear-powered vessel maintenance and repair work. “It cannot be business as usual. So this has got to be a country-level effect,” he said.
A quote Caudle likes reiterated says the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the second best time is today. “So whatever solution we have on going forward, if a new yard is what we need, if I start today, then in 10 years, it’ll be up firing up on all cylinders. I think that has to be on the table. And because I am worried that we just don’t have the capacity with just efficiency increases alone to deliver the 2.3 [submarines] that’s needed by our nation.”
The Navy estimated industry has to deliver 2.3 attack submarines per year to meet its needs and make up for the planned three submarine sales to Australia in the 2030s as part of the AUKUS agreement, wherein the U.S., the United Kingdom and Australia are working together to help Australia build up the capability to operate, maintain and ultimately build its own nuclear-powered attack submarines.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily originally published this story.
