![]() The potential 12-vessel “Block V” version of the submarine “is already costing more than expected,” the GAO said. The parts-swapping problem is in addition to delays in delivery of the submarine’s newest model, the Government Accountability Office said in an assessment this month. The Navy doesn’t know how much the swaps add to workload, saying that at this point “there is limited range and depth of data.” The big disadvantage of cannibalizing parts from one submarine to another is the extra workload involved, according to the Congressional Budget Office, as well as the risk that a part might be damaged during the extra steps. The Navy projects the number will drop to 82 between this year and next. The number of swapped parts for the submarines, which began entering service in 2004, increased from 100 in 2013 to 171 in 2016, 201 in 2018 and 452 in 2019 before declining to 318 last year. Most cannibalized parts are for non-propulsion electronic systems, but the Navy declined to specify which ones are affected, citing operational security. If a part isn’t available for a sub that’s finishing refurbishment, shipyard maintenance workers may be forced to borrow, or “cannibalize,” one from a submarine entering maintenance in order to reduce delays. ![]() Clark, who’s now a naval analyst with the Hudson Institute, said “the Navy may have been too slow to act on indications that some components were wearing out faster.”Ĭongress has continually pushed the Navy to increase construction rates for the Virginia class from two vessels a year to three. The parts problem is a readiness issue “that goes with the overall concern that the Navy is not investing enough in maintenance, supply chains, and shipyard infrastructure,” said Bryan Clark, a former special assistant to the chief of naval operations. The 48-ship Virginia class is the pillar of the Navy’s undersea strategy into the second half of the 21st century to counter China’s growing surface fleet, with increasing firepower in each succeeding model, or “block.” The subs can stalk underseas adversaries with torpedoes, strike surface vessels or attack land targets with Tomahawk cruise missiles while staying on patrol for months.Įditorial: Admiral, I Am NOT Ready For War by Captain John Konrad ![]() ![]() Parts are being shuttled regularly among the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines so that vessels in the $166 billion class built by General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries can return to operations, according to data from the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Congressional Budget Office. Navy has swapped more than 1,600 parts among its new Virginia-class submarines since 2013 to ease maintenance bottlenecks as components that are supposed to last 33 years wear out decades sooner. ![]()
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