Navy-Congress Seek to Build More Virginia-Class Submarines Faster

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) The U.S. Navy has for many years now been vocal and transparent about its submarine fleet deficit, specifically making clear that combatant commander demand for submarines far exceeds available boats.

Submarines Submerged in Deficit

This predicament has been anticipated for several years, following the premature cancellation of the Cold War era Seawolf-class boats and the rapid retirement of aging Los Angeles-class boats.

The pace at which Los Angeles-class submarines are ending operational service life cannot be matched by a sufficient number of arriving Virginia-class submarines.

This dynamic, which has been understood for years, was anticipated to worsen in coming years with the pace of retirement of existing boats, and the industrial need to add new Columbia-class nuclear-armed submarines.

The Navy and Pentagon have wrestled with this mounting issue for years, as evidenced by 30-year shipbuilding plans, which have anticipated and tried to mitigate the growing submarine deficit. With this in mind, the Navy has in recent years performed numerous industrial base analyses to determine if indeed the capacity is there to massively increase and “uptick” production of Virginia-class attack submarines.

Addressing the Submarine Deficit

In recent years the Navy has determined that the submarine industrial base could “flex” to accommodate an increased pace of production for the Virginia-class boats, and the service has for years been working with Congress to secure additional funding to make this possible.