General Dynamics, the company behind the construction of U.S. Navy submarines, is grappling with significant supply chain delays that are disrupting production schedules and escalating costs.
Experience Major Delays
Phebe Novakovic, CEO of General Dynamics, addressed the challenges, highlighting the strain on key suppliers and the ripple effects on the company’s shipyards.
"Our shipyard continues to experience major delays from critical component suppliers, impacting our production timelines and increasing costs," Novakovic stated.
She emphasized that accelerating the assembly of submarine hull sections, only to wait for delayed key components, is both inefficient and costly, according to WP.
Submarines of the Virginia and Columbia classes are built collaboratively at Electric Boat facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.
Each shipyard focuses on specific sections of the submarines, with hulls transported between facilities for final assembly. However, no sections can be welded together until fully outfitted, as large components cannot be installed after assembly.
Preparing for Further Delays
The first Columbia-class submarine, USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826), originally slated for delivery in 2027, is now delayed by up to 16 months, with a new target of 2028.
Primary bottlenecks include the bow sections manufactured by Newport News and steam turbines from Northrop Grumman. The U.S. Navy is preparing for potential further delays.
General Dynamics has adapted by slowing production to align with supplier capabilities, but this has come at a steep cost.
Novakovic revealed that out-of-sequence work, required to keep projects moving, is up to eight times more expensive than adhering to the original schedule.
The cost impact extends to future projects, including negotiations for two Virginia-class Block V submarines, USS Baltimore (SSN 812) and USS Atlanta (SSN 813), budgeted at $9.34 billion.
General Dynamics is requesting an additional $2 billion, citing rising wages needed to retain workers amid inflation. Negotiations are ongoing and expected to conclude in the coming months.
Longer-term prospects remain uncertain. Talks for contracts to build ten Virginia Block VI submarines and five second-series Columbia-class submarines are underway,
but Novakovic expressed doubts about securing the deals without intensive negotiations with the Navy and Congress.
Compounding the delays are workforce shortages. U.S. shipyards are facing a severe lack of skilled labor, forcing the hiring of less qualified workers and raising concerns about quality.
Recent inspections at Newport News Shipbuilding revealed welding issues in submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers, necessitating further reviews across 26 vessels and adding to delays.
These challenges have slowed Virginia-class submarine deliveries from two per year to just over one annually, underscoring the ongoing struggles in maintaining production for the U.S. Navy's critical underwater fleet.
