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from https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/348000000000-columbia-class-submarine-nightmare-210626

October 26, 2024 Topic: Security Region: Americas Blog Brand: The
Buzz Tags: U.S. NavyNavyMilitaryDefenseColumbia-ClassSubmarinesOhio-class $348,000,000,000 Columbia-Class Submarine Nightmare
The U.S. Navy's Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile
submarines, intended to replace the aging Ohio-class fleet, are facing significant delays. The lead submarine, USS District of Columbia
(SSBN-826), may be delivered up to 16 months late, pushing its arrival
to Fiscal Year 2028 instead of FY27.

by Peter Suciu Follow PeterSuciu on TwitterL

The Problem: The U.S. Navy's Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic
missile submarines, intended to replace the aging Ohio-class fleet, are
facing significant delays. The lead submarine, USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), may be delivered up to 16 months late, pushing its arrival
to Fiscal Year 2028 instead of FY27. Delays stem from contractor issues: Huntington Ingalls Industries is behind on delivering the bow section,
and Northrop Grumman faces setbacks with turbine generators.

Columbia-Class

The Solution: These delays could force the Navy to extend the service
life of existing Ohio-class submarines, raising concerns among
lawmakers. With an estimated total lifecycle cost of nearly $348
billion, the program risks becoming one of the Pentagon's most expensive
if not managed effectively.

U.S. Navy's Columbia-Class Submarines Face Major Delays Amid Contractor Setbacks
The United States Navy's future Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines – which are set to replace the aging Ohio-class boats
– will eventually become a major component of the nation's nuclear triad.

Each of the planned dozen boats will be equipped with sixteen SLBM
tubes, as opposed to twenty-four SLBM tubes on the Ohio-class SSBNs.
That was meant to reduce construction, operations, and maintenance
costs. In addition, the new ballistic missile submarines will utilize
the joint American-British developed Common Missile Compartment (CMC),
which will also be installed on the Royal Navy's new Dreadnought-class submarines. It was designed to launch the Trident II D5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The joint effort has been reported to save
each nation hundreds of millions of dollars.

On paper, the Columbia-class is just what the U.S. Navy needs to
accomplish its nuclear deterrence mission. Back in reality, the
situation is quite dire.

At issue is the fact that there is now a delay of as much as 16 months
in delivering the lead boat, the future USS District of Columbia
(SSBN-826). It was previously reported that the submarine could be
delivered in Fiscal year 2028 (FY28) instead of the previously planned
FY27 delivery.

A few months back, according to Bloomberg, the future SSBN-826's delay
could be as much as 16 months, and it stems from contractor delays in delivering the vessel’s bow section and power generators, according to
an internal assessment by the service.

Lawmakers Are Taking Notice
The delays impacting the Columbia­-class has been a seen as very
serious, as it could force the U.S. Navy to keep the Ohio-class in
service longer than expected. The original plan called for the first of
the SSBNs to be retired beginning in 2027, with an additional boat
leaving the service every year until 2040. Navy officials have said it
could be possible to extend the service life of at least five of its
Ohio-class subs by two to three years each so that the force would
remain at 12 vessels or more for all but three years between 2024 and 2053.

That might not be good enough for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as the
House Armed Service's seapower subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday to
review the sea service's fiscal 2025 shipbuilding request as well as
this month’s review by the service of its ship programs.

Contractor Issues – Delays and More Delays
According to the report from Bloomberg, General Dynamics Corp. and
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) were charged with designing and constructing the 12-boat class, a roughly $130 billion program, with
each sub assembled from six large hull segments.

During construction, the so-called "super modules" are each outfitted
with systems and connections before final assembly by General Dynamics. Ideally, this would speed the production.

Ohio-Class Submarine

However, HII was to ship the bow in May 2025 from its Newport News,
Virginia, yard to the General Dynamics facility in Groton, Connecticut.
It is now estimated for June 2026, or 13 months late, according to
internal service figures. The reason for the delays hasn't been made public.

HII said in a statement that it "experienced first-in-class challenges
on a complex welding sequence," which required revising the plan for
"the largest submarines ever built in the US." It further stated that
the revised plan "was successfully executed and is now incorporated on follow-on ships."

In addition, Northrop Grumman Corp., which the U.S. Navy contracted to
deliver the first ship's turbine generators by November 2021, had
planned to provide months of margin before those components would be
needed. Instead, the turbine generators are projected to be delivered in
early 2025, further impacting the schedule. Each of the submarines has
two generators that provide the vessel's propulsion and electrical power requirements.

Worth it in the End?
While the submarines may be running late, they'll be worth it in the end
– that is if they actually deliver. Maya Carlin, writing for The
National Interest, also warned that the Columbia-class is on track to
become one of the costliest Pentagon programs to ever be developed.

Though the total lifecycle price for the entire class is estimated at
nearly $348 billion, including the projected costs to develop and
purchase the 12 submarines and maintain them through the early 2040s, if
they don't live up to the task, the U.S. Navy will be out more than just
time and money.


Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than
four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published
pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes
about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes
and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

All images are Creative Commons.

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