U.S Navy Program To Build 12 New Columbia-Class Submarines Lands in Financial Trouble

The U.S Navy’s plan to construct 12 new Columbia-class submarines with intercontinental ballistic missiles faces obstruction due to cost overruns of US $20 Billion, about 20% of the estimated cost. This is a cause for concern since this program is pivotal for the navy’s modernisation plan.

The new Columbia-class submarines will replace the 14 Ohio-class subs currently in active service. The Ohio-class subs entered service in 1981 and will start to age between 2027 and 2040. Hence, in this period, the Navy will lose 1 of these subs every year. The U.S Navy wants to replace each Ohio-class submarine, which will be retiring in 2031, with a new Columbia-class submarine.

In a report on Navy shipbuilding, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that the new $120 billion estimate for this submarine construction program reflects the present industry conditions. It also noted that the first submarine of the Columbia-class, the USS District of Columbia, will cost $17.5 billion, which is $1.7 billion more than what the Navy estimated.

The following 11 subs would cost $9.2 billion each, which is $1.5 billion more per sub than what the Navy planned, per the Congressional Budget Office.

The agency has also said that the costs of these submarines could exceed the Navy’s and even the CBO’s estimates since it will be the biggest and most technologically advanced and complex submarine program the U.S has ever undertaken.

The Columbia-class subs will be constructed by General Dynamics Corp and HII, per sources. However, CBO’s report on the costs of constructing these subs has raised many questions and worries as the Navy views different ways to expand its fleet by 2045.

From 2014 onwards, Congress has appropriated approximately $2.5 billion more annually for shipbuilding than the Navy budget asked for. This is due to the growing concerns that the U.S. fleet is too small to undertake all the important missions and operations and also to check the expansion of the Chinese Navy.

China’s Navy has 370 ships while the U.S has only 290, though U.S ships, especially submarines, are more capable and their sailors better trained than their Chinese counterparts, according to analysts.

References: Eurasian Times, Bloomberg

U.S Navy Program To Build 12 New Columbia-Class Submarines Lands in Financial Trouble appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News