WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are worried about having enough workers in the future to build the submarines that the nation needs.
HII Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat are far behind schedule in delivering Virginia-class attack submarines to the Navy. The Virginia program is a combined 410 months behind schedule, according to a Navy construction estimate reviewed by USNI News earlier this year.
The shipyards are delivering 1.2 attack boats a year and aren't going to reach the goal of two Virginia subs until 2028. Even then, the Navy's fleet will still be some 16 boats short of its stated requirement.
House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee members are concerned.
"To be frank, the industrial base has been challenged in recent years by labor and supply chain issues. Two years of COVID have strained our ability to construct two [Virginia-class] SSN's [nuclear-powered submarines] and one Columbia-class submarine per year as planned," said Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Mississippi).
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia, 1st District) said he's worried that the two shipyards won't be able to hire and retain enough workers.
"We can throw all the money we want to at the problem, but if you don't have the people there in the yards to build these submarines, I don't care what else we do, this enterprise fails," he said.
Help could be on the way.
The White House released a supplemental budget request last Friday that included $3.4 billion to support the submarine industrial base.