WASHINGTON — It has long been described as the Navy's stated top acquisition priority.
The department is planning to spend $132 billion to build 12 Columbia class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines – the largest and most complex sub in history.
The hope was to have the first one delivered in April 2027.
However, a new report published this week by the U.S. Government General Accountability Office says delivery won't happen until sometime between October 2028 and February 2029.
"All of the commentary and all of the kind of urgency at the Pentagon has been, 'we need this lead ship delivered by 2027.' And now, that's not going to happen," said Shelby Oakley, GAO National Security Acquisitions Director.
But that's not all.
Oakley, in an interview with 13 News Now, said that construction costs at completion could be "hundreds of millions of dollars" more than the Navy's original projections.
"Other priorities in the Navy are going to suffer for the delays and overruns on the Columbia Class program. And so, you know, we're at a point where reality I think is beginning to set in," she said.
The Columbia Class sub is being built under a special teaming arrangement between the prime contractor – General Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut – and HII Newport News Shipbuilding.