A top member of the House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee rallied 120 lawmakers to sign on to a letter pushing appropriators to fund two Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs) in the final fiscal year 2025 budget.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) spearheaded a letter sent on May 1 to chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), and Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) urging them to support adding one more submarine to the FY ‘25 budget after the Navy lowered its request from the usual two per year to just one.
“We are deeply concerned with the proposal to procure just one Virginia-Class submarine in the President’s proposed FY 2025 budget,” the lawmakers wrote.
It noted the submarine requirement from combatant commanders already exceeds the current inventory and is projected to fall to 47 attack boats in 2030, 19 fewer than the requirement of 66 boats.
“Preserving a consistent production schedule is essential for shipyard and industrial base stability, and to meet the Navy’s operational requirements. This is exactly why Congress has strongly supported and defended the consistent two-per-year build rate of Virginia Class attack submarines since 2011. Congress has also already allocated nearly $1 billion to in Advance Procurement to support a second FY 2025, including critical long-lead time material,” the letter said.
The lawmakers argued that while the FY ‘25 budget request includes “substantial investments” in the submarine industrial base, there is no alternative to stabilizing the supply chain beyond consistent full submarine procurement of two boats per year.
They also noted the Navy’s budget request is in contrast to the FY ‘24 Future Years Defense Program and 30-year shipbuilding plan as well as the Defense Department’s National Defense Industrial Strategy that said procurement instability is a major challenge.
“Sustainable production of the Virginia-class program, and the development of a follow-on attack submarine program, is key to maintaining our undersea advantage in the years ahead. To that end, we respectfully request that you fully restore procurement for two Virginia Class submarines in FY 2025.”
The letter also urged the appropriators to support full funding for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program for its second increment of funding for the second boat as well as research and development for the submarine’s propulsion and combat system technologies.
Courtney’s district encompasses one of the two submarine builders for the Navy, General Dynamics‘ Electric Boat [GD].