The Secretary of the Navy Wednesday told a congressional panel that a late turbine generator for the first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) submarine is one of the biggest factors in the boat’s delay.
“One of the most significant challenges specific to Columbia is actually the late delivery of the turbine generator to Columbia by subcontractor Northrop Grumman [NOC]. That has had a major impact on the delay of the Columbia,” Carlos Del Toro told the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee on April 10.
Northrop Grumman is a subcontractor, supplying this part to the prime contractor, General Dynamics’ Electric Boat [GD].
This comes after the Navy revealed the results of Del Toro’s 45-day shipbuilding review last week. In that review, the Navy said the first nuclear weapon-armed Columbia-class boat, the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), is running 12 to 16 months behind schedule (Defense Daily, April 3).
The review identified industrial base issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic as a major common factor in these late ship deliveries.
During a media roundtable unveiling the review, Vice Adm. James Downey, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, said permanent magnet motor development was not a factor in the submarine’s delay after previous mitigation work done by the service.
However, he admitted some components are late.
At the same event, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Nickolas Guertin said Columbia’s delays are related to the whole of the ship “and getting all the modules in and buttoning them up, doing all of the equipment light off and working through that risk, given where we are today and getting finished.”
During the congressional hearing, Del Toro said other issues transcend the Columbia-class delays, including a shortage in the blue collar workforce “that is significantly impacting our shipyards and it’s making it difficult for them to actually be able to recruit.”
He also identified shortages in the supply chain impacted by COVID “across the board that has also caused the late delivery of a lot of materials to these shipyards, and that itself has caused problems.”