
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The Virginia-class submarine program manager said this week the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2020 request for a third vessel is meant to give contractors time to prepare to change their cadence and show a commitment to the program. The Navy is generally buying two attack submarines per year, but the FY ’20 budget was a change form the previous budget plans. The third submarine, which will not include the new Virginia Payload Module (VPM), will be built as if…