
The chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) seapower panel on Thursday said the FY ’18 shipbuilding authorization of $26.2 billion should be maintained before adding $3 billion when the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) starts production.“I think even the Navy hasn’t been as direct as they need to be with the 30-year shipbuilding plan” because it provides spots the Congress can fill in additional ships the industrial base can sustain, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) said at a Hudson…