Sunday, January 22, 2023

US Navy’s Newest Ballistic-Missile Submarine May Not Be Delivered On Time

Bloomberg: US Navy’s Newest Submarine Leaves Pentagon Baffled on When It Will Be Ready 

Officials overseeing development of the US Navy’s next-generation submarine to carry nuclear missiles don’t have the information they need to know whether the first vessel in the $132 billion Columbia program can deploy on time in 2031, an unreleased congressional audit found. 

Navy and Pentagon officials “have not obtained the schedule data and statistical information needed to confidently determine the likelihood that the shipbuilders can accomplish it as planned,” the Government Accountability Office said in the report, which was delivered in September but hasn’t been made public. 

The 12-ship Columbia class is set to replace the current fleet of 14 Ohio class ballistic-missile submarines. It’s envisioned as a key component of the US nuclear deterrence strategy into the late 21st century, complementing intercontinental ballistic missiles and air-launched weapons in the nation’s nuclear triad. 

The first ship is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost $15 billion in 2022 dollars, one of the costliest US weapons systems ever.  

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: This is one big red flag that there is a problem with the program. The latest Congressional report on the Columbia submarine program is here .... Report to Congress on Columbia-class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program (USNI News).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is obvious that WNU might know how to earn a living and make money, but he does know what money is.

$ 15 billion is a BIG, ROUND NUMBER!

Cost overruns need to be investigated. Some cost overruns might be due to COVID and that nonsense. Some part of the cost overrun might be a shipyard inefficiency or screw up. Maybe. Some of that cost overrun might be the 3 COVID bill spending Lollapalooza.

But let us be honest. 2010 dollars and 2022 dollars are two different things.

All dollar amount have to be qualified.

Anonymous said...

^^^Obviously

Anonymous said...

Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG")was merged into United Aircraft Corporation in 2006 by decree of RasPutin.

I read it was because MIG was not making money. Cost overruns?

How often will WNU speak to cost overruns in the US versus Russia.

Probably unhealthy to talk about the latter and WNU is too much of a patriot.