As China rapidly expands its undersea capabilities, including new uncrewed submarines, the US submarine industry faces mounting delays, rising costs, and severe workforce shortages. Key programs like the Columbia- and Virginia-class submarines are years behind schedule, threatening US naval dominance and commitments under alliances like AUKUS. With only two private US shipyards building submarines and nearly a third of attack subs in maintenance, the Navy warns of a “precarious position.” To close the gap, training programs like ATDM are ramping up, aiming to recruit 140,000 skilled workers over the next decade. But recovery will take years. They write:
China’s Victory Day parade in September showed off a new, uncrewed submarine the size of a semi-truck — meant to keep tabs on US vessels and seafloor cables — and shined a spotlight on Beijing’s investment in the undersea domain.The US submarine industry, by contrast, is struggling to get out of drydock after years of delays, rising costs and a weakened industrial base. […]
The task is urgent: one Los Angeles-class attack submarine has been undergoing maintenance for 10 years, the first of the new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines will be delivered nearly two years late at a cost of more than $16 billion, and some next-generation Virginia-class boats will be delayed by up to three years. […]
With multiple boats approaching the end of their service lives and competitors like China rapidly building up their fleet, there are worries that the US won’t be able to quickly put enough new submarines in the water to preserve its long-standing undersea advantage. […]
“Submarine shipbuilders are behind schedule and currently do not have the capacity to produce a greater rate of submarines per year, despite the Navy’s plans to do so in the future,” the GAO report said. […]
Kaisen, who was chosen to deliver a speech for his class, sounded upbeat.
“Let’s get to work,” he said. “I hear we’ve got some catching up to do.”
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