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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAttack Sub Maintenance at Private Yards Running Behind
CAPITOL HILL Two attack submarines sent to private shipyards for routine maintenance availabilities are running a few months behind schedule. But the Navy hopes that using these new-construction yards for sub-maintenance on a regular basis will help them become reliable providers of on-time maintenance.
Attack submarines faced massive backlogs at the Navys four public shipyards, which prioritize ballistic-missile submarines and aircraft carriers above the SSNs. After several high-profile examples of SSNs sitting pierside for months and years while awaiting space at the yards to open up, the Navy opted to send USS Montpelier (SSN-765) to General Dynamics Electric Boat and USS Helena (SSN-725), USS Columbus (SSN-762) and USS Boise (SSN-764) to Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding.
The skill set required to do maintenance is different than it is for new construction, so when you give them repair work after they havent had repair work in a while, and you expect them to immediate perform like a Swiss watch, you find theyre challenged to do that. EBs been challenged with Montpelier, were going to be late there, and Newport News is being challenged on Helena, were going to be a little late there, Naval Sea Systems Command Commander Vice Adm. Tom Moore said today at a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing.
Some of thats because we havent built that proficiency up, and so the Navys having discussions that maybe it would be in our best interest to, on a regular basis, keep some submarine repair work in the private sector not only as a relief valve for the public yards as we level-load them, but also to establish that proficiency level so that when we do get ourselves into a crisis weve got a partner over there thats performed that work on a regular basis that can do that going forward.
https://news.usni.org/2018/06/14/ssn-maintenance-at-private-yards-running-behind-navsea-hopes-to-see-timely-delivery-if-more-work-given-to-them
Anon-C
(3,430 posts)msongs
(67,453 posts)gladium et scutum
(808 posts)The Huntington Ingalls shipyard at Newport News, VA is where all of the nuke carriers and about half of the nuke submarines were built.
A few submarine repair jobs will not make it any easier for Russian sabotage than it has been in the last 50 years.