Columbia submarine prototype has first glitch
The Navy has confirmed that there was an issue during the manufacturing of a prototype motor for the $128 billion program to build a new class of ballistic-missile submarines, which already is on a tight timeline.
Capt. Thurraya Kent, a Navy spokeswoman, did not provide any further details about the issue, which happened earlier this year, but said in a statement that it had been corrected.
News of the issue was made public Wednesday by Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, who is chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee with oversight of Navy shipbuilding. Wittman told reporters that the motor overheated.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, who serves as ranking member of the subcommittee, said in a prepared statement that he was briefed on the issue earlier in the week.
"Given the tight timeframe in replacing the aging Ohio submarines with the new Columbia class, this unexpected issue is a reminder of the need for continued close coordination between Congress, the Navy and industry to keep this program moving forward without interruption or delay," Courtney said.
Electric Boat, which is in Courtney's district, is the prime contractor for the Columbia-class program.
The motor was designed by a subcontractor of EB, and the issue was discovered during testing. Kent said that "sufficient margin" exists in the testing phase that delivery of the motor for the first Columbia-class submarine would not be impacted. Construction of the first submarine is slated to start in fiscal year 2021, with delivery to the Navy expected around 2028.
An April 2017 report from the Congressional Research Service on the program points to its tight time schedule. The Navy's schedule for designing, building, and testing the first Columbia-class submarine so that it's ready for its first patrol in 2031 "includes little or no slack ... for absorbing delays due to things such as testing new technologies intended for the Columbia class (such as its electric-drive propulsion system)."
Compared to the Ohio-class submarines that they will be replacing, the Columbia-class submarines will feature an electric propulsion system that will make them quieter and stealthier. The Ohio-class boats use mechanical propulsion technology.
The Columbia boats, which will be armed with nuclear weapons, are expected to cost $8 billion each. The program is part of a larger $1 trillion effort to modernize the U.S. nuclear triad.
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