A congressional watchdog probably won't release a sanitized audit raising questions about the construction timetable for the Navy's next-generation submarine because Pentagon censorship has gutted the document, the agency said.

The Government Accountability Office report gives away the gist of its findings with its title: "Columbia Class Submarine: Construction Schedule Is Not Reliable." But the GAO said the Navy and Pentagon blacked out so much of the report that it won't be able to say much more.

Judging by the title, the findings could be another blow for the Pentagon's premier program for a new, $132 billion class of submarines to be armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles. The program already has little to no margin for error to meet a contractual schedule deadline set by the Navy.

Navy plans call for the first vessel in the 12-submarine program to deploy in 2031, with the service seeking delivery by April 2027 to allow sufficient time for testing and improvements. The Columbia, set to be a cornerstone of the U.S. nuclear triad along with bombers and land-based missiles, is being built by Electric Boat in Groton and HII, previously known as Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Nine days after the GAO released the downbeat title of the report, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro testified to the House appropriations defense panel that the contractors' aspirational 78-month construction schedule - created to provide a margin for unforeseen problems - has now stretched by about six months, pushing it to the Navy's "must-meet" schedule of 84 months, or seven years.

The censorship of the GAO report dated March 20 is the latest example of the Pentagon relying on the label "Controlled Unclassified Information" to block the release of information it doesn't want made public even if none of the details are classified. The CUI label has drawn the ire of congressional committees, and the Pentagon is reviewing its use. Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch has a separate inquiry underway to determine whether employees are receiving proper training and if the designation is being overused.

"GAO is still considering the possibility of issuing a public version," the agency said in a statement on the submarine report. "However, based on the extensive CUI markings, we do have a concern that a public report might not appropriately highlight GAO's findings."

Asked why the Pentagon's acquisition office deemed much of the report CUI and whether it will release the Defense Department's formal response, spokesman Jeff Jurgensen said "as the department's response is still under review, we will not comment or release the contents of the report."

"Public release of the report and subsequent comments will be through GAO, as they are the release authority," he said.

The agency disagreed, saying "GAO does not classify any materials as not being able to be public. Only the agencies have that classification authority, and in this case we are following the Navy's determination that the report cannot be publicly released."

Lieutenant Commander Javan Rasnake, a Navy acquisition spokesman, said the service "followed the standard best practice of rigorously reviewing the material to ensure operational security is maintained. The GAO determines whether versions of their reports will be made publicly releasable."

"Overall, the Columbia program remains on track," Rasnake said.

The supplier base and industrial base workforce remain the top risks to the submarine program, and the Navy is taking steps "addressing workforce trade skill gaps and constraints," he said.

The Navy and the GAO were able to reach agreement on public versions of two previous reports about the Columbia program, most recently in January.

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