“I have more ships than our shipyards can handle for the next 10 years, whether it’s a destroyer, whether it’s a tanker, whether it’s an oiler, whether it’s a submarine. So, I am not worried about the demand signal we have,” Navy Secretary John Phelan told House lawmakers.
Almost five years since awarding the first frigate contract, the US Navy is starting to move out on finding a second builder.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
Ships from nine key programs are facing delays, in some cases of up to three years, according to a new Navy review.
HII will build six ships, and Bath Iron Works will build three others, though both Pentagon announcements say the Navy could pursue more in the future.
"The defense industrial base right now is strained. And a lot of that has to do with the workforce, as we recover from COVID," said Adm. Michael Gilday.
The Navy wants to buy the first DDG(X) in fiscal 2030.
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
"We don't have enough capacity for peacetime” repairs, said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage. "We can't get ships delivered on time with the predictability we need today."
As thousands of workers go back on the job at the Maine shipyard, the Navy has a deep readiness hole to dig itself out of.
The Pentagon memo comes as one critical shipbuilder, Bath Iron Works, struggles to get back on its feet.
With contractors on the way, the union and the company remain at an impasse even as seven Navy destroyers languish pierside.
“Tactical operating system” for warfighters has evolved to provide more situational awareness of the battlefield.
There are no talks scheduled between striking union workers and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, but leaders have started exchanging letters.
As delays in getting ships delivered on time worsen, Navy acquisition chief James Geurts said, "It is critical for our Navy that we get ships, we get them on the schedule we contract for them, and that we have high confidence in our shipbuilders to deliver."
While at least two of six competitors have dropped out, the Army says it will still have plenty of 30mm turret options to choose from as it starts testing this fall.
“Last year we hired 1,800 people, which was the most hired for 30 years I think,” BIW President Dirk Lesko said. "We probably would have hired 500 or 600 more people last year if we could have.”