Hegseth, counterparts praise AUKUS ‘commitment’ after Pentagon review
“The reviews are done. It's time to deliver,” said John Healey, the UK’s Secretary of State for Defense.
“The reviews are done. It's time to deliver,” said John Healey, the UK’s Secretary of State for Defense.
Navy Secretary John Phelan said the ongoing review is designed to make the original deal “better," to clear up some of the “ambiguity” and be a “win-win for everybody.”
“Those efforts have been about workforce, hiring and retention. They have been about supply chain resiliency, modernization of the yards, strategic outsourcing [and] infrastructure issues,” Brett Seidle, the Navy's acting acquisition executive, told lawmakers on Wednesday.
"This will be a whole new infrastructure that we have to stand up and so getting all of those things in place, getting the weapon system done, but as importantly, getting the fleet trained ... that's going to be the one of the challenging parts of this," said Vice. Adm Johnny Wolfe, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs.
"As our strategic environment degrades, it's only smart to increase our warstocks," Marcus Hellyer, a top Australian defense procurement expert, told Breaking Defense.
The bill extends government funding until mid-March.
Lawmakers say the Navy's "lack of communication" leaves them with few options that will fix the problems at hand.
"If our Collins class SSKs are non-operational in 2024, I really doubt that they will be a credible force through the remainder of this decade, let alone into the next one," Malcolm Davis, a defense expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said.
In a note to investors, J.P. Morgan analyst Seth Seifman said the company's third quarter results and withdrawal of its cash flow guidance was "a worse outcome than we expected."
As post-COVID-19 supply chain issues persist, General Dynamics Electric Boat has "outpaced" some key suppliers, forcing out-of-sequence work that's driving up costs and delaying construction.
The Navy's two major submarine programs would both face setbacks.
The letter is the latest sign lawmakers have rejected the Navy's argument that the cut was a strategic one due to a construction backlog, though some key signatures are missing.
Part of the shakeup includes tens of billions for nuclear-powered subs, and halting the pricey procurement of an additional F-35 fighter jet squadron.
In "my opinion, the Navy is looking backwards, not forwards, in terms of what’s actually happening in the shipyards with this proposal," the Democrat said of the Navy's submarine budget proposal.