The US Navy’s two newest submarine programs have been hampered by growing costs, poor contractor performance and delays in the last year, according to an assessment by congressional auditors. Costs for the 12-vessel Columbia class, the US’s next nuclear-missile submarine, have grown by $3.4 billion to a projected $112 billion before the first planned deployment in 2031, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its latest annual report on major US weapons systems. Similarly, over the last year, work on the latest model Virginia-class attack submarine, which shares some of the same workforce, “fell further behind schedule, and construction costs continued to grow above original targets due to overall higher workforce demand and additional factors such as correspondingly less experienced workers,” the agency said.

Capaccio, T. (2022, June 12). New US nuclear-missile submarines hobbled by billions in growing costs, delays. Business Mirror, p. A2.