Bloomberg: U.S. Navy’s Deadliest New Subs Are Hobbled by Spare-Parts Woes
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Navy has swapped more than 1,600 parts among its new Virginia-class submarines since 2013 to ease maintenance bottlenecks as components that are supposed to last 33 years wear out decades sooner.
Parts are being shuttled regularly among the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines so that vessels in the $166 billion class built by General Dynamics Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. can return to operations, according to data from the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Congressional Budget Office.
The 48-ship Virginia class is the pillar of the Navy’s undersea strategy into the second half of the 21st century to counter China’s growing surface fleet, with increasing firepower in each succeeding model, or “block.”
The subs can stalk underseas adversaries with torpedoes, strike surface vessels or attack land targets with Tomahawk cruise missiles while staying on patrol for months.
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WNU Editor: More proof that the US Navy has maintenance, supply chain, and shipyard infrastructure problems.
