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Late delivery of steam turbines for the under-construction District of Columbia (SSBN-826) is one of the main obstacles the US Navy faces in delivering the nuclear #ballisticmissile #submarine on time, Office of the Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told a U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday. “One of the most significant challenges that we have with Columbia … is actually the late delivery of the turbine generator to Columbia by subcontractor Northrop Grumman,” Del Toro the House Appropriations Committee on #defense. “That has had a major impact on the Columbia.” The turbines must be installed before the #submarine ’s pressure hull is sealed and the delay has had a cascaded to the completion of other systems, #USNINews understands. The new turbine design takes the steam generated from the atomic reactors to power the ship-wide electrical grid that makes the #submarine quieter than the previous Ohio-class boomers. The turbines are government-furnished equipment and have been subcontracted to Northrop Grumman. USNI News reported on the turbine delay last month. “Northrop Grumman is fully committed to the Columbia-class program, and is fully supportive of General Dynamics Electric Boat and the #USNavy as we work together to deliver this program,” the company said in a statement to USNI News. The 12-boat, $136 billion class has repeatedly been called the most important Pentagon acquisition program. District of Columbia was to join the service as the first Ohio-class boomer –USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) is set to decommission in 2027. In addition to the turbines, sources familiar with the slip in schedule have also pointed to the delay in completing the bow dome of District of Columbia. The dome, the same design as the Ohio-class, is getting cast at forge at Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of HII’s in Virginia. The #HII yard builds the sterns and bows of the Columbia-class submarines in an arrangement with prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat. Del Toro highlighted the ongoing #workforce recruiting and retention issues across the shipbuilding industrial base and problems in the supply chain. “We have a shortage of a #bluecollar #workforce in this country that is significantly impacting our #shipyards, and it’s making it difficult for them to actually be able to recruit. I believe the shipyards need to do more in terms of retaining their own people,” Del Toro told the panel. In addition to the delays, Del Toro addressed his recent visits to South Korean and Japanese yards with the panel and opportunities for voyage repair for U.S. #Navy #warships in the #Pacific. #mai #marineacoustics #technology #innovation #submarineindustrialbase #underseawarfare https://lnkd.in/eBp4Pcu4

The AUKUS submarine might be the right boat for Australia. But it will likely cost more than an eye-watering sum, whenever it is eventually delivered. .:. A new independent audit of the Columbia-class submarine program shows the Navy is struggling to contain the price of the shipbuilding program with cost overruns reaching “six times higher than” the prime contractor’s estimates and “five times more than the Navy’s.” “As a result, the government could be responsible for hundreds of millions in additional construction costs for the lead submarine,” according to a Government Accountability Report published today. The Columbia-class submarine program, the Navy’s No. 1 acquisition priority and one leg of the Pentagon’s nuclear triad, has long been a target of GAO, which has reported on the program’s deficiencies and potential future obstacles for the past seven years. The watchdog’s latest report stems from a provision in the 2018 defense policy bill mandating GAO assess the extent the program is on track to meet its cost and schedule targets as well as the efficacy of the Navy and its shipbuilders’ actions to do as much. The result of GAO’s analysis is that from January 2022 through May 2023, the “cost and schedule performance for lead submarine construction has consistently fallen short of targets.” “Through early 2024, those trends had not improved, and future risks will likely add to current cost and schedule growth,” the report said. “The program has reported that the shipbuilder needs to take swift and significant actions to address the causes of poor construction performance. However, as GAO has previously reported, the program has tried to mitigate some of these causes — such as late materials and detailed design products — for years.” In its report, GAO acknowledges the billions in funding the Navy has distributed to its suppliers since 2018 to strengthen the industrial base, but auditors said the service has failed to ensure the investments “support construction goals or that outsourced work meets quality expectations.” Increased investment in the submarine industrial base has been a focus for the Navy’s annual budget requests since the inception of the AUKUS security pact in 2021. The service just recently awarded a $950 million contract to Texas-based, non-profit BlueForge Alliance to continue doing as much. .:.

The Australian Government continues to progress Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine program, today announcing the concept design partners for South Australia’s new Nuclear-Powered Submarine Construction Yard (NPSCY). Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR, Inc.) and an AECOM and Aurecon Joint Venture have been announced as the design partners for the NPSCY. KBR has extensive experience in supporting design and project management for defence infrastructure facilities across the nation and will design the area of the NPSCY that will be used for steel processing and fabrication facilities. The AECOM and Aurecon Joint Venture also will deliver the concept design for the rest of the for the NPSCY site which will support outfitting, consolidation and commissioning of Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines. The design teams collectively bring together nuclear infrastructure specialists and experienced personnel from previous shipyard infrastructure projects at Osborne, Henderson and in AUKUS partner nations. Today’s announcement of the design partners follows the March announcement of Australia’s sovereign submarine build and sustainment partners and continues to demonstrate progress towards building SSN-AUKUS submarines in Adelaide. The NPSCY development will be in excess of 75 hectares and will be built to the highest security and safety standards. Constructing the infrastructure at the NPSCY will rely on highly-skilled Australian engineering and design consultants, project controls specialists, project managers, tradespeople and construction workers. In partnership with the South Australian Government, the Australian Government is also designing and building the new Skills and Training Academy at Osborne to educate and train the elite naval shipbuilding workforce. This announcement is part of the Government’s $53-63 billion investment in this program over the next decade. This is another important milestone to ensure the construction of Australia’s first SSN-AUKUS will start by the end of this decade.

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"GD CEO: Electric Boat to Scale Back Submarine Work Due to ‘Major Component’ Delays The prime contractor behind the Pentagon’s top acquisition priority is slowing its rate of producing submarines due to a lack of “major components,” company officials said on Wednesday. General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic said GD Electric Boat work on the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines and the Virginia-class nuclear attack boat would slow to keep pace with a supply chain that’s lagging construction. “EB continues to be severely impacted by late deliveries from major component suppliers, which has delayed schedules and is continuing to impact costs,” Novakovic said during GD’s Fiscal Year 2024 third quarter earnings call with investors. “There is no point hurrying portions of the boat only to have to stop and wait increasingly extended periods of time for major components to arrive. It is neither good for the boat over time nor cost. Given the recent projections from the supply chain on deliveries, we need to get our cadence in sync with the supply chain and take costs out of the business if we are to hope to see incremental margin growth.” <------------------> I wonder if in a pinch, the investors or shareholders can jump into the assembly line or man a Torpedo Station... Lack of "incremental margin growth" aside...We suck at some things now. Those in charge of ensuring that we do not suck at some things now, also suck. We have no depth. We have no redundancy. We have no backup plan or even a vaguely related branch plan. Someone...someday soon... is going to eat our lunch and we won't be able to do a damn thing about it. Our focus of effort has been askew for quite some time. Folks took their eye off the ball. Folks who should not, have different priorities now; ideological agendas; quixotic stupidity; twisted crusaders making up wrongs to right. When the time comes, and the balloon goes up, will folks race to the modern "Remember Pearl Harbor" rallying cry if said cry is "We Need More DEI?" No. No they will not. Why? Because those that actually know how to (and why we) fight - and are capable of doing so - despise that call... those that rally to the call now, have long forgotten - or never knew - how to be lethal and never saw (or can no longer see) it's purpose / relevance. Some slabbering, flapping faces think DEI / ESG is so important that it should be a separate war-fighting function and / or a battle rhythm priority. Truth is, neither has a place in a war fighting organization. If you think otherwise at this point, you are part of the problem. I said what I said. Embrace, expouse and foster meritocracy...you'll live longer.

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Here's an interesting article from Forbes on the American commitment to developing new shipyards (civil or defense) and possible collaboration with South Korean shipyards. If you read it with any interest in the subject of decarbonization of ships and the use of nuclear propulsion for commercial vessels, the following extract is interesting: "There’s a technological aspect as well that favors American shipyards. As shipbuilding, pressed along by international regulations to decarbonize, inexorably turns to modern nuclear power, America’s rigorous nuclear certification and longstanding safety practices in the the U.S. submarine industrial base have set the U.S. up for success. New shipyards, built today with nuclear safety in mind, can prepare America for the sector-wide transition to high-end vessels, sporting modern, zero-emission ship propulsion technologies, ...." It's worth remembering that between 2014 and 2022, the number of active shipyards worldwide halved, but activity is expected to rebound to some 44 million CGT by 2026. Most shipbuilding capacity is located in Asia. Shipyards in China, South Korea and Japan built around 86% of all ships in 2020. Shipyard activity will be accelerated by the replacement of fleets with less GHG-intensive vessels, as well as by refits. In other words, the decarbonization of ships benefits Asian shipyards, and the decarbonization of ships already depends on shipyard capacity. As regards the nuclear propulsion of ships, for the moment, only naval shipyards have the unique know-how to "implant" a nuclear reactor in a ship, even if it's only the proven technology of the EPRs, and that's where the extract from the article quoted above is interesting. Replace "American shipyards" with "European shipyards", and you'll get a different reading. The possible European candidates, including the UK (which is also experiencing difficulties with its shipyards), are not that numerous. #décarbonation #TransitionEnergetique #zéroémission #transportmaritime #marinemarchande #ports #CEA #alternativefuel #maritimeinnovation #FutureOfShipping #SEAnnovation #SMR #Nuclear #energytransition #sustainablefuture #GIFEN #SFEN #Neward #Hexana #Stellaria #Naarea #NavalGroup  #TechnicAtome  #Framatome #NEMO https://lnkd.in/eVrmiP7M

I recently chatted with a transitioning submarine officer. It reminded me that Naval Nuclear Power School probably doesn't mean much in #internationaldevelopment but should. First, consider this an intensive MS/MEng in renewable energy. It requires 12+ hour days of class and study, and culminates in a six-month practicum at "Prototype" to solidify academic lessons in a realistic environment (see the USNI article for more detail about how it works). Second, consider submarine officers technical specialists in #sustainableenergy - there's a cliche that they'll speak to the merits of nuclear power over every other source, but it's a cliche for a reason. Every submarine officer I know is highly familiar with and personally implements solar, geothermal, wind, and/or hydropower and can speak to what works on small and large scales and in different environments. They also have the technical knowledge of how power plants connect to microgrids (like a submarine) and the challenges of connecting grids and dealing with variable draws. Third, since operating underwater power plants has life-or-death consequences, submarine officers have high standards for ample safety margins and by-the-book operations. You want their insights on training, safety, staffing requirements, and infrastructure on a power bid. #vetsindevelopment #transitioningveterans

Increased On shoring of critical manufacturing and resource extraction combined with thoughtful targeted AI investment and deployment would go a long way in the short-mid-long term.