As the Navy begins to design its next ballistic-missile submarine, officials caution that the service must avoid shipbuilding practices of the past that have led to cost overruns and delays.
Although the first of the Navy’s fleet of ballistic missile submarines won’t retire for another 17 years, the time to start the design work is now, said Vice Adm. Jay Donnelly. “This is the right time for the Navy to commence efforts to replace the Ohio-class SSBN. It’s not too early,” said Donnelly, who is the commander of the Navy’s submarine force.
The oldest of the nuclear-powered submarines have reached the mid-point of their service lives and are expected to remain in service for at least another 20 years. Although the Defense Department already has approved funding for the new submarine, Navy officials are under pressure to get the program on the right track in order to ensure long-term support for the program.
“We must start this work in earnest now in order to avoid a gap” and to sustain the industrial base, said Rear Adm. Cecil Haney, director of the submarine warfare division in the office of the chief of naval operations.
It takes an average of 20 years to design and build a new-generation submarine. “Anything as complex as a submarine takes time to get it right, and then to allow us to utilize it for 42 years,” he said at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium in McLean, Va.
The Navy operates 14 Ohio-class ballistic submarines. They also are known as Trident submarines because each carries up to 24 long-range Trident missiles. The oldest hull of the class will begin to decommission in 2027, officials said.
“We have extended it to as far as we can go,” said Haney.
In the President’s 2010 budget, about $495 million has been set aside to fund research and development efforts for the Ohio replacement submarine.
This down payment will help scientists develop stealth and other technologies that future boats will require, said Haney. “This platform has to be effective from 2029 all the way out to 2080,” he said.
In an interview at the conference, Haney said the Navy has learned its lessons from previous programs. “You want to get a certain percentage of that detailed design complete before you start bending metal.”
Submarine program officers understandably are concerned. In recent years, Navy leaders have been under political fire as a result of overruns and delays in its littoral combat ship, which underwent design changes as it was being built. The troubles with LCS led to a major restructuring of the program, and some members of Congress still are not convinced the Navy has fixed all the problems.
For the Ohio replacement, it will be critical for the Navy to balance the timing between completing a design and starting construction of the new ships, Haney said. “We need to watch that closely, as we work through other things,” he added.
The Navy still is fine-tuning its long-term shipbuilding plan, which has experienced turbulence in the past few budget cycles. According to last year’s plan, the service intends to build a minimum 313-ship fleet, including 48 fast attack submarines. They expect the ballistic submarine force numbers to remain at 14 boats.
“Getting it right the first time will be paramount” if the Navy wants to successfully build a new class of submarines, said Joe Carnevale, senior defense advisor at the Shipbuilders Council of America. Starting now and giving the program sufficient time only makes sense, he said. “It must come out right.”
Donnelly said the nation will need a viable ballistic missile submarine force even as warhead numbers are reduced and treaties are negotiated.
President Obama acknowledged that a nuclear weapons-free world is not “likely in our lifetime, or successive lifetimes,” said Rear Adm. Doug McAneny, commander of submarine force Pacific. “So it has fallen to sailors serving aboard strategic ballistic subs to maintain safe, secure and reliable sea-based strategic deterrence, which provides for the defense of our nation and allies.” Last year was “a banner year” for ballistic submarines, he added. The fleet last February celebrated the 1,000th Trident patrol at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.
Navy officials said they are encouraged by the support from the secretary of defense and from Congress.
For the Trident program, the Navy plans to adopt technologies from the Virginia-class attack submarine. The plan is to incorporate systems from the ready room, navigation room and torpedo room.
The Navy in December 2008 awarded a contract to build eight Virginia-class submarines over a five-year period. Beginning in 2012, the service will be building two submarines for $2 billion apiece in 2005 dollars.
On the Ohio replacement, the Navy also plans to continue the trend of simplifying propulsion plants and reducing the number of valves and pumps and other parts on the next generation sub to make it easier for workers to access and repair areas of the ship.
“That maintainability is a key factor from the very beginning in the design,” said Adm. Kirk Donald, director of naval reactors. “It wasn’t in the Virginia, but it will be on the Ohio replacement,” he added.
The Navy also is working with the U.K. Ministry of Defence, which is pursuing its own efforts to recapitalize the Royal Navy’s ballistic submarine force. The MOD last summer decided to delay awarding a contract to design and build a replacement Trident submarine, citing budgetary and political reasons.
The Navy must adhere to the basics of acquisition and technical rigor as it starts a new program for the Ohio replacement, said Donald. “We’re off to a good start,” he said. “We have a range of key decisions before us in the next few months that will define the ship, her capabilities and rein in cost.”
Donald predicted that the Navy’s “assumptions, decision and plans” for the Ohio replacement will experience “intense scrutiny,” given the climate of restricted budgets and skepticism about ship acquisition programs.
“We have an obligation to deliver that capability at the best price without compromising reactor safety, submarine safety, or the capability that that nation needs. We welcome that challenge,” he said.