More than half a billion dollars in construction , is in the works  , at , Norfolk Naval Shipyard , in Portsmouth , as the , Navy , modernizes , the traditional lawn to fix current and future large- technology warships.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard, with roots dating up to 1767, is about five years into a development process to better support the maintenance of , Ford- group aircraft carriers and , Ohio-,  , Virginia- and Columbia- class submarines.
The modernization may enable the shipyard to get warships battle- set at a quicker pace,  , Mark Edelson, program executive officer for commercial infrastructure, told the , Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance , during a meeting next week. The Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program is in charge of the Navy’s four port repair operations, which include upkeep on nuclear-powered warships. The plan oversees the once-a-century treatment of dried docks, the reconfiguration of infrastructure, and the replacement of industrial plant equipment.
” The sailors out at sea, the weapons platforms they need to have  , — that always gets priority”, Edelson said. ” Unfortunately, we have got to take care of the house, and the garage, and the maintenance back home as well”.
Around 40 projects, totaling$ 520 million under contract, are in progress at the , Portsmouth , shipyard, Edelson said. By the time the , Navy , program outlines the shipyard’s master plan in 2026, he said he expects the number of projects to double.
The shipyard’s entire revitalization includes employee parking lots, production buildings, dry docks, and production buildings. By changing the yard’s layout, the effort aims to reduce the amount of time spent by shipyard workers tracking down parts and tools. According to Edelson, data models have shown that changing the yard’s layout will cut submarine maintenance requests by about 90 days, reducing the ship’s overall ship-to-yard time by 5 to 10 %.
A group of projects well underway is the renovation of , Dry Dock , 8, which is being outfitted to handle the Navy’s newest carriers.
The USS Gerald R.  , Ford , is the first new class of aircraft carrier designed in over four decades,  , ushering in a new generation of warships. The , second , Ford- class carrier, the John F. Kennedy, is scheduled to be delivered to the , Navy , in summer 2025, and the third, the Enterprise, will be delivered in , September 2029. The new carriers are 4 feet wider and displace 3, 000 tons more than their Nimitz- class predecessors.
Dry Dock , 8, which dates to 1942, will undergo four major projects to accommodate the first- in- class warship and future , Ford- class carriers. Pump repairs, caisson upgrades, and upgrades to the saltwater cooling system will speed up and reduce the dock’s ability to flood more effectively. Additionally,$ 90 million will be invested to repair the two berths adjacent to the dock.
The shipyard broke ground on the ,$ 300 million renovation in , February 2023. The program also secured$ 128 million for a saltwater cooling system from the 2023 and 2024 defense budgets. The project, Edelson said, is ahead of schedule with completion planned by 2027 — before the , Ford , would be scheduled for a maintenance availability.
The modernization program completed a$ 191 million renovation of , Dry Dock , 4, the shipyard’s largest submarine dry dock, one year ago.  , Dry Dock , 4 was the first of three dry docks built in 1919 at , Norfolk Naval Shipyard , during its World War I- era expansion. The dock,  , the , Navy , said, will support the overhauls of , Ohio-,  , Virginia- and Columbia- class submarines for decades to come.
The program brought 66 new industrial equipment pieces to the shipyard since 2018, totaling$ 149 million in investment. Additionally, the program oversaw the construction of a$ 3.3 million training facility that combines previously distributed across a number of different areas of the shipyard in 2022.
More projects are in the pipeline.  , A request to fund a$ 54 million renovation of , Dry Dock , 3 was included in the Navy’s 2025 budget. The dock renovations would allow for submarines from Virginia and Los Angeles.
” We have got to keep these things going for the next generation”, Edelson said.
Edelson’s update to the , Hampton Roads , organization came one day after , Nickolas Guertin, the assistant secretary of the , Navy , for research, development and acquisition, said he would give the Navy’s public shipyards a C- plus on their ability to repair warships damaged in a major conflict. After the , Navy  released a proposed budget for 2025 that would delay ship and submarine construction to spend more on addressing overall supply chain and contractor workforce needs, Guertin addressed the House Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee last week.
Delaying shipbuilding means , Navy , shipyards will feel increased pressure to keep older ships operational,  , Bryan Clark, defense analyst for the , Hudson Institute, told , The Virginian- Pilot. The , Navy , could keep around some of its older Los Angeles- class submarines, he said, but they would need to enter overhaul maintenance.
” But they ca n’t go into an overhaul because the shipyards are packed full”, Clark said.
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