Underwater production at , Electric Boat , gets a$ 1 billion increase in a , review paying bill , released by the U. S. House Armed Services Committee, which restores a subsequent Virginia- class attack submarine to the governmental 2025 defense budget in a rebuff to Pentagon spending plans.
The agency’s republican decision to accept a subsequent attack sub, for which Groton, Connecticut- based , Electric Boat is excellent contractor,  , is consistent with prior year spending plans and was disclosed Monday when the committee released its version of the macroeconomic 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.
A minute Virginia vessel had been cut from the budget after the Pentagon had departed from new practice. According to company representatives, investing in shipyard workers and supply chains would be a better way to increase underwater production.
Saving a subsequent Virginia was  , a win for U. S. Rep. Joe Courtney, whose northeast Connecticut district includes the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics. According to Courtney, the ranking Democrat on the commission’s Seapower Subcommittee, eliminating a submarine sends the wrong information to the thousands of companies in the underwater supply chain who have invested in labor, equipment, and materials in the hope of regular purchasing at a time when thread production is a protection priority.
According to Courtney, a two-per-year Virginia financing rate is also required if the Pentagon wants to sell three Virginia assault submarines to Australia starting in 2032 as part of the multilateral AUKUS security agreement between Australia, the UK, and the United States.
The Navy can contract for two boats in FY25 by granting the next boat authorization through incremental revenue jurisdiction, which will provide extra resources to ensure all suppliers are covered and increase the supply of assault submarines for the Navy, according to Courtney.
Courtney claimed that the committee had determined that maintaining a steady production rate demonstrates” Congress ‘ ironclad commitment to fulfilling the AUKUS security partnership” and that cutting a submarine would “dangerate supply chain growth by inflicting procurement instability in the Virginia program.”
The second submarine, which would be funded by an additional$ 1 billion in spending, still needs to clear the House appropriations committee. On a letter calling on the appropriations leadership to fund two attack boats, Courtney collected 120 signatures earlier this month.
” Preserving a consistent production schedule is essential for shipyard and industrial base stability, and to meet the Navy’s operational requirements”, the letter said. This is precisely why Congress has vehemently supported and defended the Virginia Class attack submarines ‘ two-per-year build rate since 2011 in particular.
If the draft is successful, it will be Courtney’s fourth time successfully abdicating White House or Pentagon policy by lowering the number of submarines purchased annually from two to one.
During the George W. Bush administration, at the beginning of the Navy’s Virginia program, he succeeded in adding nearly$ 600 to the fiscal 2008 defense budget to support a two- ship pace. He pushed through similar measures in 2013 and 2020 during the Obama and Trump administrations, earning the nickname Two Sub Joe.
The Virginia attack and Columbia ballistic missile submarine programs are both based on Electric Boat as the Navy’s principal submarine contractor and lead shipyard. The Navy needs 66 Virginias and a dozen Columbias to carry out its mission, which would allow shipyards and suppliers to continue producing at pre-Cold War levels for decades.
In an effort to meet aggressive production goals designed to support AUKUS and contain Chinese expansionism, Electric Boat is at the top of a submarine manufacturing and supply chain that has been hiring at a rapid pace and building billions of dollars in capacity. More than 5,000 people were hired by Electric Boat last year, and the company claims to be on track to keep up that pace.
Decades of flat, post- cold war spending shrunk the U. S. fleet by half. Additionally, it reduced the number of shipbuilders, shipfitters, and riggers employed by Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries ‘ Newport News Shipbuilding Division, which is its partner in the Virginia and Columbia programs.
The Navy claims that EB and Newport News must deliver two Virginias and one Columbia annually by 2028 in order to meet AUKUS and national defense targets. According to Courtney, Electric Boat is on track to meet the Navy’s production goals, and cutting a ship off the budget will likely slow production over the long term.
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