Experts question value of submarines in defense

WASHINGTON — With the state’s financial picture shaky at best, growing submarine production in Groton is an economic bright star — pumping an estimated $86 billion into Connecticut’s economy between now and 2034.

The shipyard of Electric Boat — a General Dynamics subsidiary — employs 11,500 building Virginiaclass attack submarines and planning for the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine for launch by the late 2020s.

The company hired 2,000 new workers last year and expects to hire 2,300 this year.

Electric Boat plans to hire between 15,000 and 18,000 between now 2030, bringing the total workforce to between 18,000 and 20,000, according to company spokesman Dan Bartlett. Electric Boat has another facility in Quonset Point, R.I., site that employs 4,500.

But beneath the cheering of Connecticut economic boosters and the halleluiah chorus of state’s congressional delegation, defense experts question the Navy’s emphasis on submarines. They wonder whether at $2 billion or more a pop, the nation’s defense needs are getting the appropriate bang for the buck.

“You can quibble about whether Russia is our friend, but you can’t make a compelling case that it’s the Cold War all over again,” said Tom Collina, policy director for the Ploughshares Fund, which supports arms control and non-proliferation.

The Senate on Monday is expected to approve the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which includes $3 billion for two Virginia-class subs — $250 million more than President Donald Trump asked for — and $3 billion for Columbiaclass vessels, still in the planning stages. The House approved its version.

Not surprisingly, Electric Boat’s hugest fans on Capitol Hill are Connecticut’s two senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy.

Both are members of key defense-related committees: Blumenthal on Senate Armed Services and Murphy on the Senate Appropriations military construction subcommittee, which has its finger firmly on the defense expenditure dollar spigot.

Murphy seems the most smitten by submarines, having traveled on a sub, the USS Hartford (based in Groton), on a voyage above the Arctic Circle in 2016.

“All things being equal, the U.S. is safer today than it was before it became the world’s largest military power,” said Murphy, a strong diplomacy advocate who entered Congress after winning a House seat in the 2006 election as an antiIraq-war candidate.

For his part, Blumenthal points to growing nuclear challenges from Russia, China and, potentially, North Korea.

“There is no weapons system in this military budget that is more stealthy, versatile, strong and survivable than our submarines,” he said. “None is more critical to our national security.’’

Pentagon officials and defense experts have warned of a reinvigorated Chinese navy challenging the U.S. in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific.

They also point to a Russian navy that is bent on a return to Soviet-era glory. But with its finances in tatters, Russia’s ambitions are greater than its actual ability to rebuild its sub fleet.

“It’s not smoke and mirrors, but it’s not ‘Hunt for Red October,’ either,” said Owen Cote, a naval defense expert at the MIT, referring to the Tom Clancy 1984vintage naval thriller.

Military planners envision the Virginia-class attack submarine taking over from the older Los Angelesclass. It is nuclear powered, and fires Tomahawk cruise missiles in addition to torpedoes.

Cost: About $2.7 billion each. Its main mission is torpedoing other ships, World War II style. But it also conducts surveillance and landing of Navy SEALs in dicey battle zones.