Keep carriers on track

Regional House delegation right to join forces for carrier construction

Adelay of the Navy’s plans to build new aircraft carriers would cause serious problems for the shipbuilding industry in Hampton Roads. It would harm companies that supply critical parts, while likely raising the cost of the new ships by billions of dollars. Compounding the problems, a postponement would impair the Navy’s ability to protect the nation’s interests around the world at an increasingly volatile time.

Hampton Roads’ delegation to the U.S. House is right to lobby the Pentagon to keep construction of the Navy’s Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers on schedule. This is no time to let our guard down.

Republicans Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans and Democrats Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan last year sent a joint letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointing out how disruptive, costly and even dangerous it would be to delay the funding and building of planned Ford-class carriers. Their action came after reports suggested that the Defense Department might be considering delaying the timeline of the CVN 82, the fifth in the class, in its budget request for the next fiscal year.

Plans have been in place for two years of advance procurement for CVN 82 in the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years, a strategy used to pay for materials, parts and components with long lead times before the carrier is actually acquired in 2028. Now there has been talk about the procurement being delayed by the Pentagon until 2029 or 2030.

The representatives also pointed out the estimated $5 billion that the Navy could save through a “block buy” — ordering two ships this year and providing adequate advance funding. The idea is that CVN 83 would be completed four years after CVN 82.

That’s the approach favored by Newport News Shipbuilding, the only American company that designs, builds and refuels nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. It is the largest industrial employer in Virginia.

The arguments in favor of moving ahead with the carriers and for the multi-ship deal are strong.

Doing so is vitally important for Hampton

Roads and Virginia, to be sure. The shipbuilding industry, with its good paying jobs, is one of the bedrocks of our economy. A steady, reliable schedule for building carriers and other ships is essential to keep the industry, the employees and those who supply specialized components working smoothly. The supply chain does not need more uncertainty as it is struggling to recover from the disruptions of the pandemic.

And the potential saving of billions of dollars through increased efficiency should not be overlooked.

The importance of carrier construction to our region can’t be separated from the importance of the carrier fleet to our nation in an increasingly dangerous world. Carriers can quickly move aircraft and those who support them to trouble spots, projecting firepower where it’s needed. They can be the base for a variety of missions, most recently for launching strikes against terrorist groups operating in the Middle East.

The recent deployment of the USS

Gerald R. Ford makes it clear how key aircraft carriers are to our defense strategy. That expected six-month deployment turned into eight months for the Ford and the other ships in its strike group because of the Israel-Hamas war.

There are few if any strategic arguments in favor of delaying planned carrier construction. Most opposition is grounded primarily in the budget battles in today’s increasingly contentious Congress, where the virtues of compromise on such important matters as national security seem to have been forgotten.

Fortunately, the four representatives from Hampton Roads have been able to put any party differences they have aside to lobby for keeping carrier procurement and construction on track. They would do well to keep up that pressure. Leaders at the Pentagon should do all they can to keep the carrier construction schedule on track. An efficient, timely carrier construction program is essential to our region, the nation’s security and, ultimately, the defense of our homeland.