Electric Boat To Invest $850M In Groton Expansion

Demand For Submarines To Also Increase Workforce

Electric Boat plans to spend $850 million to significantly expand its Groton shipyard as the Navy picks up the pace of submarine construction and design to face down threats from China and Russia.

The subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. is building two Virginia-class attack submarines a year and is designing the ballistic Columbia-class submarines to be ordered from 2021 to 2035, replacing the aging Ohio-class subs.

To keep up with demand for the two submarine programs, Electric Boat projects it will need 18,000

workers by 2030. The workforce reached 16,500 last year, the most in 25 years. Most of the employment growth will be in trade mechanics, supervisors and associated personnel.

“What’s driving this is the Navy wants to continue the Virginia class at the current pace for the foreseeable future,” Jeff Geiger, president of Electric Boat, said in an interview. “Compounding on top of that is the Columbia class...to replace the Ohio built in the ’80s and ’90s.”

General Dynamics also is spending about $850 million to upgrade and expand its shipyard in nearby Quonset Point, R.I.

Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and extend to 2023, in time to receive submarine modules — the portions of the enormous vessels — that are built at Quonset Point and shipped to Groton for assembly and construction.

Plans call for a final assembly hall at the southern end of the shipyard for construction of 12 Columbia class submarines beginning in 2021. EB is designing the building and seeking permits for construction, which is expected to begin in 2019.

EB will continue to build the Virginia-class submarine at the shipyard’s northern part.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, whose 2nd District includes the Groton shipyard, said the cost to extend the shipyard “ranks as high as any construction project in Connecticut.”

“The Navy has put a very high urgent priority designation on this project,” he said.

The Quonset Point site will be outfitted with facilities that provide additional module fabrication and space to support both Virginia-class and Columbiaclass construction projects, Geiger said.

In Groton, changes will allow EB to build a bigger ship and receive a larger barge containing the larger modules, he said.

A floating dry dock will be added, extending buildings at water’s edge, Geiger said. The projects will require federal and state environmental review.

The construction has upset some neighbors. Frank Ricci, a retired 34-year supervising engineer at EB, said a new building will block much of the view of the Thames River from his house.

“I’ll see the sun setting behind the buildings,” he said.

Ricci, who has lived in his home 45 years and recently spent $30,000 to build a porch facing the river, attended a recent meeting EB called to solicit their opinions. A lawyer advised him that opposition won’t halt EB’s plans.

“It’s a government thing,” he said, quoting the attorney.

Geiger said EB is trying to work with neighbors and “be sensitive to them.”

But the shipbuilder faces “very limited siting for the facility,” he said.

EB will try to reduce traffic during the construction of the buildings by using boats on the Thames River to deliver supplies, Geiger said.

Courtney said the project is too important to allow significant alterations in response to neighbors’ complaints.

“I’m very confident this is going to proceed,” he said.

Carlton Smith, zoning and building official for the city of Groton, said EB officials have not yet presented an application for the expansion project. The city will have to sign off on building heights and other details when the project is formally submitted, which he said will be early next year.

The Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also will review the project. The Corps of Engineers will review EB plans for dredging in the Thames River.

Electric Boat is benefiting from a shift in military strategy that increasingly relies on undersea warfare. Authorization for federal spending that Congress and President Donald Trump approved includes funding for two Virginia-class submarines and advanced procurement for future submarines, at $7.6 billion.

It also funds the Columbia submarine at $3.2 billion and adds $237 million to expand the submarine industrial base of manufacturers.

The state has already come on board the shipyard construction project. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced in May a package of nearly $85 million in grants, incentives and loans to help General Dynamics add nearly 1,900 employees over 17 years and expand its Groton site.

“We’re very excited about this,” Geiger said of the expansion. “It’s a great opportunity for our country.”