Navy review highlights challenges behind shipbuilding delays

A Navy review is shining a light on major shipbuilding delays, including at the Newport News shipyard, but defense experts point to larger systemic issues constraining the industrial base’s production capacity.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro ordered a 45-day shipbuilding review this year with the goal of identifying causes of shipbuilding challenges and recommending actions to keep new builds on schedule. A one-page fact sheet released in April showed several of the Navy’s top shipbuilding programs are one to three years behind schedule.

A second investigation will explore how to fix the delays, Del Toro said. The secretary referenced needing a “whole-of-government effort” when ordering the study in January.

The review found that the lead ship of the Columbia-class submarines is delayed 12-16 months, blocks four and five of Virginia-class submarines are delayed 24-36 months and the third Ford-class aircraft carrier is delayed 18-26 months — all of which Newport News Shipbuilding plays a role in constructing. Additionally, the lead ship of the Constellation-class frigates, which are being built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, is delayed 36 months.

The fact sheet offered little insight into the cause of the delays, only summarizing bullet points of challenges. Lead ship issues included design maturity, first-of-class challenges, transition to production and design workforce. Class issues included acquisition and contract strategy, supply chain, skilled workforce and government workforce.

The full report is not available for public release due to sensitive information, said Lt. Cmdr. Javan Rasnake, spokesperson for the Navy’s research, development and acquisition division.