‘This Is a Mess’: The Navy’s $8 Billion New SSN(X) Submarine Is Now a Giant Headache

‘This Is a Mess’: The Navy’s $8 Billion New SSN(X) Submarine Is Now a Giant Headache

The U.S. Navy’s SSN (X) next-generation attack submarine program, which plans to combine the stealth of the Virginia-class with the firepower of the Seawolf-class, is delayed. The first procurement has been pushed back to the early 2040s, from a previous target of 2035. The primary reasons for the delay are budget limitations and the need to manage resources across multiple shipbuilding programs, most of which are also overdue and over budget. A…

‘This Is One Mistake We Can’t Afford to Make’: The U.S. Navy’s SSN(X) Attack Submarine Problems Make China and Russia Smile

The SSN(X) Delays Only Hurt the U.S. Navy: If I had to make an educated guess, there is a chart inside the Pentagon that nobody outside the building wants to see. It plots American attack submarine numbers against Chinese attack submarine numbers across the next twenty years. The American line bends downward through the early 2030s as Los Angeles-class boats retire faster than Virginia-class hulls can replace them. The Chinese line bends upward,…