THAT WOULD BE NICE: The Navy Wants 3 New Virginia-Class Submarines Every Year.

The previous status quo had been for the Navy to drop from building two Virginia-Class boats per year to one in the early 2020s when construction of the new Columbia-Class nuclear armed submarines begins. The service then moved to a plan to build two Virginia-class submarines and one Columbia-class submarine concurrently, according to findings from a Navy assessment.

The proposed idea now, currently being explored by the Navy, is to jump up to three Virginia-class per year when Columbia-class production hits a lull in “off years.”

“I do believe there is a capacity to get to three a year in the off years for Columbia construction. We have gotten up to two per year and that is sustainable. There is capacity in the yard and as we negotiate this upcoming multI-year, we will look at pulling options in to add more submarines,” James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, told lawmakers at a Congressional House Armed Services Committee Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.

As things stand now, the older Los Angeles-class attack subs are being retired faster than the Virginia-class boats can be brought into service, leading soon to a years-long “submarine gap” between service requirements and fleet size.