Groton shipyard Electric Boat, tasked with boosting the U.S. Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, said Monday that it is on track to deliver the newest Virginia-class ship in record time, The Associated Press reports.
Construction of the hull, radar and hatches of the Mississippi is far ahead of record schedule, according to EB. which is doubling production of nuclear-powered submarines for the Defense Department to two annually beginning this year.
With debate still raging over the federal budget in Washington, analysts say reductions in time frame and cost would help preserve the plan to build up the submarine fleet.
“The government is headed into a period of fiscal austerity, so making submarines as affordable as possible could be key to keeping the program on track,” said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute think tank.
Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corp., is the primary contractor for the Virginia-class submarines and builds them jointly with the Newport News, Va., shipyard that forms part of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. The Virginia-class submarines take five years to build and cost about $2.6 billion each. Seven have been delivered since 2004, and 11 more are under contract.
The construction of the Mississippi is on track to set a Virginia-class record for the shortest time span from construction to delivery, the company said.
