Executives pledge the first boat will be in testing at the Groton shipyard by the end of this year, after significant delays.
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The CEO of General Dynamics, Phebe Novakovic, has addressed recent delays in the production of Columbia class submarines, saying the first boat will be in testing at Electric Boat’s Groton shipyard by the end of this year.
Speaking on a conference call with analysts, Novakovic said that the first sub in the class, District of Columbia, is currently about 60% complete.
She was responding to recent reports about delays in the program. The Navy has estimated that the first boat would be delivered in fiscal year 2028 — one year behind schedule.
“The single largest impact on the cadence of manufacturing and ultimate delivery of the first Columbia has been the fragility of the supply chain as it's tried to ramp up from very low rate production, which it's been in for the last 25, 30 years, and quintupling that production,” Novakovic said.
Danny Deep, General Dynamics’s executive vice president of global operations, outlined improvements that the company has made in the supply chain, after government investments in training, hiring and technology.
“Those improvements are significant,” he said. “And that will have the biggest impact on our ability to drive productivity and schedule.”
The company is in talks with the Navy for orders on the next block of Virginia class submarines, as well as five Columbia class boats.
”The operating assumption is that those contracts are executed this year,” Novakovic said.
General Dynamics Marine Systems segment, which includes Electric Boat, reported a 13.8% increase in revenue to $4.1 billion in the third quarter, driven by higher volume on its Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarine programs.
The company as a whole reported net profit up 14% to $1.1 billion, or $3.88 per share for the quarter.