Navy shipbuilding woes
Let’s pick on the Navy. Barely able to squeak out enough crew to man/person/whatever the total ships they have, the Navy’s build programs all show one consistency. They’re late and over budget. First up, submarines – the Virginia-class boats are currently building 1.3 a year versus projected needs of 2 a year. And that doesn’t account for the five we are supposed to supply to Australia. Sounds like Oz has a minimum 3 year wait if they get every one we build. Oh, and the program is running 17 BILLION over budget by 2030. Is any of that due to the co-ed modifications?
The news comes after a major report earlier this year revealed the Navy’s biggest projects, including new Virginia-class submarines, were facing severe delays of up to three years.
On Thursday, House Rep. Ken Calvert, chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said in remarks prior to an oversight meeting that the Navy had “withheld information on costs and delays” and that its “plans to address” its shipbuilding crises “are primarily aspirational.” Insider
Think we would say something pithier… like their mouths are talking goals their asses can’t manage. Why don’t some of THOSE flags get relieved for ‘lack of confidence’ – certainly, they don’t sound trustworthy.
EVERY program is behind. Not just the (snerk, snicker) Littoral Combat Ships…every damn one. Best of the lot is that last one…and that comment box in English instead of bureaucratese says “They ‘re late but we already figured they would be.” Unlike the aircraft carriers getting refueled at five years a whack – they are just late.
As of 2022 we had about 280 active, manned, able-to-get-underway ships. Total fleet strength, however, including these projected/late hulls, is 470 ships. Seems like a BIG of a difference, no?
Now, 370 ships… roughly the size of the current Chinese Navy. There are many differences – their Navy is much more brown-water coast-adjacent oriented and has many less powerful ships….you know, littoral ships. Still…
And that industry is building it a massive navy. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Navy “is the largest navy in the world with a battle force of over 370 platforms, including major surface combatants, submarines, ocean-going amphibious ships, mine warfare ships, aircraft carriers, and fleet auxiliaries,” the Pentagon said last fall in its report on China’s military power. And that number doesn’t include around 60 Houbei-class patrol combatants that carry anti-ship cruise missiles.
The country’s naval vessels are being constructed at incredible speeds, boasting increasingly advanced capabilities, sometimes even demonstrating impressive technological jumps. By 2030, the Pentagon expects China’s PLAN to have an overall battle force of 435 ships, a notable increase mostly in “major surface combatants.”
How is it they can build so much faster?
China’s shipbuilding industry has over 230 times the capacity of the US, according to recent estimates from the Office of Naval Intelligence, representing about 50% of the total global shipbuilding capacity.Insider II
Unlike WWII, we’re not going to build our way out of this mess. 230 times? Read the latter article…the numbers are a bit chilling.
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", China, Navy
