Australia's Virginia Chances Dive Deeper

An excellent article by Dominic Giannini at AAP-MSN of March 13, 2024 at https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/australia-faces-subs-challenge-in-us-nuclear-at-home/ar-BB1jMyE1 in part includes:

“Cuts to the production of a nuclear-powered submarine in the US have raised concerns about Australia's planned acquisition as the government moves ahead to regulate its nuclear industry in preparation.

A Virginia-class submarine has been cut from the 2025 proposed US defence budget.

…Australia was completely dependent on Washington to acquire the submarine and America would always back their navy if there was a shortage in production, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said.

"The reality is the Americans are not going to make their submarine deficit worse than it is already by giving or selling submarines to Australia and [Congress'] AUKUS legislation actually sets that up," he told ABC radio on Wednesday…”

"...Virginia-class submarines supposed to be delivered this year in America were running an average of more than 30 months late, US defence under secretary comptroller and chief financial officer Michael McCord said.

Money not flowing through to the industrial base fast enough was also a problem, Mr McCord said, as he pointed to there being more than a dozen on order that remained in production."

[Australia's Part-time Defence Minister Marles should take note what the US DoD is saying] 

"Spending money to prop up industry rather than spending it on another submarine was a smarter investment, [McCord] added..."

More see https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/australia-faces-subs-challenge-in-us-nuclear-at-home/ar-BB1jMyE1

Pete Comment

The most valid measure of Virginia production is “Commissioned” see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia-class_submarine#Boats_in_class With current yearly commissionings averaging 1.3 Virginias per year. 

Using "Boats in class" commissionings were:

- 2 in 2022

- 1 in 2023, and

-  1 is due in 2024 "Scheduled for 6 April" 

Hence cutting 1.0 per year might mean no Virginias being commissioned in 2025 and/or 2026.

This truly worries the USN. Hence it is, no doubt, advising the Secretary of Defense, Congress and the President that all existing and new Virginias should be retained by the USN - through to the early 2040s at least.