The US Navy’s roughly 55 nuclear-powered attack and guided-missile submarines represent one of the United States’ biggest advantages over potential enemies. The Navy this year managed to double, to two a year, the annual production rate for Virginia-class submarines, resulting in a long-term attack sub force of no fewer than 40 vessels – more, by far, than any other nation.
But budgetary pressure could result in future cuts to the undersea fleet. At $2 billion apiece, attack submarines aren’t cheap. Possible sub cuts are a major concern for US lawmakers, particularly Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, whose state of Connecticut is home to the United States’ major submarine shipyard, Electric Boat. The Diplomat spoke to a staffer in Sen. Lieberman’s office about the importance of, and fiscal threats to, the US submarine fleet.
‘The biggest challenge facing submarine production is the broader fiscal environment and the uncertainty surrounding the defense budget in light of the deficit-reduction effort on the table today,’ the staffer said.
‘The flipside is that, in terms of the programme itself, particularly the Virginia-class programme, it’s a programme delivering ships ahead of schedule and under the target cost, so that the programme is as healthy as any in the (Defence) Department’s portfolio – and in many ways could be a model programme for shipbuilding and any form of (military) acquisition.’
‘Obviously our submarines provide a unique and uniquely American capacity for endurance, mobility and stealth in all missions they perform really in any environment in which they operate,’ the staffer concluded. ‘The key is to make sure that everyone weighing these decisions understands the unique...capability submarines bring to the fleet.’
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Frank
Americans should think about not to borrow their children’s money to pay for other people’s causes.
John Chan
Prudent advice.
Jack
Buy more submarines and get into more debt. Sounds ah……Well I would not be suprised if this were the case for the US. It seems that the politicians and the war mongers in US have no stop to their quest for dominance in the World. Its the economy that keeps the US moving. Without a strong economy, with one that is heavily in debt, how can the US provide the so called security for the free world. Better to fix the economy first than later focus on the military
vec
A drug addict needs drug to keep going.America is the same.Just cant kick the habit anymore.Need it for the ego.
troll
@frank why dont you admit it? that you and almost all chinese envy U.S so much.. enough of your nonsense comment..
Frank
I admit that Chinese admire USA. There are so many things we Chinese need to learn from US of A. That is a little different than envy. East Indians envy China. We admire USA. Big difference.
If you have not noticed yet, we are learning from USA. We copy you.
Jay Perry
What is the diplomat fascination with the submarine, do they need to rename this blog ‘bubble-head?’ It seems that every article on this blog deals with how we are cutting our sub capability and how the Chinese and Russians are expanding theirs……
Foo
yang tsup
U.S are not just doing this for other’s cause.. Its more on their own cause, for maintaining imfluence, control, affair and security, before a potential enemy reach the homeland.. so borrowing from their children’s money is for their own future too.. a more prosperous and secured homeland..
Fu Manchu
Remember how the Soviets lost the cold war?
The USA encouraged it to run an arm race that broke it’s economy!
China should encourages the USA to compete in an arm race which will see a broke USA even broker!
As it is, it do not have any monies left for basic infrastructures maintenance or for their pensioners.
Pride in it’s military might will see to it’s own demise.
The real competition is to be the preeminent trading and exporting nation and the USA is a lame duck.
Very soon it will imploded just like the Soviets.
DV
Don’t worry! The Soviet Union was bankrupt in the Cold War Arms race, because Dollar was not its currency and it also had a lot of SOEs like China today!! So what will be will be!! In the end, the last man standing’s still the USA, right?!
Tom Belanski
Not sure about that as our American dollar is now the greatest Ponzi scheme in the world.
Its days are due and it value depends very much on the goodwill of its creditors.
We cannot just rely on our money printing press.
DV
Relying on “creditor” as china? Forget it! I bet 100 more years, chinese yuan is still traded within China and Dollar is still the global reserve as usual! You will see the coming down very soon of the titan mercantilist China! BTW give you some information/data: 69% US national debt owned by the AMERICANS; china owned only 7.5% of US debt! Now you get it!I guess after 2012 election, there will be more trade protectionism against China’s mercantilism to help create jobs in America.(If the defense budget is cut more, there will be about 1 million jobs in the defense industry lost!)
David Niven
Tom is correct DV!
We don’t even make our own underwear or toothpaste these days, and all our infrastructures is hopelessly near end of life which our economists reckon will require as much as 5 trillions dollars, just for upkeep.
Just look around you.Pensioners are not getting their monies, State and Federal facilities are shutting down and their employees are being send home without pay.
The unemployment and soup lines are getting longer and longer and our homeless are increasing in number. Poverty is on the rise and it is no wonder, Occupy Wall Streets movements are garnering strength.
Only fools will still believe in our Almighty Dollars!
JBrown
@ David Niven,
If you’re an American, I strongly recommend you to read about New Economic Perspectives or New Monetary Sovereignty. China is currently trapped itself in the dollar trap!
vec
@David Niven
There are still a lot of fools who r living in the last century.Cant remember they are getting old and senile.