Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro recently sent congressional appropriations leaders a letter detailing the downsides for the Department of the Navy in a potential six-month Continuing Resolution (CR) being considered on Capitol Hill, including schedule delays for submarines and aircraft carrier refueling overhauls.
In the letter, dated Sept. 12 and publicly released Monday, Del Toro reiterated some points previously made in a similar recent letter sent by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that the most consequential impacts of a long term CR would be delays to the
Virginia-class attack submarine (SSN) impacting deliveries and future force structure availabilities already behind schedule and over cost; delaying investments in the submarine industrial base needed to fulfill the AUKUS agreement, additional delays to the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) causing future cost increases, and restriction of funds used for a planned refueling of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) aircraft carrier (Defense Daily, Sept. 10).
Del Toro said the CR would also lead to “profound negative impacts on the Marine Corps Force design efforts, slowing key acquisition programs.”
He argued the CR would negatively impact 20 construction projects, five research and development projects, up to 58 ships maintenance availabilities, procurement of five ships and various aircraft and munitions programs.
Last week, House Republicans scrapped plans to vote on the six-month CR amid high opposition. Congress has a shutdown deadline of Sept. 30 to reach some kind of shorter-term CR deal (Defense Daily, Sept. 11)
Some of the other specific consequences of a six-month CR Del Toro listed include the delay of a new contract award for the Landing Ship Medium (LSM); less funding for advance procurement for another new amphibious assault ship that would lead to construction delays and potential cost increases; delayed awards for the AIM-9X Sidewinder and Rolling Airframe Missiles that would reduce missiles for fleet loadouts; Conventional Prompt Strike Test Facility MILCON project delay that would result in lack of testing facility for the hypersonic weapons that slows schedule, increases cost and reduces warfighter rounds; and potential descoping or delaying 48 ships depot maintenance availabilities scheduled for FY 2025.
Del Toro also summarized the more severe impacts of a potential year-long CR, which would create a $24.5 billion funding misalignment compared to the FY 2025 funding request. This is divided into $21.2 billion for the Navy and $3.3 billion for the Marine Corps.
(Image: Huntington Ingalls Industries)
The year-long misalignment includes restricting $2.4 billion in new starts, $12.3 billion in production rate increases and $9.8 billion in appropriation rates of operation increases.
Del Toro broke this down into $10.8 billion in misalignment in the shipbuilding accounts resulting in a later contract award for the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) refueling and complex overhaul, leading to possible cost increases, slippage in awarding the HII [HII] San Antonio-class Flight II LPD-33 that will erode savings from a multi-ship procurement contract, and being unable to award the FY 2025 – 2029 Virginia-class submarine multiyear procurement contract.
$4.8 billion in other procurement would delay the Sikorsky [LMT] CH-53K award that “could jeopardize industrial base stability and invalidate negotiated pricing, potentially resulting in additional costs.”
This would also delay the correction of deficiencies in the Boeing [BA] MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based unmanned tanker program during its Engineering and Manufacturing Development test program.