www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-biz_submarine_1 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 12/24/2009
Last Visited: 12/30/2009
The last boat the partners delivered, the New Hampshire, was completed in 71 months, said Capt. Michael Jabaley, the Navy's program manager for Virginia-class submarines.
"The most important thing is that with each ship we deliver, we are continuing to improve the performance of the shipbuilding team," Jabaley said.
"It's not just the construction span, it's also the quality of the ships."
While the construction problems in Newport News caused concern for the Navy, they resulted in a better final product delivered to the Navy, Jabaley said.
"We're a better program for it, and the ship is better for it," he said.
"The quality issues we had were never anything that would have endangered the safety of the ship or the crew.
It was really more a matter of how do you build the best-quality ship, and it allowed us to come through those issues together to put us on a path of significant progress throughout the program."
The additional time the sub spent in the yard allowed Northrop to deliver a boat that didn't require any major repairs or alterations after two sets of sea trials, Jabaley said.
Because the ship performed so well, Jabaley said he has no plans to request any additional funding for the ship.
...
But Jabaley said Tuesday that those goals could be achieved much earlier.
"I think we've got an excellent chance of getting to 60 months as early as (the Mississippi)," he said, referring to the ninth Virginia-class sub, which was purchased in 2007 and is scheduled for delivery in 2013.
The Navy, he said, is pushing for delivery of that boat in mid-2012.