By Marcus Weisgerber
WASHINGTON -- Republicans and Democrats in Congress are pushing the Navy to award contracts for at least 15 submarines after months of delays, arguing that waiting any longer could harm the bespoke manufacturing base that the Navy relies on.
Congress approved the construction of up to 13 Virginia-class attack submarines in 2023 and five Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines in 2025. No deals have been signed yet, despite expectations that orders for 10 of the Virginia-class vessels would be signed as early as 2024.
The entire deal could be valued at around $100 billion for General Dynamics's Electric Boat and HII's Newport News Shipbuilding, which together lead the construction of all of the Navy's submarines.
Lawmakers from both parties are warning that the delays could slow submarine production, which the Navy has vowed to speed up.
Rep. Rob Wittman, a Virginia Republican who is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the contracts are necessary to send a signal to companies.
"I fully expect the Navy to quickly move forward with this block buy contract, one that will save the taxpayers money and preserve the health of the submarine industrial base," Wittman said in a statement. Wittman, whose congressional district borders Newport News Shipbuilding, noted that most components used for making submarines are so specialized that only one supplier makes each of them, and that delaying contracts can endanger such businesses' viability.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D., Conn.), who represents the district that is home to Electric Boat, said signing the contract is critical to shipbuilders and supply-chain companies as they try to hire the right workers and stay in business. "There is huge bipartisan agreement that we need to grow the submarine fleet and that it's time for the Navy to move forward and eliminate any risk that a contract delay could cause," he said in a statement.
A Navy spokesman declined to give reasons for the delay or say when the contract would be awarded but said that increasing submarine production rates is a top priority.
"The Department of the Navy understands the importance of timely contract awards to support stable, predictable shipbuilding and supplier workload," the spokesman said in a statement.
The Virginia class is an established class of attack submarine, each costing around $5 billion, that can strike targets on land and ships at sea. The Columbia class is a newer model submarine, expected to cost roughly $9.3 billion each, that can launch nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. Both are nuclear powered and can operate discreetly in waters around the world, allowing commanders to launch covert strikes.
Congress this month confirmed Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher to oversee submarine production in a new position that reports directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg.
Executives at General Dynamics's Electric Boat and HII's Newport News Shipbuilding have said they don't know when contracts might come through.
The delayed submarine deals have frequently come up during quarterly earnings calls, with analysts pressing executives for answers about the timing of the contracts.
"To be quite honest, we don't know" when the contracts will be awarded, General Dynamics Chief Executive Phebe Novakovic said during the company's quarterly earnings call last month. "We know that both of those contracts are out there, the demand is there and it's simply up to the government when they come to us."
HII Chief Executive Chris Kastner said the company has been "engaged heavily with Electric Boat and the Navy to get it behind us." He noted that Congress's recent passage of defense appropriations for fiscal 2026 could help get the deal finalized.
"We think that needs to get done by the end of the first half of the year," Kastner said on an earnings call this month. "We need to make sure that we don't incur risk related to a delayed start on that program."
Congress has approved billions of dollars in recent years to support specialized suppliers and alleviate shortages of skilled workers in the submarine industrial base.
Those investments are paying off as vendors have delivered parts on time and are increasing production rates, according to Rear Adm. Todd Weeks, the Navy's program executive officer for nuclear-armed submarines.
The Columbia class, the Navy's top acquisition priority, is "the largest, most complex submarine this nation has ever built," Weeks said. It is intended to replace the Navy's 14 Ohio-class submarines, 12 of which are older than their designers intended them to be, Weeks told an industry conference in California this month.
The Navy has been trying to boost production of submarines in recent years as its fleet ages. The service and companies have been making investments at shipyards as they try to meet the Navy's goal of building one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines per year by 2028.
The Navy already operates 24 Virginia-class submarines.
The Navy previously awarded contracts for several Columbia-class submarines. Construction of the first began in October 2020. It is about two-thirds complete, according to Weeks. The Navy expects to receive it in 2028. Construction has begun on two other Columbia-class vessels.
Write to Marcus Weisgerber at marcus.weisgerber@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 25, 2026 09:44 ET (14:44 GMT)
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