“We need to at least triple our rate of production of nuclear submarines. Our fleet is aging and the current delivery schedule will not even allow us to replace existing submarines as they reach retirement.”
You do realize each missile on board has more than one warhead per each missile? Also, not all of one class of boat entered service on the same day and we have refueled boats. I have no current knowledge of where each boat reaches its expiration date,I’m operating off the boat I served on. Hurrying crap gets people killed. Subsafe and Level One control has a definite benefit to crew safety. We can stretch retire dates if necessary to meet our goals. We have so far. I agree the sooner the better but no cutting corners. Thresher is the example of crap. IMFO
I’m not saying we should cut corners. We simply have to increase production capacity - and that means we need more welders, plumbers, electricians, etc etc. The shipyards are experiencing a shortage of skilled tradesmen needed to build boats. Its not just submarines, its all warships, but submarines are the most critical. Our technology for submarines is far more advanced than China’s but we are going to need more boats.