BlueForge awarded $951 million for continued submarine industrial base work

By Nick Wilson / September 11, 2024 at 10:51 AM

The Navy has awarded Texas-based non-profit BlueForge Alliance a $951 million contract for submarine industrial base work, according to a Pentagon announcement.

Under the sole-source award, BlueForge will “support planning, resourcing, coordinating, and uplifting the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base and Foreign Military Sales requirements,” the Tuesday announcement states.

The Navy has already tapped BlueForge to oversee various efforts to strengthen the submarine industrial base. Founded in 2022, The organization has run advertising campaigns to attract workers to the industry, including television ads and the recruiting website buildsubmarines.org.

If all options are exercised, the value of the contract could climb to over $980 million, the announcement continues, indicating $503 million of the Navy’s fiscal year 2024 funding will be obligated at time of the award.

The award comes amid continued Navy efforts to improve submarine production to a sustained rate of at least one Columbia- and two Virginia-class boats per year. With both programs running behind schedule, the Navy’s FY-25 budget proposes a $3.9 billion single-year submarine industrial base investment and $11.1 billion over the next five years.

However, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that a six-month stopgap spending package proposed by House Republicans would compromise these efforts and lead to further delays for the Columbia program.

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