CNO: Navy needs to provide 'increased oversight' of Columbia-class sub program

The Navy's top admiral is pushing the service to pay close attention to the already-tight schedule for the Columbia-class submarine program.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson today said Columbia is on track, but that he's "concerned" about the program.

"In a program of this complexity, it's just a fact of life that there are going to be things that will surprise us going forward," Richardson said, speaking at a conference in Pentagon City, VA.

A program of Columbia's importance and size "requires, perhaps, some increased oversight so that we're not making mistakes and eating into a program that has very thin margins already," he added.

The Columbia-class submarine is the Navy's largest and most important acquisition program.