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The decision to enact a continuing resolution until March is detrimental for the Navy's top acquisition priority -- the next-generation ballistic submarine program -- and work may come to a “screeching halt” on Jan. 1 unless Congress steps in.
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced this morning that Congress would extend the existing continuing resolution by three months until next March.
Vice Adm. Joseph Mulloy, deputy chief of naval operations for integration of capabilities and resources, said Oct. 26 during his presentation at the Naval Submarine League's annual symposium in Arlington, VA, that not only will more than $5 billion in the shipbuilding account be untouched under a subsequent continuing resolution, the Ohio-class Replacement Submarine program will come to “almost a screeching halt” unless an appropriations bill is passed or a waiver is granted to proceed with the effort.
"I've been doing this for seven years and we've never gotten an anomaly, not a single one for DOD," Mulloy said. "Congress' idea is that DOD comes in with $500 [plus] billion a year you can always wait a little bit longer." The anomaly is a waiver that would allow the Navy to use funding in the shipbuilding account for the ORP program.
Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, program executive officer for submarines, said Oct. 26 during the same symposium that if an appropriations bill is not passed or a continuing resolution with an anomaly for the Ohio-class replacement submarine program is not approved, his team will have to "redefine things" to continue design work.
"It is unlikely for that to be approved and the alternative is you slow down the design," he added. "If I slow down the design on this ship then it is greater than a day-for-day delay once we do get funding and start up again. It is a perilous situation that I am hopeful will be resolved."
Jabaley told Inside the Navy in July it is imperative for the Ohio replacement to continue design work under a continuing resolution.
The existing design contract for Ohio-class replacement is paid for using research and development funding. The service planned to award a contract in October that would have included design and construction plans for the first two boats and be funded with advance procurement monies from the shipbuilding conversion account.
"There are two colors of money used to fund the design, and we're in the middle of a phased transition from RDT&E design to SCN advance procurement funded design," Jabaley said. "We can sustain for a period of time under a continuing resolution because the R&D money will continue."
However, if a continuing resolution goes beyond three months the Ohio-class replacement sub program will "get out of balance" and will need to use funds from the SCN account to ramp up design work, he said.
The Navy must procure the first Ohio-class replacement sub in 2021 so that the boat can be on its first patrol in fiscal year 2031, according to written testimony penned by Jabaley and Rear Adm. Charles Richard, undersea warfare director in the office of the chief of naval operations (N97), and submitted in July to the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee.
"We took risk in our ability to meet SSBN requirements during the decade of transition when we delayed the OHIO Replacement SSBN by two years," the document reads. "This moderate risk was clearly articulated and well understood -- but ensure an uninterrupted undersea strategic deterrent provided by 10 operational SSBNs, the program cannot withstand any additional delay."