The Navy in September began conducting new inspections of its supplier base supporting the Columbia-class submarine program in response to faulty welding on missile tubes found in August, according to a Navy officer overseeing the submarine program. Capt. Jonathan Rucker, Columbia-class submarine program manager, told reporters Nov. 7 at the Naval Submarine League Symposium the service is conducting these inspections for all missile tube vendors, including nine subcontractors for missile and payload tubes. "We have two going on this week,"...
