Opening Remarks for Congressman Joe Courtney, Ranking Member, Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee

Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling today’s hearing on “game changers” in undersea warfare, capabilities and technologies.

Our undersea capabilities remains one of the most distinctive and asymmetrical advantages for our nation. One of the greatest challenges we face, however, is the rapid developments in undersea sensors, capabilities and platforms around the world. The reality is that this significant and hard-earned edge in the undersea realm is perishable if we do not do all we can now to maintain this core advantage for the future.

The pressure that our submarine force faces in the coming decade is well known. While the current Block IV multi-year contract sustains the two-a-year build rate through 2018, the Navy’s 30 year shipbuilding plan for fiscal year 2016 includes several years where that rate slows to one a year starting in 2021, the first year of the Ohio Replacement Program. The plan shows a 16 year period between 2025 and 2041 when the attack submarine force structure falls below minimum levels needed to meet the requirement.

Given that the submarine force today is only able to fill just over half the requests for submarine presence by our combatant commanders, this looming shortfall will force the Submarine Force, and our nation, to do more under the sea with fewer platforms. This will require us to look at different ways to deploy and utilize our submarines and become more innovative in using advanced technologies to maximize the reach, capabilities and effectiveness of a reduced fleet.

Key to the future capabilities of our submarine force is the Virginia Payload Module. This 90-foot insert into Virginia-class submarines to be built in Block V and later will help mitigate the 60 percent reduction in undersea strike capabilities that will be lost when the current fleet of four SSGNs retires in the next decade. As important, VPM must also be a flexible and versatile platform to support unmanned underwater vehicles and a wide range of potential innovations to expand the reach of our undersea force through integration of non-strike payloads.

Of particular bipartisan concern for this subcommittee is the current plan for incorporating VPM into future submarines. While the requirement for this program calls for 20 VPM-enabled submarines, the current budget projection only plans for the inclusion of VPM into just one submarine a year starting in 2019. Adding the module in at a rate of one a year is simply not a pace that can match the loss of undersea strike and payload deployment capabilities we lose with the retirement of the four SSGNs. I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Forbes and our colleagues to closely examine the Navy’s plan to incorporate VPM into our submarine fleet.

Beyond the core platforms of the Virginia class, Virginia Payload Module, and the Ohio Replacement, it is important to also focus the constellation of capabilities that will form the core of our nation’s continued edge in the undersea realm. With reduced numbers of attack submarines and SSGNs available in the next decade, it is critical that our navy retains access to a broad range of autonomous sensors, unmanned vehicles and other technologies during this period to fill the gap and expand the reach of our submarines.

We are privileged to have with us today Admiral Mike Connor, who recently retired from his career in the Navy after serving as Commander Submarine Forces. Under his leadership, the Submarine Force developed the Undersea Dominance Campaign Plan to articulate a vision of what our undersea capabilities should look like in 2025. The challenge for Congress, the Navy and industry is to turn this vision of undersea warfare a decade from now into concrete investments and tangible capabilities in the field. From conception to funding, testing and fielding, we must work together to turn this vision for continued undersea dominance into reality.

Innovation is in the blood of the submarine force and the industrial base that supports it. With the right leadership and support, we can harness this legacy of innovation to retain and expand our undersea edge. I look forward to the testimony of our two distinguished witnesses to provide insight to this subcommittee as to the importance of current efforts underway today, challenges that must be overcome, and game changing areas that this panel and the Navy should be focused on moving ahead.