‘Substantial’
Columbia-class Missile Tube Weld Fix Will Cost $27 Million, Take a Year
By: Ben Werner
November 7, 2018 1:06
PM, USNI
A problem with Columbia-class submarine missile tube
welds is more serious than initially thought, causing the contractor
responsible to set aside $27 million to cover repair work that is expected to
take nearly a year.
BWX Technologies, the sub-contractor building missile tubes for
Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) prime contractor General
Dynamics Electric Boat, discovered
the welding problems over the summer.
Electric Boat had not yet installed the tubes in submarine hulls, Rex Geveden,
chief executive of BWX Technologies, said while speaking with Wall Street
analysts during a Wednesday morning conference call. The fixes might not be
finished until the summer of 2019.
“Inspection efforts and rework effort was more substantial than
previously believed,” Geveden said. “Our plans call for completing all the
repairs by the middle of next year. In terms of any delays, the U.S. boats will
not be affected by the missile tube delay.”
The missile tubes will be used on both U.S. and U.K.
submarines.
The company finished the quarter with revenues of $426 million
compared to revenues of $419 million a year ago. Profits for the quarter were
$77.9 million, compared to $46.6 million reported a year ago, according to a
BWX earnings statement.
BWX has made nuclear submarine components since the Navy first
started using nuclear propulsion. Most of BWX’s work for the Navy involves building
and fueling reactors used on both the Columbia-class and Virginia-class attack
subs, as well as on the new Ford-class aircraft carrier. Missile tube
production represents about 3 percent of BWX’s Navy business, Geveden said.
The 12-hull Columbia-class program is estimated to cost $122.3
billion. The Navy has awarded contracts to Electric Boat to purchase long-lead
materials, including the missile tubes from BWX and two other sub-contractors,
in anticipation of starting production. Electric Boat expects a contract to
build the first Columbia-class submarine in late 2019, General Dynamics
officials said during a recent
conference call discussing third
quarter financial results with Wall Street analysts.
After identifying the missile tube welding problems, BWX
halted production while inspectors from the company, Electric Boat and the Navy
determined the cause and developed a solution. The process involved the
use of ultrasonic equipment to check very long, complex welds, Geveden
explained. The welds are 100 inches long, and Geveden said the original
technique for inspecting the welds did not catch all the quality issues along
that lengthy weld that the Navy’s ultrasonic checks did.
“Our weld techniques were not adequate for those large metric
welds. So we’re changing our technique,” Geveden said.
BWX revamped its weld inspection process and retrained its
welders. The welding issue was limited strictly to BWX’s missile tube production,
and Geveden stressed there was no “spillover” affecting manufacturing in the
company’s much larger reactors business.
During the next round of submarine contract awards, Geveden is
confident BWX will be considered. The Navy is buying 12 Columbia-class submarines
but is now also expected to purchase five post-Columbia-class subs, according
to a Congressional Budget
Office analysis of the Navy’s
long-term shipbuilding plan. The Columbia-class design is likely to be the base
design of these five subs, which would be akin to a guided-missile submarines
(SSGN), according to the CBO.
“We are dead certain this problem is restricted to this product
line, and restricted to this particular weld on this particular product line,”
Geveden said of the missile tube welds.
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