Year-long continuing resolution could delay submarine Columbia, US Navy official says

by Michael Fabey

The Columbia-class submarine programme could be delayed by a yearlong continuing resolution, the US Navy says. (US Navy )

A year-long continuing resolution (CR) to freeze funding could cause delays to the Columbia-class (SSNB 826) ballistic-missile submarine programme, according to Rear Admiral John Gumbleton, deputy assistant secretary of the US Navy (USN) for budget and director of the USN Fiscal Management Division.

Navy officials have been adamant for years that the service could not afford any additional delays to the Columbia programme if the vessels were going ready to start patrols once the current Ohio-class SSBNs retire.

Programme funding would be cut by about USD500 million under the CR, Rear Adm Gumbleton told reporters on 25 January during a media briefing on the possible affects of such a resolution.

“The Columbia has been our number one priority,” he said. However, with the money loss a CR would have on the programme there is a strong potential the schedule would be affected, he said.

However, he said the navy would “hopefully have an opportunity” to make up any time lost.


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Fincantieri announces Indonesian contract for two PPAs amid funding uncertainties

by Ridzwan Rahmat

Italian Navy Thaon di Revel-class PPA ITS Francesco Morosini seen at Langkawi during its 2023 Asia-Pacific tour. (Janes/Mansasvi Sharma Shanker)

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced on 28 March that it has signed a EUR1.18 billion (USD1.27) contract for two multirole offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

However, Indonesia's ability to fund this commitment is presently unclear given the lack of an allocation for this programme in the country's defence budget.

The PPA is a class of 143 m warships that can be configured for a wide spectrum of missions ranging from ‘light' low-tempo maritime surveillance operations to ‘full combat' higher-end warfighting scenarios. Depending on the configuration, the vessels displace between 5,800 and 6,300 tonnes.

Italy has commissioned three of the vessels and the ships were inducted between March 2022 and September 2023. The Italian Navy is expected to receive its fourth and fifth PPAs in 2024.


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CRS raises USCG Polar Security Cutter cost-estimate questions

by Michael Fabey

An artist rendering of the proposed US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, whose cost estimates are being questioned. (VT Halter Marine/Technology)

The accuracy of the estimated procurement cost of the proposed US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), given its size and internal complexity, is a potential issue of concern, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).

“The PSC's estimated procurement cost per weight is roughly half that of the [US] Navy's LPD-17 Flight II and LHA amphibious ships,” the CRS said in its report, Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress , released on 25 March.

“These amphibious ships are equipped with expensive combat system equipment that is not included in the PSC design, but whether this would account for all of the difference in cost per weight between the PSC design and the two amphibious ship designs is not clear,” the CRS said. “If substantial cost growth occurs in the PSC program, it could raise a question regarding whether to grant some form of contract relief to the PSC shipbuilder.”


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Taiwan receives fifth, sixth Tuo Chiang-class corvettes

by Ridzwan Rahmat

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen seen here at the handover ceremony of An Chiang (625) and Wan Chiang (626) on 26 March 2024. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

The Republic of China Navy (RoCN) has received its fifth and sixth Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvettes.

Presiding over the vessels' handover ceremony on 26 March at Yilan was Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen who in an official social media post on the same day described the handover event as “an important step forward for Taiwan's indigenous naval defence”.

The Tuo Chiang class is a catamaran-hulled corvette that features a wave-piercing form factor with reduced radar cross-section (RCS) exteriors. It was developed by the country's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST) with local shipbuilder Lung Teh.

First-of-class ROCS Tuo Chiang (618) was commissioned in December 2014. The programme's second-of-class onwards are based on an improved design with a longer overall length of 65 m and a higher displacement of 685 tonnes. The first-of-class displaces about 600 tonnes and has an overall length of about 60 m.

The vessels that were handed over on 26 March are named An Chiang (625) and Wan Chiang


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A year-long continuing resolution (CR) to freeze funding could cause delays to the Columbia-class (S...

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