The U.S. Navy’s next-generation SSN(X) attack submarine is not immune to the shipbuilding setbacks and budgetary constraints hampering the service’s modernization programs. From destroyers and frigates to fighter jets and aircraft carriers, almost all of the Navy’s next-gen projects are running behind schedule. Since the service’s submarine fleet represents a large chunk of its sea-based nuclear deterrence strategy, maintaining a formidable force is of utmost importance to the Navy. While the SSN(X) was scheduled to begin the construction phase in 2031, this estimate has now been pushed back by at least a decade.

Last year, then-Navy Undersecretary Erik Raven discussed these setbacks in detail, noting that “If you look at F/A-XX, or the other X [next-generation] programs, we knowingly took risks in the schedule for development of those programs in order to prioritize those key investments — whether that’s readiness, or investing in our people, or undersea, to make sure that we make those programs whole.” Considering the........

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