WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger F. Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to press reports that the fiscal year 2025 budget for the U.S. Navy will only contain a funding request for one Virginia-class attack submarine:

“Attack submarines are the crown jewels of the U.S. military and critical to deterring China. Slashing production weakens American power. We cannot afford to shortchange our deterrent during this dangerous moment,” Senator Wicker said. “I urge the administration to reverse course on this harmful decision.”

KEY FACTS:

• The submarine industrial base produces between only 1.2 and 1.4 Virginia-class submarines per year, while estimates suggest that the Navy requires a minimum of 2.33 to fulfill its needs as well as the demands of the AUKUS agreement.
• Senator Wicker extensively advocated for increased submarine industrial base support last year, leading to the inclusion of $3.4 billion in submarine industrial base funds in the national security supplemental legislation that passed the Senate.
• The recently released Submarine Industrial Base 2025 (SIB25) study concludes that submarine construction should increase in the near future, while the Biden administration is mulling over a budget that would slash FY25 production of attack submarines in half.
• The 2 attack submarines per year requirement has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support.
• A recent study found that China is markedly increasing its own production of modern submarines to erode U.S. undersea dominance.