WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined a group of 14 members of the U.S. Senate in sending a letter to the leadership of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, urging them to preserve the two-per-year procurement cadence of Virginia Class submarines to maintain undersea supremacy and prevent destabilizing the industrial base.

“Cutting funding for the Virginia-Class program sends a terrible message to the submarine industrial base working vigorously to rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis,” the senators wrote. “Preserving a consistent production schedule is essential for shipyard and industrial base stability, and to meet the Navy’s operational requirements.”

“Attack submarine capabilities remain one of our most distinct national security advantages. In recent years, Congress has heard disturbing testimony regarding growing capabilities and heightened undersea activity of competitors like Russia and China,” the senators continued. “The Virginia Class submarine continues to be a critical asset for combatant commanders to deter our adversaries and sustain our asymmetric advantage in the undersea domain.”

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, Bob Casey, D-Pa., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., also signed the letter.

The letter follows a series of successive actions Senator Wicker has taken the past two years to strengthen the submarine industrial base. A list of those actions is below:

• April 23, 2024: Senator Wicker voted for the national security supplemental which secures $3.4 billion in funding for the Submarine Industrial Base.
• April 22, 2024: Senator Wicker published an op-ed in The Hill noting President Biden’s insufficient support of submarine production, citing the reduction in Virginia-class submarine requirements.
• April 10, 2024: Senator Wicker issued a statement on recent procurement challenges for the Department of the Navy, which notes that Block IV Virginia-class submarines are three years behind schedule.
• February 21, 2024: Senator Wicker issued a statement blasting the Biden administration’s proposed budget that would cut Virginia-class submarine requirements to 1 per year.
• November 1, 2023: Senator Wicker delivered a speech on the Senate floor demanding that the Biden administration move swiftly to include supplemental funding for attack submarine production in upcoming legislation following his engagements with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Washington.
• October 20, 2023: Senator Wicker voted for the first time to pass a national security supplemental, including the $3.4 billion for the submarine industrial base.
• October 17, 2023: Senator Wicker led a letter with fellow SASC members to President Biden asking for an updated assessment of submarine industrial base costs as they relate to AUKUS.
• September 14, 2023: Senator Wicker questioned Chief of Naval Operations nominee Admiral Lisa Franchetti on attack submarine production and AUKUS.
• August 11, 2023: Senator Wicker called out the Biden administration for neglecting attack submarine funding in its original supplemental request.
• July 27, 2023: Senator Wicker led a letter to the Biden administration requesting that the President accelerate efforts to fulfill U.S. Navy and AUKUS attack submarine requirements.
• July 16, 2023: Senator Wicker published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal requesting more attack submarine production funding.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Collins:

As you develop the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 defense appropriations bill, we request steadfast bipartisan support for our undersea capabilities and industrial base.

We are deeply concerned the FY25 President’s Budget Request only requests one Virginia Class submarine. Cutting funding for the Virginia-Class program sends a terrible message to the submarine industrial base working vigorously to rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Efforts like the Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base Initiative demonstrate a commitment to improving production methods and addressing staffing shortfalls, but these must be coupled with a strong commitment to production goals.

Preserving a consistent production schedule is essential for shipyard and industrial base stability, and to meet the Navy’s operational requirements. This is exactly why Congress has strongly supported a two-per-year build rate for Virginia Class attack submarines since 2011. Reducing the submarine buying cadence will have the unfortunate effect of reducing the demand signal to the submarine industrial base’s 16,000 suppliers, some of whom are sole-source suppliers. Losing any of these suppliers could prove catastrophic for the Virginia-class program.

Attack submarine capabilities remain one of our most distinct national security advantages. In recent years, Congress has heard disturbing testimony regarding growing capabilities and heightened undersea activity of competitors like Russia and China. The Virginia Class submarine continues to be a critical asset for combatant commanders to deter our adversaries and sustain our asymmetric advantage in the undersea domain. Unfortunately, our attack submarine fleet experiences significant shortfalls and is projected to decline to just 47 boats in 2030 – a 19 boat deficit from the requirement of 66 attack submarines.

While we applaud the FY25 budget request for including substantial investments in the submarine industrial base, consistent procurement of two Virginia Class submarines in FY 2025 is the best way to stabilize the industrial base and keep us on the pathway to 2.33 boats/year that is necessary to meet our requirements and that of our international partners.

The proposed request to procure one attack submarine is inconsistent with the Department of Defense’s National Defense Industrial Strategy, which highlights procurement instability as a systemic challenge. This proposal signals a deviation from the Virginia Class procurement profile in the FY 2024 Future Years Defense Plan and 30 Year Shipbuilding Plan. Steady production of the Virginia-class program, and the development of a follow-on attack submarine program, is paramount to maintaining our undersea advantage.

We respectfully request that you fully restore procurement for two Virginia Class submarines in FY 2025.