US lawmakers have ordered an investigation into allegations of substandard welding on submarines and aircraft carriers within the US Navy. These vessels are both under construction and in-service. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has called upon the Pentagon to investigate this matter, as well as create a plan for ensuring protection against further incidents of tampering.
This move comes after Newport News Shipbuilding reported that it discovered faulty welds on several in-service Navy vessels. This shipyard is one of two nuclear shipyards in the United States responsible for constructing Ford-class aircraft carriers, sections of Virginia-class attack submarines, and Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines.
According to USNI news, Newport News Shipbuilding also mentioned that these flaws may have been intentionally made, prompting the submission of their report to the Navy, the Department of Justice, as well as Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the company which owns it and is the country’s largest military shipbuilder.
Upon learning about this issue, Congress expressed concern as it involves vessels crucial to national security. It is deeply concerning to learn that faulty welds may have been knowingly made to US Navy submarines and aircraft carriers… We must ensure that these vessels are protected against any bad actors seeking to put US national security or our service members at risk,” the HASC stated in their official announcement.
HII later reported that it discovered some welders intentionally circumvented welding procedures, but claimed they found no indication of malicious intent behind this action. The Navy acknowledged being aware of this problem and is currently conducting a thorough evaluation to determine the scope of the affected ships. A Pentagon source informed USNI News that the number of in-service Virginia-class submarines with faulty welding is in the “low single digits.” However, it may take some time to determine how many other vessels, both in-service and under construction, have this problem.
The exact timing when these initial faulty works were discovered remains unclear, nor are there any clear penalties awaiting the welders or shipyard following the investigation. Newport News Shipbuilding has faced investigations over welding procedures twice before, in 2007 and 2009, with one of the probes leading to an inspection that lasted almost a decade, according to media reports.