MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The US Navy and Congress have not yet managed to find funds to pay for the next-generation nuclear submarines due to begin deployments by 2031, the Military.com web portal reported.
The Ohio Replacement Program is in charge of replacing the US aging Ohio-class submarines with 12 more advanced subs.
“We need to have some processes in place in order to make sure you are ready to go and there is money in this fund,” Hawaii Democrat Mazie Hirono said Wednesday at a Senate Armed Services Committee’s Navy shipbuilding hearing as quoted by the Military.com.
Under the 2016 US Navy's budget, the Ohio Replacement Program needs $1.4 billion on research and development, the funds are due to be allocated by the US Congress. The delay in fund allocation could affect the next generation of nuclear submarines, as the construction set to begin in 2021.
The first Ohio replacement submarine is expected to cost $12.4 billion, according to the plan.