6th Virginia-Class submarine delivered in record time

Maybe Northrop Grumman needs to head up Virginia Beach's light rail project

Northrop Grumman delivered the sixth Virginia-class submarine to the US Navy four months ahead of the contracted schedule - despite problems with the torpedo-handling gear.

Follow up:

New Mexico (SSN 779) was completed at the shipbuilder's Newport News facility in 70 months, the shortest overall construction time of any Virginia-class boat, the company announced on 30 December. By comparison, industrial partner General Dynamics Electric Boat - the class lead design yard and prime contractor - took 71 months to complete the fifth submarine, USS New Hampshire (SSN 778), which was commissioned in October 2008.

The previous Northrop Grumman boat, fourth-of-class USS North Carolina (SSN 777), was completed in 82 months. "We delivered [New Mexico] in record time, using one million fewer man-hours than her predecessor USS North Carolina," said Becky Stewart, vice president for Northrop Grumman's submarine program. New Mexico's contracted delivery date was April 2010, but the submarine would have been delivered in August 2009 had it not proved necessary to resolve technical issues with the torpedo-handling system.