The US Navy is having a problem with its Virginia-class fast attack submarines. Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker told the Senate Armed Services Committee that some parts are wearing out far faster than expected. The Navy has had to cannibalize hundreds of subs for working replacement parts.

“There are parts on the Virginia class that we thought were going to be life-of-the-submarine parts, and they are failing more quickly than we originally envisioned,” Harker said, adding that the service’s sub crews and parts support are having to go back in and find replacement parts.

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Navy has swapped more than 1,600 parts among its new Virginia-class submarines since 2013 to ease maintenance bottlenecks as components that are supposed to last 33 years wear out decades sooner.

Parts are being shuttled regularly among the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines so that vessels in the $166 billion class built by General Dynamics Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. can return to operations, according to data from the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Congressional Budget Office.

The problem is raising concerns about submarine readiness as well as whether the industrial capacity exists to meet the Navy’s current and ongoing needs for parts and components. In addition to the Virginia-class attack submarines, construction has begun on the new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines intended to replace the current Ohio-class ballistic missile subs.

The USS Columbia‘s construction began on October 1, 2020. The submarine is scheduled to enter service in 2031.

Rear Adm. Ed Anderson, who commands the undersea warfare directorate at Naval Sea Systems Command, told USNI News that the Navy is looking hard at this issue and has two main levers to work with: parts of the Virginia and Columbia design can be reworked to get rid of the components that are failing early, or the supply system can be bolstered so that more spares are available when the components do fail.

Thanks to Alan Rice for contributing to this post.