WASHINGTON (WAVY) — The commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, Adm. Daryl Caudle based at Naval Station Norfolk, testified Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee in his confirmation process to become the next Chief of Naval Operations.
Caudle told the committee the production pace for Virginia class submarines must at least double to be able to honor an agreement to sell subs to Australia, known as AUKUS.
“We do have to understand whether the industrial base can produce the submarines required so that we can make good on the actual pact that we have with the UK and Australia, which is 2.2 to 2.3 submarines per year,” Caudle told the panel. “That’s gonna require a transformational improvement.”
Caudle said that would mean improving the pace of construction by 100% at Huntington Ingalls and Newport News Shipbuilding. They team up with General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard in Connecticut to build the Virginia class subs.
“Our partnership in the Hampton Roads area is crucial — that industrial base there and what it brings to Virginia,” Caudle said.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) praised Caudle for the way he handled the darkest times of his current command, two clusters of Navy suicides in Hampton Roads involving USS George Washington and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center.
“Admiral Caudle and I worked very closely together on a very thorny problem,” Kaine said. “[He] really took this very seriously and made a number of changes.”
Caudle also committed to making timely delivery of a 30-year shipbuilding plan to Congress to be included in the next Pentagon budget.
Caudle is expected to be confirmed by the committee before his confirmation goes to a vote by the full Senate. If confirmed, he would succeed ADM James Kilby and serve a four-year term.