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GROWTH INDUSTRY surge: High demand from the Navy will ramp up shipyard’s tightly choreographed production process with Connecticut partner

JONATHON GRUENKE/DAILY PRESS A Newport News Shipbuilding employee walks through the Covered Module Assembly Facility as construction continues on a -class submarine Sept. 21. By Hugh Lessig Sub [email protected] series NEWPORT NEWS — The fu- TODAY: A INSIDE ture USS Montana is still a giant close look at jigsaw puzzle at Newport News AHARROWING NIGHT, AND the produc- NEW BREWERY Shipbuilding, but the pieces are tion process coming together. The $1.4 million Billsburg Brewery is in Newport INDOMINATABLE SPIRIT Atop a raised platform where News. producing beer and plans to open at shipbuilders work in cramped First responders from Peninsula area discuss the end of October at the James City spaces, the framework of the MONDAY: County Marina close to Jamestown commander’s wardroom is taking Senior crew mission to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico Settlement. Page 3 of News shape. When finished, it will be aboard USS one of the few open areas of the John Warner By Sarah J. Ketchum in Puerto Rico assisting with KENNEDY HOLDS CARDS ship, where sailors can attend discuss how [email protected] Hurricane Maria relief. Adivided Supreme Court could briefings, eat meals and maybe their sub was Holloway was one of 80 Hamp- decide on partisan gerrymandering, sneak in a game of cribbage, the built ahead When Newport News Fire De- ton Roads-area first responders gay rights and President Trump’s submariner’s time-honored pas- of schedule. partment Capt. Eddie Holloway and civilians who deployed two travel ban — and one justice holds time. TUESDAY: woke up in San Juan on Sept. 20, days ahead of the storm with the the deciding votes. Page 18 of News The general outline of the Sailors on the he could feel the building moving Virginia Beach-based Virginia galley is a short walk away. Ship- USS John from inside his 10th floor hotel Task Force II. DECADE OF DE-STRESSING builders have erected walls for the Warner de- room. Maria, the third hurricane to mess area, where future crew scribe life of “I was actually swaying back cause major destruction in less Spa of Colonial Williamsburg marks a members will pile into a row of submariners. and forth in the bed,” he told the than a month, made landfall in milestone. Page 1 of Good Life tightly fitted restaurant-style Daily Press Thursday after return- booths. More ing from a little more than a week See MISSION/Page7 Showers and berthing areas — the bunks stacked three-high — online 72/56 are in various stages of construc- Go to daily tion. press.com to The pieces are placed strate- see video and WITH NEW, TIGHTER CAP, FATE gically throughout the Covered a gallery of Module Assembly Facility submarine OF REFUGEES IN VA. UNCLEAR (CMAF) at the Newport News photos Visit us online: dailypress.com yard, where Gerald Johnson is By Kate Mishkin accepting refugees — I look at tiny squeezing between narrow [email protected] little Lebanon that has a GDP Like the Daily Press: spaces. (gross domestic product) that’s facebook.com/dailypressnews “One of the things I’ve gotten When Jo Anne Lyon heard this small and they have over a million Follow us: twitter.com/Daily_Press excited about in my career is being week that that Trump adminis- refugees,” Lyon said. She’s the able to see the construction from tration would slash the number of founder of World Hope, a faith- Price: $2.00 beginning to end,” said Johnson, refugees allowed into the country based nonprofitin Alexandriathat superintendent of Virginia-class starting Sunday, she said was helps vulnerable communities . “This is really amaz- floored. around the world. ing. You see something like this — “I was stunned, absolutely stunned. Given all the countries See REFUGEES/Page 8 See SUBS/Page6

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JONATHON GRUENKE/DAILY PRESS PHOTOS Above and below: Newport News Shipbuilding employees work on a Virginia-class submarine inside the Covered Modular Asembly Facility. SUBS Continued from 1 Virginia-class submarines General information this is the galley under construc- Builder: Beam: 34 feet (10.36 meters) tion, and before we bring the Electric Boat Division and freezer in, we have to slide all this Displacement: Approximately Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. 7,800 tons (7,925 metric tons) equipment in.” - Newport News Shipbuilding It’s abusy place and promises to submerged get busier. Aircraft carriers — also Date deployed: USS Virginia Speed: 25+ knots built at Newport News — are the commissioned Oct. 3, 2004 (28+ miles per hour) most visible symbol of Hampton Roads’ navalpresence,and thereis talk of expanding the fleet. But the Partners in building Virginia-class subs most immediate growth industry Newport News Shipbuilding is teamed with General Dynamics Electric for the region’s defense communi- Boat to build Virginia-class submarines. Parts of the vessel that are ty might be underwater. built by each company: Virginia-class fast attack sub- marines are in demand by the Newport News Shipbuilding Electric Boat Both Navy and production is humming 2019, Virginia-class boats will be will be needed. NAVAC is the at two boats per year. The nuclear- getting bigger. The Navy plans to command responsible for build- Engine room Habitability Sail CCS* powered vessels are built in a add a mid-body section called a ing and maintaining facilities, plus 50-50 teaming arrangement be- Virginia Payload Module, about 83 delivering utilities and services.” tween General Dynamics Electric feet long. It will contain four “We will need to replace the Stern Bow Boat of Groton, Conn., and the large-diameter vertical launch current submarine pier, which Newport News shipyard, a divi- tubes that could fire was originally built in 1944,” Ly- sion of Huntington Ingalls Indus- cruise missiles or launch un- man said in an emailed statement. tries. manned underwater vehicles. “While it is currently supporting Auxiliary machine room Weapons The arrangement is unique in Bob Meyer, Virginia construc- the LA class submarines, to sup- Auxiliary machine room/habitability the defense industry — the two tion director of Virginia-class sub- port more VA class, a replacement *CCS stands for Command and Control Systems module. It houses radar, sonar, fire control yardsoncefaced offas rivals —and marines, said shipbuilders are pier will need to be larger and and related systems. the Navy considers it a success. already starting to climb the learn- include more modern utility sys- Source: Huntington Ingalls Industries DAILY PRESS Generally, the boats have been ing curve in anticipation of adding tems than currently exist here. As delivered on or ahead of schedule the extra section. more VA class are scheduled to and within budget parameters. “It’ll add excitement,” said homeport in Norfolk, the Navy Virginia-class ships The Navy wants this assembly Meyer with a laugh. “But because will budget for the necessary Vessel Location, if available line to remain hot. That will be a we have people alreadyengaged in infrastructure and those require- USS Virginia (SSN 774) Groton, Conn. challenge because of a different that, it’s not a big surprise.” ments will be passed to NAVFAC USS Texas (SSN 775) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii submarine project on the near Besides the Montana, the ...” USS Hawaii (SSN 776) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii horizon. CMAF building contains portions The Navy plans to build a new of the future USS Hyman Ricko- Complex schedules USS North Carolina (SSN 777) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii fleet of subs that carry nuclear ver, the Vermont and the Oregon. The shorthand for the relation- USS New Hampshire (SSN 778) Groton, Conn. ballistic missiles. It will order the Elsewhere in the shipyard, the ship between Newport News and USS (SSN 779) Groton, Conn. first one in 2021, another in 2024, Indiana is 94 percent complete. Electric Boat goes something like USS Missouri (SSN 780) Groton, Conn. and one per year from 2026 The Delaware is right behind it at this: Both yards build portions of a USS California (SSN 781) Groton, Conn. through 2035, according to its 73 percent. Including earlywork,a Virginia-class sub, then take turns USS Mississippi (SSN 782) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 30-year shipbuilding plan for 2017. total of seven or eight subs are in in final assembly and delivery to USS Minnesota (SSN 783) Groton, Conn. Eventually, the Navy wants a fleet various stages of completion at the Navy. USS North Dakota (SSN 784) Groton, Conn. of 12 of these Columbia-class any time. In fact, it’s much more compli- USS John Warner (SSN 785) Norfolk, Va. boats. “We’ve been fortunate to main- cated than that. If a submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) Groton, Conn. Electric Boat will take on the tain pretty much a constant work- requires welders,pipe fitters,elec- majority of the Columbia-class flow. That’s gets us in a very tricians and other trades, it also Washington (SSN 787) Norfolk, Va. work. As a result, Newport News familiar routine of what we are requires a choreographer. Colorado (SSN 788) Completed and delivered to Navy will take on more Virginia-class doing,” Johnson said. Pointing to a Ultimately, construction of a work, tilting that 50-50 burden berthing area, he said: “We take Virginia-class sub comes down to Ships under construction more toward Hampton Roads. pride that these are the living four super modules: the two ends Production of Virginia-class quarters.This is wherethe captain —bow and stern — plus two Indiana (SSN 789) NewJersey (SSN 796) subs will drop from two to one per and the crew will spend the midbody sections. Assembling South Dakota (SSN 790) Iowa (SSN 797) year in years when the Navy majority of their time.” those giant pieces together re- Delaware (SSN 791) Massachusetts (SSN 798) orders a Columbia-class ship. But quires precise coordination be- Vermont (SSN 792) Idaho (SSN 799) the Navy is pushing a scenario in Newer subs headed to tween the two yards. Oregon (SSN 793) Arkansas (SSN 800) which the two-per-year Virginia Take the habitability module, Montana (SSN 794) Utah (SSN 801) production remains constant. So Norfolk? which Johnson takes pride in. It Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795) in some years, the two yards might The growth of submarines isn’t includes the galley, mess and crew be pushing out three boats per limited to the Peninsula. The Navy living spaces. Newport News is Source: U.S. Navy DAILY PRESS year. is eyeing improvements at Naval building it, and they’ll ship it to Station Norfolk to accommodate Electric Boat, which will load it Why so many? Virginia-class subs. into one of the super modules and flexibility, but it’s still a controlled Virginia Payload Module will be a The Navy didn’t build many Of the 15 Virginia-class sub- send it back. Newport News dance. “paperless” building process. submarines in the1990s, and some marines delivered to the Navy, the builds the bow section, but Elec- “It has to be choreographed, As a veteran shipbuilder, Meyer older Los Angeles-class subs will most recent being the USS Col- tric Boat sends them a portion of because you don’t want them acknowledges that will be a big be retired in the coming years. orado on Sept. 21, nearly all have it. getting large sections or modules change for him. Even with continued production been parceled out to Groton and The back-and-forth barge traf- that are sitting around and wait- “I have a love of the shipyard, so of Virginia-class subs, the overall Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But that is fic is further complicated consid- ing, and Gerald (Johnson) doesn’t if we’re going to look at where my size of the submarine fleet is changing. ering the number of submarines want material getting in here shipyard needs to be in 10, 15, 20 projected to dropin the late2020s. The USS John Warner was the under construction at one time, all early,” Meyer said. “It’s really the years, we have to look at digital AJuly 2017 Navy report says the first Virginia-class boat ported at in different stages of progress. essence of modular construction. integrated shipbuilding,” he said. submarine industrial base can . This com- The idea, said Meyer, is having It’s getting the right components, “It is the future.” handle added work, but it will be a ing Saturday, the Navy will com- workers do the same job all the the right pieces at the right time in Justin Byrum, Virginia-class challenge. A three-per-year pro- mission the submarine Washing- time. the right sequence so they’re submarines program director, curement rate “is achievable and ton into service at Norfolk, giving “When we started off, we ready for the next incremental gives Meyer credit for pushing the provides significant benefit to the Hampton Roads two of the newer wanted to drive down cost,” he phase of construction.” new generation of technology, and Navy and the (Virginia-class) subs. The base is currently home said. “So we’ve been sending them The shipyard is hiring, and grief for still carrying a flip-phone. force structure,” the report states. to five of the older Los Angeles- work, they’ve been sending us company leaders say they are “It works,” Meyer shot back. “The major challenge will be the class boats. work, trading back and forth. So conscious of how a new genera- cost to procure additional attack Todd Lyman, a spokesman for we get these four large super tion of shipbuilders tends to think. Lessig can be reached by phone at submarines.” Naval Facilities Engineering Com- modules.” They’re less about blueprints and 757-247-7821. Another challenge: Starting in mand Mid-Atlantic, said upgrades The choreography has some more about computer tablets. The