Lawmakers demanded answers from the U.S. Navy on Friday over news reports that faulty welds may have been knowingly made to American submarines and aircraft carriers under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The revelations were first reported by U.S. Naval Institute News.
Few details about the matter were made public Friday, including the potential risks to sailors serving aboard the impacted ships, or whether those ships would become unavailable for operations due to the bad welds. But in a joint statement, the Republican and Democrat heads of the House Armed Services Committee called reports of the faulty welds “deeply concerning.”
“The Department of Defense needs to immediately provide our committee with answers and a plan for how they will protect U.S. Navy vessels against tampering,” the statement by committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., states. “Absolute transparency with Congress is essential.”
The Navy said Friday that it was “aware of the issue and a thorough evaluation is underway to determine the scope.” Owned by Huntington Ingalls Industries, or HII, the Newport News yard is one of two in the United States focused on the nuclear fleet. The yard constructs parts of several submarine classes, as well as Ford-class aircraft carriers. HII did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Military Times, but USNI News reported that the company had reported the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice.
