Fairbanks Morse Defense in talks with Navy about Seawolf-class submarine repairs

PARIS — Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) is poised to conduct repairs on the US Navy’s three Seawolf-class submarines, as the company expands its submarine maintenance footprint. 

FMD’s preparations to repair the submarines come just after US Naval Sea Systems Command awarded the firm an approximately $100 million follow-on contract in October to conduct Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) overhauls on six aging Los Angeles- and Ohio-class submarines, part of a broader effort to extend the vessels’ service lives by as many as 14 years.

The Seawolf-class submarines, the first of which entered the fleet in 1997, could be next in line for maintenance. Fairbanks Morse Defense CEO George Whittier confirmed that the company is now in discussions with the Navy about conducting maintenance on the Seawolf subs. He expects work on those vessels to begin after the Los Angeles- and Ohio-class submarine overhauls, which are expected to wrap up in the late 2020s. 

“We’re going to end up doing overhauls on those as well, right?” Whittier told Breaking Defense at the Euronaval defense exposition in Paris about the Seawolf class. “Because again, they’re 25, 30-year-old boats, right? So all of that’s going to be coming.”

Submarine maintenance delays have perpetually been a thorny issue for the Navy. For example, the Government Accountability Office issued a report in August that found public shipyards, which perform maintenance on nuclear-powered vessels like submarines, completed only 11 percent of submarine maintenance periods on schedule.

Additionally, the Navy is facing questions about whether it can deliver the Columbia-class submarine by a 2028 target. As a result, the new contract to extend the lives of the Los Angeles- and Ohio-class submarines tackles “the geopolitical risk of a post-2029 submarine deficit” stemming from potential delays in Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarine construction, as well as the decommissioning of other aging vessels, FMD said in a news release in October. 

The October contract builds upon a previous NAVSEA award under which FMD completed emergency diesel generator overhauls on two Ohio-class submarines, and one Los Angeles-class submarine.

Keith Haasl, FMD president of Services and Technology, said in an October statement, that the contract reflects growing investment in submarine capabilities by the United States and its allies, as well as by competitors Russia and China, which are expanding and modernizing their own fleets.

“Because the timely delivery of critical components dictates fleet availability, we are moving quickly to scale our capabilities,” Haasl said. “Our work with the Navy actively demonstrates principles of rapid submarine maintenance and overhaul that we can share with allies, so we can ensure operationally ready submarines faster.”

FMD is also looking to accelerate its Pit Stop maintenance program, an initiative inspired by NASCAR and Formula One that uses pre-staged original equipment manufacturer parts, standardized procedures and the company’s robotic welding platform to reduce repair timelines.

The company has completed roughly 10 Pit Stops with the Navy over the past five years, and is targeting another 10 in 2027, Whittier said. Those 10 planned Pit Stops next year will cover surface ships.

Separately, FMD also announced in October that it has begun expanding its subsidiary facility, the Bird-Johnson Propeller Company in Pascagoula, Miss., in an effort to double its naval propulsion system capacity. The expansion includes a $27 million investment from the Navy — funded largely through Australia’s US Submarine Industrial Base contribution as part of the AUKUS Pillar I agreement.