US Navy's Most Advanced Nuclear-Powered Sub Plagued With Problems

America's nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines are experiencing maintenance bottlenecks as specific components are wearing out decades earlier due to faulty manufacturing. The lack of spare parts has resulted in the Navy cannibalizing submarines in construction so its Virginia-class subs can remain in a state of readiness. Bloomberg, citing a new Naval Sea Systems Command and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, says spare parts for the Virginia class, also known as the SSN-774 class, are lacking and has forced shipyards to "borrow or "cannibalize" parts from newly built subs.-- More...