Image for representation purposes only U.S. has come up with a 4-pillar strategic initiative to increase the pace of submarine production and their entry into the naval fleet. With this, Washington aims to stabilise its annual manufacturing rate by delivering atleast 2 Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines and one Colombia-class ballistic missile submarine. Though Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle said that the production pace could be achieved by 2032, Vice Admiral Rob Gaucher, Director of Submarine Programs, aims to meet this production timeline by 2031 or sooner. The U.S. Navy has planned a fleet of 12 Columbia-class and 70 Virginia-class submarines, which will be built at the two main naval shipyards in America , General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News. However, meeting the long-term goals would be impossible without meeting the short-term milestones, which include delivery of the lead Columbia-class submarine in 2028, ensuring the delivery of one Columbia submarine per year by 2030, and attaining a rate of 2 Virginia-class submarines each year by 2031. The Navy is taking an integrated approach towards the production of Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, given that General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries share physical yards, manufacturing methods and a skilled workforce. Coming to the four pillars, Vice Admiral Gaucher’s first two pillars focus on achieving design stability and shipyard optimisation. Under the first pillar, the Navy is enforcing a “pencils down” policy on Virginia-class design changes. This means that no changes in engineering or design would be made unless they are needed for safety or operational requirements. Such changes would then require authorisation from higher authorities. The second pillar states that non-critical work could be delegated outward to other yards, ensuring that the main naval shipyards can focus exclusively on module integration, fina