All of the US Navy's highly anticipated shipbuilding projects face yearslong delays, the service said earlier this month.
The delayed ships include a new fleet of Virginia-class attack submarines, guided-missile destroyers, and a new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.
The announcement came after a 45-day review ordered by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in January. The review identified the "shortfalls" that caused the delays, including labor shortages and supply chain issues.
Speaking at the Navy League's Sea Air Space conference on April 9, Del Toro said the review found that "too many of our industry partners are behind schedule and over budget on our highest priority programs."
Del Toro also said the Navy's Office of Strategic Assessment will perform a "deep dive" to find solutions to address the delays, including advanced material procurement and multi-ship buys.
"I think there's a lot of promise about being able to reduce those timelines into the future," he said.
The major delays come amid concerns that China is outpacing American shipbuilding and increasing its naval capabilities. The US Department of Defense said China now has "the largest navy in the world with a battle force of over 370 platforms," and it is only expected to grow — with up to 435 ships by the end of the decade.
But China isn't the only shipbuilding superpower in the Indo-Pacific. The Navy secretary said he and his team were "floored" by US ally South Korea's shipbuilding capabilities.
In a February statement, the Navy recognized Korean and Japanese shipbuilding as an asset to the US as "China continues to aggressively pursue worldwide shipbuilding dominance."