Where are submarines constructed?

Answer 1

Modern submarines are typically constructed using modular design technology; here in the U.S., they are constructed at 2 major shipyards, General Dynamics Electric Boat Division (Groton, CT), and at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Newport News, VA. By Congressional mandate, there must always be at least 2 shipyards capable of building submarines and capital warships; there are 2 because U.S. contract law requires competitive bidding for defense contracts. EB has been in the submarine business for over a hundred years, being the United States' premier submarine builder. However, NNSDDC is no slouch either; those of us who served on NNSDDC boats during the Cold War felt much safer, as EB had problems with quality control during a period of about 15 years.

Modular design is relatively new (within the past 30 years) to the submarine construction industry; unlike the old practice of building a boat from the keel up, each hull section is fabricated apart, then the sections are welded together and systems connected. Though it took some time to work out the problems with a new procedure (first used on the Trident submarine program) the practice has shown that the yards can deliver boats faster and at projected cost. Relatively speaking anyway.

Most shipyards around the world that build submarines are typically involved in warship manufacturing to begin with, as the security clearances and military technology involved it costs a lot of money for background investigations of employees. This is why most contractor employees are usually ex-military - they're already cleared at the level required for the job their hired for, or just need an update, which costs far less than a full investigation, which can take a year for someone who isn't cleared, and who can't work on a project until they are.