Bettina Haymann Chavanne/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Welding problems discovered on Virginia-class submarines built at Northrop Grumman's Newport News facility were not entirely the fault of the company, according to U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) chief Vice Admiral Paul Sullivan, who says the government shares some of the blame.

"The government was complicit," Sullivan told reporters at the Surface Navy symposium in Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 17. "We used the same procedures on our Los Angeles-class subs...not realizing we were opening ourselves up" to problems.

Part of the issue, Sullivan added, was the gap between the last Los Angeles-class sub, delivered in 1996, and the gearing up of production again in 1998. "The last production with lots of joints being made was between 1992 and 1994," he said. "The new program ... [didn't get] into heavy welds until 2000." An 8-year gap on the waterfront, Sullivan added, equals an entire generation. "Procedures that worked in the past might not work" now, he said.

Sullivan was quick to note that the problem was not with quality of work, but a "pervasive work control system" issue. Northrop stood down its entire welding workforce once it discovered the problems, he said. Retraining was required not only for the welders but for senior management.

Any monetary judgment involved would be "more than $100,000 and less than $5 million," Sullivan said.

Critical welding issues with the emergency main valve tank blow system were found and repaired on the USS Virginia and USS Texas attack submarines.