Pentagon May Discontinue Two Models

WASHINGTON--Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-Conn.) urged the Pentagon to keep the final two SSN-688 attack submarines in the 1990 budget, but congressional sources said the Defense Department has decided to eliminate the subs in a cost-cutting move.

In a letter yesterday to Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, Gejdenson warned that eliminating what was expected to be the last of the Los Angeles class series could endanger smooth production of the next generation of attack submarines and cost the Navy money in the long run.

But a senior congressional aide, who spoke yesterday on the condition of anonymity, said Cheney has sent the White House recommendations to eliminate both submarines from the budget. An industry lobbyist yesterday told other congressional aides that the submarines had been axed.

On Tuesday, Reps. John G. Rowland (R-Conn.) and Herbert H. Bateman (R-Va.) disclosed that Pentagon officials were considering cutting the subs from the budget as part of an overall plan to cut $10 billion from the defense spending plan submitted by former President Ronald W. Reagan. A final decision on the cuts is expected to be announced next week.

Gejdenson warned that if the subs are cut from the budget--which would mean that for the first time since 1953 the United States was not ordering attack submarines--it could trigger layoffs and slow production of the new SSN-21 Seawolf submarines.

"The SSN-21 is a highly complex submarine, and its quality will depend on retaining the skilled work force which currently constructs fast-attack submarines," the representative wrote.

Gejdenson represents the eastern Connecticut district that includes the Electric Boat sub-building plant in Groton. Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corp., and the Newport News Shipbuilding Co. in Virginia are the only manufacturers of attack subs.

Gejdenson warned that an elimination of the two subs could trigger cost overruns on the Seawolf program further down the road.

"Cutbacks in funding for submarine construction programs, given the long lead-time required for each ship, may increase costs because of the Navy's inability to purchase cheaper materials for multiple submarines and the shipyards' difficulty in maintaining steady work force levels due to fluctuations in submarine construction funding authorizations," Gejdenson said.

The representative also argued his case on national security grounds, saying that the Navy could not afford a cutback in its submarine production.

"We cannot afford to jeopardize our ability to operate in the forward-most ocean areas of U.S. national interest," the lawmaker wrote. "Until the SSN-21 is commissioned in the mid-90s, continuation of the improved SSN-688 program remains vital to our national security."

News of the possible sub cuts come in the wake of an independent study last month warning that recent advances in submarine quieting by the Soviets have rendered traditional U.S. detection methods close to obsolete.

The first SSN-21 Seawolf was ordered from Electric Boat in January. The original 1990 budget included what would be the final two Los Angeles class subs, with additional Seawolfs being purchased in each subsequent year into the 21st century.