USS Illinois (SSN 786) / U.S. Navy photo / Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton
By: David B. Larter
A rendered image of the Virginia Block V attack submarine, destined to change the submarine community. (Image courtesy of General Dynamics)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy sealed the deal on a 10th ship in its latest iteration of the Virginia-class attack submarine, issuing a $2.4 billion adjustment on a contract initially awarded in December 2019.
The original contract was for nine boats with an option for a 10th, which brings the total cost of the contract with Prime Contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat to $24.1 billion dollars. The net increase for the contract is $1.89, according to a General Dynamics release. Huntington Ingalls Newport News is GDEB’s partner yard in the program.
In a statement, General Dynamics Electric Boat President Kevin Graney said the shipyard was pleased to have the work and said his team was ready to take on the challenge of building both the Virginia class and the new, and much larger, Columbia-class next-generation ballistic missile submarine at the same time.
“The 17,000 shipbuilders of Electric Boat are pleased to receive the award for the tenth Block V ship and are ready to meet the generational challenge of building the Virginia and Columbia classes concurrently,” Graney said in a release. “We are grateful for the continued support of our federal delegation, who strongly advocated for this important funding.
“Today’s announcement maintains the two-ship per year production cadence, provides continuity and development to our skilled workforce and promotes stability in our national supply base.”
The 10th Block V Virginia-class submarine will include the Virginia Payload Module, and 84-foot section of the boat that will serve as underseal vertical launch missile tubes.
The Virginia-class subs coming off the lines today can hold 12 Tomahawk missiles in a launcher on the bow. With the payload module section added amidships, that that means each of the VPM Block Vs will have the capacity for 40 cruise missiles. In total, eight of the now-10 boats in Block V will have the VPM.
With the advance of hypersonic missile technology, Virginia’s larger launcher will be well suited to host them once they are deployable. The Virginia’s will also host the new version of anti-ship Maritime Strike Tomahawk, part of the Block V upgrade that will begin being delivered to the service next week.
Source defensenews.com
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