The U.S. Dept. of Defense authorized a further $1.85 billion for General Dynamics Electric Boat to proceed with long-lead time material acquisition and construction efforts related to the Virginia-class Block VI submarine program. This contract modification follows the initial $2.2 billion awarded in October 2023 for the upcoming nuclear submarines, plus a further $1.3 billion awarded in August 2024 and $1.06 billion approved in April of this year.
In addition to all this, earlier this month General Dynamics reported a $987-million modification to a different contract, to cover “additional component development, class lead yard support (CLYS), and submarine industrial base (SIB) supplier development enhancements.”
The Virginia-class subs are fast-attack, missile-armed vessels designed for anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering operations. The program has been underway for over two decades, and the U.S. Navy anticipates they will replace the Los Angeles-class subs over the coming decades.
Most of the work covered by the new contract modification will be conducted by Electric Boat in Sunnyvale, Calif., with lesser amounts to be carried out in numerous other places and states.
The work covered by this modification is expected to be completed by September 2035.
Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding share the lead contractor status for the new submarines, which have a current estimated unit cost of $4.3 billion.
To date, 24 Virginia-class submarines have been built and 10 are under construction currently. The U.S. Navy plans for 66 vessels over the life of the program.
The Block VI series, anticipated to cover nine or 10 vessels, will introduce a series of new warfare capabilities, including hypersonic weapon technologies, enhanced stealth capabilities for undersea warfare, and abilities to launch and recover undersea drones.
Reports suggest the Block VI series subs also will offer advanced undersea data networking systems for real-time information sharing with air, surface, and land platforms.
General Dynamics Electric Boat is the program’s prime contractor and lead design yard, which also builds the vessels in a teaming arrangement with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding.
