The contract, awarded to Huntington Ingalls Industries and General Dynamics Electric Boat, will expand the US Navy’s fleet of Virginia– and Columbia-class submarines.

The United States Navy’s rebuilding effort is very much underway, backed by the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) shipbuilding plan, which requested $68.5 billion, a 57 percent increase that is focused not only on expanding the fleet, but also on reviving the struggling industrial base.

This week, the US Navy highlighted its commitment to a stronger and larger fleet. It announced that General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries, two of America’s largest shipbuilders, had been awarded a joint $76.6 billion in contracts to support the nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

“The awards drive the critical, once-in-a-generation recapitalization of the Navy’s undersea forces and the Nation’s nuclear triad,” the US Navy wrote in a media release announcing the contracts.

The combined contract includes $42.1 billion for nine Virginia-class Block VI fast attack submarines (SSNs), plus material for a 10th boat of the class, and $29.5 billion for five Build II Columbia-class nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

The US Navy currently operates 69 submarines, all of them nuclear-powered. The additional submarines would in theory bring the fleet’s size up to 83, but older submarines will certainly be retired at around the same rate the new ones enter service.

The Navy plans to eventually operate a total of 78 submarines—66 SSNs and 12 SSBNs—although analysts have suggested it will not reach this level until the 2050s.

“This historic investment underscores the Department’s continued commitment to undersea superiority and the recapitalization of our nuclear triad,” said Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, director of submarine programs for the US Navy.

“By securing the continuous production of both the Columbia and Virginia classes, we ensure we will continue to deliver the world’s most lethal, survivable and resilient combat platform to our global Combatant Commanders, while providing long-term stability to our shipbuilding industrial base,” Gaucher said. “These submarines will assure our allies and deter our adversaries while serving as a key part of our joint forces by projecting combat power into denied areas and defending our nation and its interests for decades to come.”

The US Navy currently operates 26 Virginia-class submarines, and has called for at least 23 more to be built. In addition, seven Columbia-class submarines are now under contract.

“These awards represent a major milestone in our defense acquisition transformation,” added Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael P. Duffey. “I commend Vice Admiral Gaucher and his team at the Navy for seamlessly carrying this forward to execution. This is how we rebuild the industrial base together.”

The US Navy Wants to Rebuild the “Submarine Industrial Base”

According to the Pentagon’s contracting notice, work on the two submarine programs will be primarily split between Groton, Connecticut, and Newport News, Virginia, with additional work to be conducted at shipyards and facilities in Rhode Island, California, Maryland, South Carolina, Minnesota, and even in Arizona—a reminder of the role the submarine industrial base (SIB) plays in the construction of the boats, and how it is spread throughout the United States. This coalition of companies is represented by the Submarine Industrial Base Council (SIBC), an industry group.

There are roughly 5,000 domestic tier-1, tier-2, and tier-3 component providers in the submarine supply chain, providing specialized steel, electronics, propulsion components, and nuclear parts to the prime contractors. This number is encouraging—but at the end of the Cold War nearly four decades ago, there were 17,000 such suppliers. The Navy is hoping to grow the number once more, which would provide redundancy and greater flexibility to the SIB.

The remaining $5 billion from the $76.6 billion contract will be directed for workforce improvements, split between Electric Boat and HII, which is meant to address the struggles the companies have faced in recent years meeting the deadlines.

Prior to the most recent contract announcement, the US Navy had called for the delivery of one Columbia-class SSBN and two Virginia-class SSNs annually by 2028. It also plans to build more than 10 new classes of surface warships and support vessels.

As the Navy Gets Newer Submarines, It Can Retire Older Ones

The Virginia-class Block VI submarine is slated to be the most advanced evolution of the US Navy’s current fleet of fast-attack submarines, outfitted with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM). This mid-body hull section adds large-diameter vertical launch tubes to the SSNs, allowing each boat to carry significantly more Tomahawk cruise missiles or future long-range hypersonic strike weapons.

In addition, the Block VI submarines will be equipped with updated acoustic superiority stealth features, along with advanced sensor integration that was designed to allow the boats to operate effectively in deep ocean and littoral environments. The advanced submarines are further meant to serve as a technological stepping stone, testing and maturing specific design concepts, acoustic improvements, and payload handling slated for the US Navy’s upcoming SSNX replacement class.

The next-generation Columbia-class SSBNs were developed to replace the aging Ohio-class fleet to support the US strategic deterrent mission. Originally known as the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) or SSBN(X), until 2016, the boats will utilize a revolutionary electric-drive propulsion system and pump-jet propulsors instead of traditional propellers—promising to be the quietest submarines ever built.

Stealth is just one part of the equation. Each SSBN will also be equipped with 16 missile tubes that were designed to carry the UGM-133 Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) nuclear missiles. The boats will be powered by a life-of-ship reactor that was designed for a 42-year service life, eliminating the need for lengthy mid-service overhauls, increasing each submarine’s overall operational availability.

The lead boat of the class (SSBN-826) will be named in honor of the District of Columbia, while the second sub of the class will be named USS Wisconsin (SSBN-827). Both submarines are expected to be commissioned in 2031.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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