The Department of War has awarded shipbuilding contracts and related shipyard productivity funding totaling $76.6 billion to expand the U.S. Navy’s undersea warfare capabilities. General Dynamics Electric Boat received a five-ship contract modification covering the construction of five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.
General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding also received a nine-ship contract covering Virginia Class submarines planned for fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
The total award includes previously authorized shipyard productivity initiatives supporting the two submarine builders. These investments are intended to expand production capacity, strengthen the shipbuilding workforce and provide greater stability across the defense industrial base.
The five-ship award brings the number of Columbia Class submarines under contract to seven. The Columbia Class is designed to serve as the sea-based component of the United States’ nuclear triad and meet U.S. Strategic Command’s strategic deterrence requirements.
The Navy currently operates 26 Virginia Class submarines, with another 23 scheduled to be constructed. The Virginia Class is designed for stealth, strike operations, heavy payloads and multi-domain missions in contested environments.
The two submarine programs are central to the Navy’s recapitalization of its undersea fleet. The Columbia Class remains the Department of War’s highest-priority acquisition program, while the Virginia Class serves as its primary tactical strike and multirole attack submarine.
The awards also reinforce the longstanding shipbuilding partnership between General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.
Congressional funding, including investments secured through the budget reconciliation process, supported the contracts and the related expansion of the national shipbuilding industrial base.
KEY QUOTES:
“This historic investment underscores the Department’s continued commitment to undersea superiority and the recapitalization of our nuclear triad. 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.”
“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.”
Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, Director of Submarine Programs
“These awards represent a major milestone in our defense acquisition transformation. 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.”
Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment
