US approves procurement plan of nine Block VI Virginia-class attack submarines to save $2.4 billion by 2035.

On July 28, 2026, the Pentagon completed statutory certification enabling the U.S. Navy to negotiate a multiyear procurement contract with General Dynamics Electric Boat for nine Block VI Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. Signed by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey, the certification confirms the acquisition package satisfies federal statutory criteria, including design stability, sustained requirements, and long-term cost efficiency. The decision seeks to secure critical supplier commitments for long-lead components and stabilize industrial manufacturing cadence while generating an estimated $2.4 billion in cost savings compared to annual single-hull purchases.

The procurement framework covers nine Block VI Virginia-class submarines incorporating the 84-foot Virginia Payload Module (VPM), which expands vertical launch capacity to 40 missiles alongside enhanced seabed warfare and unmanned systems integration. Supported by a preliminary $2.31 billion undefinitized contract modification awarded in May 2026 for long-lead nuclear and propulsion items, manufacturing under the Block VI plan will extend through September 2035 across primary shipbuilders General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII Newport News Shipbuilding.

Related topic: US Navy negotiates for 10 new Block VI Virginia-class and 5 Columbia-class submarines

A total of 66 Virginia-class submarines are now planned across Blocks I through VI, with more than 40 commissioned, under construction, authorized, or assigned names, making it the largest U.S. attack submarine fleet since the Los Angeles-class. (Picture source: US Navy)

On July 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense completed the statutory approval needed for the U.S. Navy to negotiate a fixed-price multiyear procurement with General Dynamics Electric Boat for nine Block VI Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. According to Bloomberg, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey signed the certification on June 29, 2026, which confirms that the package meets federal requirements for multiyear contracting, including a sufficiently stable design, a long-term requirement, measurable savings, and a production plan extending across several fiscal years. The decision follows the May 11, 2026 award of a $2,305,530,000 undefinitized contract modification for long-lead materials and early Block VI manufacturing, of which $1,972,897,500 came from fiscal year 2026 shipbuilding funds and $150,000,001 from fiscal year 2025 appropriations.

The earlier Block V multiyear contract for nine submarines was initially valued at $22.5 billion, while the Block VI arrangement is expected to save $2.4 billion compared with nine separate annual purchases. The approval advances the Block VI Virginia-class submarine into the industrial phase, but it does not change the central constraint: U.S. yards were producing close to one Virginia-class submarine per year in June 2025, instead of the U.S. Navy's two-per-year objective and the 2.33-per-year rate needed to simultaneously support U.S. growth and AUKUS requirements. The U.S. Navy chose a nine-boat multiyear procurement for the Block VI because most Virginia-class costs come from recurring labor, nuclear-certified components, propulsion equipment, steel structures, combat systems and supplier capacity that can be ordered more efficiently across several hulls than through annual contracts.

The $2.4 billion projected saving equals about $267 million per submarine across the nine-boat package, although the final amount will depend on the contract ceiling, escalation clauses, government-furnished equipment, schedule changes and the eventual distribution of submarines by fiscal year. A fixed-price contract limits the U.S. government's exposure to some forms of cost growth by assigning industry responsibility for performance within the agreed baseline, but submarine contracts are frequently modified when schedules slip, material prices change, or government requirements are revised. The May 2026 award therefore finances the portion of the program least compatible with annual decision cycles: components that require several years to manufacture before they can be inserted into a hull.

These include reactor machinery, propulsion components, major castings and forgings, Virginia Payload Module (VPM) structures, electrical equipment, valves and other nuclear-quality items that cannot be replaced quickly if a supplier misses its production window. Work under the preliminary award will continue until September 2035, meaning the industrial commitment begins eight to nine years before some Block VI submarines are expected to reach delivery. According to available information, the Block VI retains the enlarged Block V hull rather than introducing a new submarine design. A VPM-equipped Virginia measures 140 m and displaces about 10,200 tonnes submerged, compared with 115 m and about 7,900 tonnes for Blocks I through IV.

The increase results primarily from the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), an 84-ft mid-body section inserted between the operations compartment and propulsion spaces. The module contains four large-diameter payload tubes, each able to carry seven Tomahawk weapons, providing 28 vertical-launch positions. Two Virginia Payload Tubes in the bow each carry six cruise missiles, increasing the submarine's total vertical capacity to 40 missiles, compared with 12 on earlier blocks. The submarine also retains four 533 mm torpedo tubes for Mk-48 heavyweight torpedoes, mines and tube-launched weapons, so the 40-missile figure does not represent its total armament. Block VI changes will likely be concentrated in acoustic quieting, propulsion components, sonar processing, undersea sensors, seabed warfare equipment and unmanned underwater vehicle integration.

The first three Block VI submarines will be named USS Potomac (SSN-814), USS Norfolk (SSN-815) and USS Brooklyn (SSN-816), with Potomac expected to enter service in 2034 or 2035 if the current schedule is maintained. The VPM addresses a specific force-structure problem created by the retirement of the US Navy's four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines (SSGNs). Each Ohio submarine can carry as many as 154 Tomahawk missiles, giving the four-boat force a theoretical maximum of 616 missiles. One VPM-equipped Virginia carries 40 vertically launched weapons, so matching the total missile-cell capacity of the four SSGNs would require more than fifteen Virginias, before accounting for boats undergoing maintenance, training, transit, or missions not centered on land attack.

The US Navy has therefore shifted from concentrating strike volume in four very large missile carriers to distributing smaller loads across a larger number of attack submarines. This increases the number of launch positions available across different theaters and reduces dependence on a small SSGN force, but it also uses attack submarines that are simultaneously required for anti-submarine warfare, intelligence collection, special operations, and carrier strike group support. The VPM can carry payloads other than the Tomahawk, including unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), sensors, and future large-diameter weapons, which provides flexibility but means that not every tube will necessarily be loaded with cruise missiles. The Block VI will therefore restore only part of the SSGN strike capacity and does so by accepting a trade-off between missile volume and the wider mission demands placed on the U.S. attack submarine force. 

Seabed warfare is the most distinct operational emphasis associated with Block VI. At least one Block VI submarine is expected to receive specialized equipment for missions associated with the USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), a modified Seawolf-class submarine fitted with an additional multi-mission section for intelligence collection, special operations and undersea engineering tasks. Relevant targets and operating areas include fiber-optic telecommunications cables, electrical interconnectors, fixed acoustic arrays, seabed sensors, undersea mining equipment and infrastructure linking military command networks. A submarine conducting these missions must navigate close to the seabed, maintain precise station control, deploy equipment without surfacing and collect data while limiting acoustic exposure.

Unmanned underwater vehicles can extend the submarine's search area, inspect shallow or confined locations and remain near a target after the submarine has withdrawn. Fiber-optic-controlled vehicles can transmit sonar, imagery and navigation data directly back to the submarine and allow crews to intervene without depending entirely on autonomous software. The practical challenge is not only launching an underwater vehicle but recovering it while submerged, storing it, maintaining batteries and sensors, processing the collected data and integrating the information into naval communication networks. The Block VI's value in this mission area will therefore depend on internal volume, handling equipment, software, crew training and communication links, not only on the presence of large-diameter payload tubes. Production remains divided between General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII Newport News Shipbuilding, the only two U.S. yards constructing Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Under the established work-sharing arrangement, Newport News manufactures several sections, including the bow, stern, sail, torpedo room, habitability spaces and parts of the machinery area, while Electric Boat produces other major modules such as command and propulsion-related sections. The two yards alternate responsibility for reactor plant work, final assembly, testing, outfitting and delivery. This system preserves two nuclear submarine construction centers, but it also creates schedule dependencies because a late or incomplete module from one yard can delay final assembly at the other. For instance, the May 2026 award assigns 30% of the work to Sunnyvale, California, 4% to Chesapeake, Virginia, 4% to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and 3% each to York, Pennsylvania, Tucson, Arizona, Spring Grove, Illinois and Jacksonville, Florida.

Stoughton, Newport News, Warren, Windsor Locks, South El Monte and Portsmouth each account for 2%, while Milwaukee, Goose Creek and El Cajon each account for 1%; suppliers with shares below 1% collectively account for the remaining 35%. Therefore, a supplier responsible for a single propulsion casting, missile tube, electrical assembly or nuclear-certified valve can delay an entire submarine because these items require specialized tooling, certification and inspection and cannot normally be replaced through commercial substitution. The Block VI is entering this industrial system while the Block V is already behind schedule. Virginia-class production was running at about one boat per year in June 2025, 50% of the Navy's two-per-year target and 43% of the 2.33-per-year output associated with AUKUS and U.S. fleet requirements.

The first Block V submarines contracted in 2019 had accumulated average delivery delays approaching three years, which means submarines expected to enter service in one budget cycle are moving into later fleet plans and increasing the gap created by Los Angeles-class retirements. The main constraints are shortages of qualified welders, pipefitters, electricians, machinists, engineers and nuclear-certified trades; modules arriving at final assembly with unfinished work; rework caused by quality deficiencies; supplier backlogs; limited outfitting space; and competition with the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. The Columbia-class logically receives a priority because it will replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines that form the sea-based component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

When both submarine programs require the same labor worker, production facility, casting or component, the Columbia is protected first, leaving the Virginia to absorb part of the delay. Because the Block VI uses the Block V hull, S9G reactor arrangement and VPM architecture, schedule risk comes primarily from industrial execution rather than design maturity. The multiyear contract provides stable demand, but stable demand alone does not create experienced workers, additional dry-dock capacity, or qualified second-source suppliers. The Virginia-class also has to support fleet expansion, replacement of retiring submarines, and AUKUS transfers from the same production base.

The USS Virginia (SSN-774) entered service on October 23, 2004, after construction began in 1999, and the class has currently evolved through seven incremental blocks. Block II reduced construction from ten major modules to four and cut labor and assembly time. Block III introduced the Large Aperture Bow sonar and replaced twelve individual vertical-launch cells with two Virginia Payload Tubes. Block IV reduced major maintenance periods over a 33-year service life from four to three, increasing planned deployments from 14 to 15. Block V added the 84-ft payload module and increased vertical missile capacity from 12 to 40. Block VI preserves this production lineage while adding acoustic, propulsion, sonar, seabed, and unmanned system changes.

Block VII is expected to further refine payload integration and undersea warfare capabilities while maintaining the same hull form. This approach reduces the technical and manufacturing disruption that would accompany a completely new hull and keeps Electric Boat, Newport News, and the supplier base active until the SSN(X), whose first operational submarine is now expected in the 2040s rather than the 2030s. The strategic problem is numerical. The US Navy's long-term force requirement is about 66 nuclear-powered attack submarines, but Los Angeles-class retirements are projected to push the inventory into the mid-40s during the late 2020s because submarines are leaving service faster than Virginias are being delivered.

A force of 45 SSNs does not produce 45 operationally available submarines: several are normally in depot maintenance, modernization, crew certification, post-deployment recovery, or training at any given time. The remaining deployable submarines must cover anti-submarine warfare, carrier strike group support, intelligence collection near adversary bases, surveillance of missile test areas, special operations, land attack, and protection of sea lines of communication. The Indo-Pacific adds transit time, particularly for submarines deploying from Pearl Harbor, Guam, or the continental United States to the Philippine Sea, South China Sea, or waters near the Chinese coast.

In contrast, the Chinese Navy is expanding both its conventionally powered and nuclear-powered submarine force, accelerating its shipyard production, improving undersea sensors, and extending operations beyond China's near seas, increasing the number of patrol areas that U.S. Virginia-class submarines may be required to monitor. The Block VI therefore matters less because it introduces a completely new submarine than because nine additional hulls could determine how many boats the Navy can keep forward during the 2030s. If production remains at one submarine per year, the Navy will continue operating below its required force level regardless of the new acoustic, missile, and seabed capabilities incorporated into each Block VI boat.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.

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