Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy and General Dynamics are still at an impasse over an insurance spat that has resulted in the 11-month delay to contracts for two Virginia-class attack submarines, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image
This post has been updated to reflect the passage of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act by the Senate on Thursday evening.
THE PENTAGON — Advanced procurement contracts for two of the Navy’s Block V Virginia-class attack submarines have been stalled for 10 months due to an impasse between the service and its lead submarine builder over insurance related to Tomahawk missiles and future hypersonic weapons, USNI News has learned. Read More
Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy is still on track to deploy hypersonic weapons on its attack submarines in 2028, a service official said Thursday. Read More
Virginia-class submarine USS Vermont (SSN-792) as she returns home to Submarine Base New London on Thursday, on Dec. 24, 2020. US Navy Photo
Some parts on Virginia-class attack boats are wearing out faster than the Navy anticipated 20 years ago, and buying replacement parts is further straining a nuclear submarine industrial base that’s already juggling an expansion of construction of new hulls and maintaining the current fleet.
The following is the March 24, 2021 Congressional Budget Office report, The Capacity of the Navy’s Shipyards to Maintain Its Submarines. Read More
Fire Control Technician 3rd Class Jacob Thompson, from Cleburne, Texas, initiates a Mark 48 advanced-capability torpedo launch aboard the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Chicago (SSN-721) in support of Valiant Shield 2020. US Navy Photo
The submarine fleet has shifted its focus from operational readiness to warfighting readiness, and with that new mindset has come changes in how the fleet conducts training, acquisition and maintenance, several officials said last week. Read More
USS Vermont (SSN-792) transits the Thames River while conducting routine operations on Oct. 15, 2020. US Navy Photo
The submarine community is nearing a plan for its Block VI Virginia-class submarine, which will be an improvement in stealth and capability compared to the boats under construction today and will be a bridge to the upcoming SSN(X) program. Read More
Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo
The Navy has “full confidence we can ramp up” to building three attack submarines per year if the Navy buildup proposed by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper were to be enacted, despite ongoing delays in Block IV Virginia-class construction, the program executive officer for submarines said today. Read More
Attack boat Vermont (SSN-792) float-off on March 29, 2019. General Dynamics Electric Boats Photo
Sailors underway on submarines with steel from a company that pleaded guilty to providing the Navy with fraudulent materials aren’t at risk, the service’s top acquisition official told reporters on Thursday. Read More
Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB-4) under construction at General Dynamics’ NASSCO in San Diego, Calif. NASSCO photo.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy wants to take a holistic look at its surface shipbuilding supply base to understand what areas are healthy and where there’s risk, similar to a previous effort done by the submarine community. Read More
