The Virginia-class attack submarine North Dakota (SSN-784) is rolled out of an indoor shipyard facility at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. US Navy Photo
Sub builder General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $696.2 million contract modification for long-lead materials for the next for Virginia-class submarines – the first of the Block V attack boats.
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The future Virginia-class attack submarine USS Illinois (SSN 786) conducts sea trials on Aug. 1, 2016. General Dynamics Electric Boat photo.
The Virginia-class submarine program office is looking to get its attack boats out to the fleet faster through shortening the post-shakedown availability period to just three months, the program manager told USNI News. Read More
USS Illinois (SSN-786) conducts sea trials in 2016. US Navy Photo
The Navy and industry must prove they can reliably build a Virginia-class attack submarine in just 60 months before talks start about increasing the quantity of boats built each year, the Navy’s top uniformed acquisition official told USNI News. Read More
The Virginia-class attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN-784) arrives at the Trident Refit Facility’s Magnetic Silencing Facility (MSF) in August 2017. US Navy photo.
The Navy has developed a Tactical Submarine Evolution Plan that looks at rapidly inserting capability upgrades into the Virginia-class attack submarine mid-contract and considers long-term undersea warfare priorities such as converting the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) production line into a guided-missile submarine (SSGN) line in the late 2030s. Read More
Then-Rear Adm. Thomas Moore, program executive officer of aircraft carriers, poses a question to representatives from Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding during a tour of the aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in March 2014. US Navy photo.
President-elect Donald Trump supports increasing the size of the Navy fleet but has also made clear that the Navy and industry will have to lower the cost per hull for new construction, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News. Read More
The Ohio-class fleet ballistic-missile submarine USS Maryland (SSBN 738) off the coast of Florida ON Sept. 31, 2016.
The Program Executive Office for Submarines is working to create schedule and cost efficiencies on the Ohio Replacement (Columbia class) Program to counteract inevitable delays during construction, he said last week. Read More
Crew members from Task Group 56.1 launch a MK 18 MOD 2 Kingfish unmanned underwater vehicle from a rigid-hull inflatable boat during Squadex 2016, on Aug. 2, 2016, in the Persian Gulf. Squadex 2016 demonstrates U.S./U.K. mine detection capabilities in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. US Navy photo.
The Navy submarine community is pushing hard to make progress on unmanned underwater vehicle development and operations, which lag behind unmanned aerial vehicles, through prototype testing and the creation of a UUV squadron. Read More
Workers stand pose for a photo in the four-tube “quad-pack” built for the U.S. Ohio Replacement-class and U.K. Successor-class. General Dynamics Electric Boat Photo via US Navy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy will present an updated Ohio Replacement Program cost estimate to the Defense Department later this summer and seek approval to move into detailed design and engineering work, the Program Executive Officer for Submarines said today. Read More
The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Maryland (SSBN 738) , which along with the future USS South Dakota (SSN-790) has been used to test acoustic superiority measures, prepares to get underway for routine operations from Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., March 15, 2016. US Navy photo.
The submarine community is focused on maintaining access and boosting acoustic superiority after operating in relatively permissive environments for several years, two Navy officials told USNI News. Read More
The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Toledo (SSN-769), assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 54, transits through the Persian Gulf on Jan. 21, 2016. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information about potential advanced propulsion system development.
The Navy won’t begin buying its next-generation attack submarine until 2034, but researchers are already hard at work on two key components of the SSN(X) program: an advanced propulsion system for quieter operations, and the ability to control multiple unmanned underwater vehicles at once for extended influence. Read More
