Block V Virginia-class
Top Stories 2021: U.S. Navy Acquisition
Submarine construction continues apace in the latest US Navy budget request, which asks for two more Virginia-class submarines and another installment for the missile sub Columbia. Here, the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Montana (SSN-794) is seen just after launch in March 2021 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding. HII Photo
This post is part of a series looking back at the top naval stories from 2021.
This year began with a level of uncertainty for Navy acquisition, as an...
Hypersonic Weapons on Track to Deploy on Attack Submarines in 2028
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.
While the first Zumwalt-class destroyer will get a hypersonic weapon in 2025, the first Virginia-class submarine will deploy with hypersonics in 2028, Strategic Systems Programs director Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe said today at the annual Naval...
https://news.usni.org/2021/11/18/hypersonic-weapons-on-track-to-deploy-on-attack-submarines-in-2028
Electric Boat Awarded $2.4 Billion for 2nd FY 2021 Virginia-class Attack Boat
Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image
The Navy today awarded a construction contract for a second Virginia-class attack submarine this fiscal year, which the Trump administration had cut from its FY 2021 budget request and the House Armed Services Committee fought to have included in the final spending and defense bills.
The Navy awarded $2.42 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for SSN-811, a Block V Virginia-class...
General Dynamics CEO Says Electric Boat Ready To Meet ‘Increased Demand’ for Submarines
USS Vermont (SSN-792) transits the Thames River while conducting routine operations on Oct. 15, 2020. US Navy Photo
General Dynamics is equipped to meet the Navy’s “increased demand” for submarines, the company’s chief executive officer told investors on Wednesday.
With a multi-billion dollar contract for the Virginia Block V program, the company’s Marine Systems business hit revenue records in Fiscal Year 2020. While the Trump administration forecasted more submarine work in the coming years,...
Navy New Virginia Block VI Virginia Attack Boat Will Inform SSN(X)
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.
The Block V Virginia submarines – the first three of which have already begun construction – represent the first time the Navy has made a major...
https://news.usni.org/2020/11/20/navy-new-virginia-block-vi-virginia-attack-boat-will-inform-ssnx
Navy Confident It Could Build 3 Virginia SSNs a Year, Though More Study Needed On Shipyard Capacity
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.
Esper’s Battle Force 2045 called for the Navy to reach 70 to 80 attack submarines, and he specifically ca...
Navy Says Hypersonic Weapons Coming to Subs in 5 Years
Members of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command’s Nuclear Examining Board ride a boat from the Ohio-class guided- missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729), operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility toward Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain’s pier after an inspection. US Navy Photo
The Navy is on track to field a hypersonic strike weapon on submarines by 2025, the head of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs said today.
Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe said the hypersonic weapon, which will be used...
Pandemic Isn’t Slowing Down Columbia-Class Submarine Construction
An undated artist’s rendering of the planned Columbia-class submarine. Naval Sea Systems Command Image
General Dynamics Electric Boat remains ready to start construction of the first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine in October, company officials announced Wednesday.
To date, Electric Boat’s preparations to start building the first of 12 planned Columbia-class boomers, along with work at the yard building the Virginia-class fast attack submarines, has not experienced significant delays...
https://news.usni.org/2020/04/29/pandemic-isnt-slowing-down-columbia-class-submarine-construction
VIDEO: Pentagon Test Launches Prototype Hypersonic Weapon
A common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) launches from Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time on March 19, 2020. U.S. Navy Photo
The template for a new generation of Army and Navy weapons was put to the test in a late Thursday missile launch in Hawaii.
A prototype of the joint common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) rode a modified Polaris A3 booster from a launch pad at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai. The successful test ended with the glide...
https://news.usni.org/2020/03/20/video-pentagon-test-launches-prototype-hypersonic-weapon