General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $641.7 million modification to an existing U.S. Navy contract to continue support and construction activities for the Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine program. The award underscores the Navy’s long-term investment in undersea dominance and the industrial base sustaining it.
Contract Scope and Strategic Significance
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on May 31, 2024, that General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) will receive a $641.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-2100). This increment funds continued procurement of long-lead-time materials and advanced construction activities related to the Virginia-class Block V submarines.
This cost-plus-fixed-fee modification supports work at multiple locations including Groton, Connecticut; Quonset Point, Rhode Island; Newport News, Virginia; and other subcontractor sites across the United States. Work is expected to be completed by September 2029.
The funding is part of a larger multiyear procurement strategy that aims to stabilize the submarine industrial base while ensuring timely delivery of next-generation fast attack submarines equipped with enhanced payload capabilities—particularly the Virginia Payload Module (VPM).
Virginia-Class Submarines: Backbone of Undersea Warfare
The Virginia-class SSNs are central to U.S. Navy undersea operations in contested environments. Designed as a replacement for the aging Los Angeles-class submarines, they offer superior stealth, endurance, and multi-mission flexibility—including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence gathering (ISR), strike missions using Tomahawk cruise missiles, and special operations support.
Since their introduction in 2004 with USS Virginia (SSN-774), over 20 boats have been delivered across Blocks I–IV. The current production focus is on Block V variants which integrate the VPM—a hull section adding four large-diameter payload tubes capable of carrying up to 28 additional Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs), significantly increasing strike capacity per hull.
Block V boats also incorporate acoustic superiority enhancements aimed at improving survivability in peer adversary environments such as those posed by China’s PLAN or Russia’s Northern Fleet.
Industrial Base Challenges and Capacity Expansion
The award comes amid growing concern over delays in submarine production timelines due to workforce shortages, supply chain disruptions post-COVID-19, and increased demand driven by both U.S. fleet needs and foreign military sales such as AUKUS-related commitments to Australia.
Electric Boat—alongside its primary partner Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding—is engaged in an aggressive hiring campaign aiming to onboard thousands of skilled workers across trades including welding, pipefitting, electrical systems integration, and nuclear quality assurance roles.
To meet both Columbia-class SSBN strategic deterrent deadlines and maintain two-per-year production cadence for Virginia-class SSNs under current Navy plans through FY2028+, GDEB has expanded facilities at Quonset Point and Groton with new outfitting bays and modular assembly lines designed for parallel hull construction.
Budgetary Context and Congressional Oversight
This latest contract increment is funded via FY2023 shipbuilding appropriations under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congress has expressed bipartisan support for strengthening submarine production capacity given its criticality in Indo-Pacific deterrence strategies against China’s anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) posture.
- The FY2024 budget request includes over $10 billion for submarine procurement alone—including two Virginias per year plus Columbia-class SSBNs.
- A recent GAO report warned about cumulative delays exceeding one year across several hulls due to parts shortages—prompting legislative calls for greater transparency on subcontractor performance metrics.
The Submarine Industrial Base Program (SIBP) has received supplemental funding since FY2021 aimed at re-shoring component manufacturing—such as castings or propulsion shafts—and incentivizing second-source suppliers where single-point failures exist today.
Implications for Future Force Structure
The continued investment into Block V Virginias aligns with evolving U.S. Navy force structure goals outlined in “Battle Force 2045” concepts which envision a more distributed fleet architecture centered around survivable platforms like SSNs operating independently or as part of carrier strike group ISR networks via Link-16 or future C3 architectures like Project Overmatch.
Moreover, integration with unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) is being prototyped aboard select boats—potentially enabling persistent seabed surveillance or mine countermeasure missions without risking crewed platforms directly. This modularity further enhances lifecycle utility beyond traditional ASW roles.
Looking Ahead: Deliveries Through Late 2020s
The first Block V boat—USS Oklahoma (SSN-802)—is currently under construction with delivery anticipated around FY2026–27 depending on supplier performance recovery rates. Subsequent deliveries are projected annually through at least FY2033 based on current orders totaling over ten Block V units under contract or optioned via multiyear agreements signed in December 2019 worth ~$22 billion overall.
This latest $642 million award ensures continuity between material acquisition phases and full-rate construction cycles while preserving workforce momentum during peak production years ahead—a critical factor given long lead times inherent in nuclear shipbuilding programs averaging six years per hull from start to commissioning.
