The U.S. Department of War announced it had awarded a five-ship contract modification to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) for five Columbia Class ballistic missile submarines.
The department also awarded a nine-ship contract to GDEB and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding (HII_NSS) for construction of Virginia Class submarines in Fiscal Years 2025 through 2029. The awards are estimated to total a combined $76.6 billion and are intended to invest in maritime modernization and supremacy. The awards will drive recapitalization of the Navy’s undersea forces and the country’s nuclear triad, officials said.
“This historic investment underscores the Department’s continued commitment to undersea superiority and the recapitalization of our nuclear triad,” Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, director of Submarine Programs, said. “By securing the continuous production of both the Columbia and Virginia classes, we ensure we will continue to deliver the world’s most lethal, survivable and resilient combat platform to our global Combatant Commanders, while providing long-term stability to our shipbuilding industrial base. These submarines will assure our allies and deter our adversaries while serving as a key part of our joint forces by projecting combat power into denied areas and defending our nation and its interests for decades to come.”
The Columbia Class submarines provide sea-based strategic deterrents to meet U.S. Strategic Command’s requirements, the DoW said. The contracts support the fielding of enhanced Virginia Class Submarines designed for stealth, heavy payload strike capability and multi-domain lethality. The Navy currently has seven Columbia Class submarines under contract to complement its 26 Virginia Class submarine force. An additional 23 more submarines are slated to be built.
General Dynamics said it will receive $29.5 billion for the five additional Columbia-class submarines, $42.1 billion for the nine additional Virginia-Class submarines, as well as additional support for shipyard infrastructure.
“These important contract modifications provide Electric Boat and our suppliers with the demand certainty we need to continue investing in capacity and hiring the workforce necessary to ensure we deliver these important national security assets on schedule,” Mark Rayha, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat, said.