The Virginia-class attack submarine Minnesota (SSN 783) is under construction at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Newport News Shipbuilding/Released)
WASHINGTON — The Navy has awarded a long-awaited contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding for Block VI Virginia-class submarines, and another for more Columbia-class submarines.
The Navy announced today a contract award for nine Block VI Virginia-class submarines — as well as material for another — and a separate contract award for five Build II Columbia-class ballistic submarines. Coupled with previously awarded funds for shipyard enhancements, the contracts are valued at a total of $76.6 billion. The two shipyards jointly build the submarines.
“This historic investment underscores the Department’s continued commitment to undersea superiority and the recapitalization of our nuclear triad,” Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, the Pentagon’s submarine czar, said in a statement today. “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.
