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Virginia-class

Submarines

The Virginia-class submarine is the backbone of modern U.S. Navy undersea warfare, built to dominate both deep-ocean and littoral missions with the stealth, endurance, mobility, and firepower only a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine can deliver.

Designed to replace aging Los Angeles-class boats, the Virginia-class brings advanced photonics masts, a reconfigured control room, special operations support, and modular open-architecture systems that keep the platform lethal and adaptable for decades. Newer boats add the Virginia Payload Module, dramatically expanding strike capacity and strengthening the class’s role in Tomahawk cruise missile attacks, intelligence gathering, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and covert power projection.

BLOCK I - THE FOUNDATION SSN-774 TO SSN-777
The boats that proved a $1.8 billion submarine could do the job of a $3 billion Seawolf. First class designed entirely on computers using 3D CAD modeling. First with photonic masts instead of periscopes, pump-jet propulsors, and an open-architecture combat system designed for rapid upgrades. Built in 10 modular sections at two shipyards - Electric Boat and Newport News - in an industrial arrangement designed to keep both nuclear shipyards alive.
BLOCK II - COST BREAKOUT SSN-778 TO SSN-783
The block that proved Virginia could be built on time and under budget. Hull sections reduced from ten to four, cutting $300 million per boat. New Hampshire delivered eight months early and $54 million under budget. Multi-year procurement agreements saved an additional $80 million per boat. These six boats broke the narrative that submarines always cost more than planned.
BLOCK III - THE NEW BOW SSN-784 TO SSN-791
A fundamentally redesigned forward section. The traditional spherical sonar array - used on every American attack submarine since 1960 - replaced by the horseshoe-shaped Large Aperture Bow array. Twelve individual VLS tubes replaced by two Virginia Payload Tubes, each carrying six Tomahawks using the Ohio-class canister concept. Forty percent of the bow redesigned. Colorado became the first submarine to operate photonic masts with Xbox-style controllers.
BLOCK IV - EXTENDED OPS SSN-792 TO SSN-801
Focused on lifecycle cost reduction and operational availability. Major maintenance periods cut from four to three, adding one full deployment to each boat's career. These ten boats form the core of the fleet as the Los Angeles class retires. Iowa's commissioning in April 2025 made Virginia the most numerous active submarine class in the world.
PAYLOAD REVOLUTION SSN-802 TO SSN-813
The biggest upgrade in Virginia-class history. A 70-foot Virginia Payload Module inserted amidships adds four large-diameter launch tubes carrying seven Tomahawks each - 28 additional missiles per boat, increasing total strike capacity by 76%. Displacement jumps from 7,800 to 10,200 tons. Length extends from 377 to 460 feet. These boats will replace the strike capability lost when the four Ohio-class SSGNs retire. First delivery expected 2025, with the block spanning through approximately 2030. Three boats named so far: Barb, Baltimore, and Atlanta.
BLOCK VI - THE NEXT CHAPTER SSN-814+
The second generation of VPM-equipped Virginias with advanced sonar arrays, updated combat systems, enhanced acoustic quieting, and fiber-optic drone deployment capability. At least one Block VI boat is expected to be a specialized seabed warfare variant to eventually replace USS Jimmy Carter's intelligence mission. The Navy plans 9–10 boats, with the first - USS Potomac - expected to deliver in 2034–2035. These will be the last Virginia-class submarines before the SSN(X) next-generation attack submarine enters service in the 2040s.