US Navy awards funding for additional Virginia-class submarine

General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) has been awarded a US Navy US$1.89 billion contract modification to fund the construction of one additional Virginia-class Block V submarine.

This submarine will also be the 38th overall Virginia-class submarine to be built.

The modification also fully funds the future USS Silversides, the sixth Virginia-class Block V submarine, which is already under contract.

Among other things, the Block V submarines will each be fitted with a specially developed payload module that can house up to 28 guided missiles for striking shore targets. GDEB claims that, with the aid of this module, the strike capacity of each Virginia-class submarine will be increased by as much as 230 per cent per ship while increasing overall cost by less than 15 per cent.