US Navy awards $15.3 contract modification to GDEB for Columbia and Virginia-class subs
The US Navy has awarded a $15.38 billion contract modification to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) to accelerate production and long-term support for its Columbia-class and Virginia-class submarine programs through 2035.
The contract modification is aimed at strengthening the serial construction of both submarine classes while enhancing the broader submarine industrial base. It includes funding for design work, lead-yard support, sustainment, integrated enterprise planning, and expansion of the supplier network critical to meeting production demands.
The agreement is primarily financed through the National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund, with additional support from Maritime Industrial Base funding and US Navy research, development, test, and evaluation accounts. Together, these funding streams are intended to improve production readiness and ensure long-term program stability.
US Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the contract, highlighting its significance for both national defense and the industrial workforce.
“This contract is good news for national defense and Rhode Island’s economy. It puts submarine production on a clear, sustainable path forward. It provides a major boost to production readiness. These next generation submarines are our strategic undersea force across the globe. Whether it’s protecting economic zones, collecting intelligence, or projecting deterrence, the U.S. submarine fleet provides our forces with overwhelming operational advantages — which is why building these new boats is the Navy’s top priority,” Reed said.
Twelve Columbia-class submarines are planned, subject to future congressional appropriations, to replace the fourteen Ohio-class boats that entered service in the early 1980s. The new submarines are expected to remain operational into the mid-2080s.
Production of the Columbia-class begins with modules manufactured at specialized facilities in Rhode Island, alongside components built across multiple states in cooperation with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division in Virginia. Final assembly is carried out at General Dynamics Electric Boat’s shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.
Each submarine measures approximately 171 meters in length and has a displacement of around 21,000 tonnes, making it roughly two-and-a-half times larger than a Virginia-class submarine.
Construction is already underway on the first two boats, the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826) and USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827), while work has also begun on the third, USS Groton (SSBN 828). The newly awarded contract will support advanced construction activities and long-lead material procurement for USS Groton, as well as ongoing engineering and design work for subsequent submarines.
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