{"id":43898,"date":"2019-03-20T12:58:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T12:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/20\/late-is-the-new-normal-for-virginia-class-attack-boats\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:36:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:36:32","slug":"late-is-the-new-normal-for-virginia-class-attack-boats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2019\/03\/20\/late-is-the-new-normal-for-virginia-class-attack-boats\/","title":{"rendered":"Late is the new normal for Virginia-class attack boats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Navy is dealing with persistent delays throughout its submarine-building enterprise as it prepares to enter into a historically large contract for the complicated Block V Virginia-class attack submarine<\/a> and begin heavy work on the Columbia-class ballistic missile<\/a> submarines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Virginia-class boats across the board are facing delivery delays of between four and seven months, according to Navy budget<\/a> materials submitted to Congress. The setbacks are part of a systemwide issue, with the Navy ramping up demand on the supplier base in the wake of pressure on shipbuilding budgets and a shrinking fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s a problem the Navy will have to address as it prepares to buy the 10-ship Block V Virginia-class boats, nine of which will have the 84-foot Virginia Payload Module designed to triple the Tomahawk capacity of the Virginia class. The previous block buy in 2014 was $17.6 billion, and the new contract could be closer to $20 billion with the addition of the VPM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy also faces an imperative to begin to field its new ballistic missile submarines in the late 2020s, which is part of the national strategic deterrent strategy, an effort that will draw from the same stressed supplier base as the Virginia class.<\/p>\n\n\n\t