US Navy awards historic $76.6B contract for 9 Block VI Virginia and 5 Columbia-class submarines

Published Jul 30, 11:43 AM UTC

On July 29, 2026, the US Department of War awarded a historic $76.6 billion contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding (HII-NNS) for the construction of nine Block VI Virginia-class attack submarines and five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. The deal represents the largest submarine contract in US Navy history, aimed at recapitalizing the Navy's undersea forces and the nation's nuclear triad. The Columbia-class submarines will serve as the sea-based strategic deterrent, while the enhanced Virginia-class submarines provide stealth, heavy payload strike capability, and multi-domain lethality. The awards ensure continuous production of both classes, providing long-term stability to the shipbuilding industrial base. The Navy now has seven Columbia-class submarines under contract and 23 more Virginia-class submarines slated for construction, complementing 26 operational Virginia-class submarines. Officials emphasized the bipartisan congressional support that enabled this investment in maritime modernization and undersea dominance.