The Navy last week awarded General Dynamics’ (GD) Electric Boat Corp. a $15.38 billion modification in more Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) work related to industrial base development support.
This award covers additional Columbia-class submarine design, lead yard support and sustainment, “integrated enterprise plan initiatives for the class, and submarine industrial base supplier development enhancement efforts to support Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program execution,” the Navy’s contract announcement said.
The award notice specified the industrial base development work included in the modification is meant to further the Navy’s plan of improving serial production of both the Columbia SSBNs and Virginia-class attack submarines.
The Columbia-class submarine will eventually replace the aging Ohio-class submarine fleet as the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad. The National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for providing and sustaining the warheads that will tip the Trident II D5 missile system the submarine will be built to carry.
Meanwhile, the dual-capable Virginia-class submarine is planned to deploy the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile and include a variant of the W80 warhead, something the National Nuclear Security Administration is already working on.
The modification was awarded pursuant to the fiscal 2026 appropriations bill.
Both submarine programs are jointly built by prime contractor Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).
The award comes as the Navy is still finalizing negotiations with GD and HII on awards covering 10 Block VI Virginia-class attack submarines and five Columbia-class SSBNs.
Earlier this month, Electric Boat president Mark Rayha said he thought the agreement would be finalized within a few months.
While Electric Boat and HII are the major shipbuilders that perform final assembly, they use numerous subcontractors and increasingly outsource some of the modular work before completing construction.
To that end, the announcement noted that while 21% of the work will occur at Electric Boat’s Groton, Conn., location and 6% at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Virginia, the vast majority of work will be at other locations in the U.S. and is expected to be finished by June 2035.