General Dynamics Electric Boat has awarded a $70m contract to BAE Systems to produce Virginia Payload Module (VPM) missile tubes for the US Navy’s Block VI Virginia-class submarines.
This follows a contract modification by General Dynamics Electric Boat, valued at $1.06bn, for the procurement of materials necessary for the construction of the Virginia-class Block VI submarines.
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The VPM tubes increase the Virginia-class submarines’ firepower and payload capacity.
These tubes enable each submarine to launch up to seven Tomahawk missiles or future missile variants.
The missile tubes are constructed by BAE workforce at the Louisville facility, which also produces the propulsor for the Virginia-class and a heavy propulsor structure for the Columbia-class submarines.
BAE Systems Submarine Programs for Platforms & Services director Charles Lewis said: “These missile tubes deliver critical firepower to the Virginia-class submarine fleet, a cornerstone to US national security.
“Continuing to manufacture VPMs at our Louisville, Kentucky, facility maintains our strong support to the industrial base, while also ensuring sailors receive the capability they need to protect our country.”
The Virginia-class submarines are built jointly by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division.
These vessels feature a hull measuring 377 feet (ft) in length and 34ft in beam, with a submerged displacement of 7,300 tonnes.
The Virginia-class attack submarines are equipped with 12 vertical missile launch tubes and four 533mm torpedo tubes.
Since the fiscal year 1998, the US Navy has been actively procuring Virginia-class (SSN-774) nuclear-powered attack submarines.
By the fiscal year 2024, these efforts have resulted in the procurement of a total of 40 submarines.
Furthermore, the Congressional Research Service report indicates that the Navy’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 includes a request for funds to acquire an additional Virginia-class submarine, which would be the 41st of its class.
