The New Block V Virginia-Class Attack Submarine Is Making The Navy Even Deadlier

Kris Osborn

Security, Americas

Bringing massive amounts of firepower closer to enemy targets, conducting clandestine “intel” missions in high threat waters and launching undersea attack and surveillance drones are all anticipated missions for the Navy’s emerging Block V Virginia-class attack submarines.

(Washington D.C.) Bringing massive amounts of firepower closer to enemy targets, conducting clandestine “intel” missions in high threat waters and launching undersea attack and surveillance drones are all anticipated missions for the Navy’s emerging Block V Virginia-class attack submarines.

The boats, nine of which are now surging ahead through a new developmental deal between the Navy and General Dynamics Electric Boat, are reshaping submarine attack strategies and concepts of operations -- as rivals make gains challenging U.S. undersea dominance. Eight of the new 22-billion Block V deal are being engineered with a new 80-foot weapons section in the boat, enabling the submarine to increase its attack missile capacity from 12 to 40 on-board Tomahawks.

"Block V Virginias and Virginia Payload Module are a generational leap in submarine capability for the Navy," Program Executive Officer for Submarines Rear Adm. David Goggins, said in a Navy report. "These design changes will enable the fleet to maintain our nation's undersea dominance."

The Navy report also said that Virginia. Block V submarines will “incorporate acoustic superiority design changes.”

“Block V has some additional equipment we are developing, which will be added to the USS South Dakota,” Capt. Christopher Hanson, Program Manager, Virginia Class Submarines, said in April of 2019 at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space Symposium.

While many of the technical specifics regarding emerging attack submarines are naturally not available for security reasons, various new innovations will, according to Hanson last Spring, build upon cutting-edge systems now deployed on the most advanced attack submarine ever to deploy - the USS South Dakota. The South Dakota, which is now operational, began as a prototype, test-bed platform to evolve new technologies.What all of these USS South Dakota innovations amount to is that, Hanson said, they are informing current engineering regarding Block V as well as early conceptual discussions for a new Block VI submarine to begin in 2024. While many details are not available, generally speaking the USS South Dakota is engineered with additional engine-oriented quieting technology, advanced antennas for reconnaissance and less-detectable external “coating” for the submarine, Navy developers explain.