Back Virginia-klas duikboot Afrikaans فيرجينيا-فئة غواصات Arabic ভার্জিনিয়া-শ্রেণির ডুবোজাহাজ Bengali/Bangla Třída Virginia (2000) Czech Virginia-klassen Danish Virginia-Klasse (2004) German Clase Virginia (2004) Spanish زیردریایی کلاس ویرجینیا Persian Virginia-luokka (sukellusvene) Finnish Classe Virginia (sous-marin) French

Virginia-class submarine

Virginia-class SSN profile
USS Virginia underway in July 2004
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Preceded by
Succeeded bySSN(X) class[1]
Cost$2.8 billion per unit (2019);[2] $4.3 billion per unit w/VPM (2023)[3]
Built2000–present
In commission2004–present
Planned66[3]
On order4
Building10
Completed24
Active24
General characteristics
TypeNuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN)
Displacement
  • Submerged:
  • Block I–IV: 7,900 t (8,700 short tons)
  • Block V: 10,200 t (11,200 short tons)[4]
Length
  • 377 ft (115 m)
  • 460 ft (140 m) for Block V[4]
Beam34 ft (10 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × S9G nuclear reactor[5] 280,000 hp (210 MW)
  • 2 × steam turbines 40,000 shp (30 MW)
  • 1 × single shaft pump-jet propulsor[5]
  • 1 × secondary propulsion motor[5]
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) or over[6]
RangeUnlimited
EnduranceOnly limited by food and maintenance requirements.
Test depthOver 800 ft (240 m)[7]
Complement135 (15 officers; 120 enlisted)
Armament
  • Block I–II:[8][9]
  • 12 × vertically launched missiles:
  • 25 × torpedo tube launched torpedoes & missiles:[10]
  • Block III–IV:[8][9]
  • 12 × vertically launched missiles:
    • 2 × Virginia payload tubes, each capable of launching six cruise missiles (12 × Tomahawk BGM-109)
  • 25 × torpedo tube launched torpedoes & missiles:
    • 4 × 21" torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes or UGM-84 Harpoon missiles
  • Block V-VI:[8][11][12][13][14]
  • 40 × vertically launched missiles:
    • 4 × Virginia payload modules (VMP), each capable of launching seven cruise missiles (28 × Tomahawk BGM-109 and future guided cruise missiles)
    • 2 × Virginia payload tubes, each capable of launching six cruise missiles (12 × Tomahawk BGM-109)
  • 25 × torpedo tube launched torpedoes & missiles:
    • 4 × 21" torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes or UGM-84 Harpoon missiles

The Virginia class, or the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered attack submarine with cruise missile capability in service with the United States Navy. The class is designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions, including anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering operations.[15] They are scheduled to replace older Los Angeles-class attack submarines, many of which have already been decommissioned, as well as four cruise missile submarine variants of the Ohio-class submarines.[13][14]

Virginia-class submarines will be acquired through 2043, and are expected to remain in service until at least 2060, with later submarines expected to operate into the 2070s.[16][17]

On 14 March 2023, the trilateral Australian-British-American security pact known as AUKUS announced that the Royal Australian Navy would purchase three Virginia-class submarines as a stopgap measure between the retirement of their conventionally powered Collins-class submarines and the acquisition of the future SSN-AUKUS class submarines. If SSN-AUKUS falls behind schedule, Australia will have the option of purchasing two additional Virginia-class submarines.[18][19]

  1. ^ Larson, Caleb (14 December 2021). "Why the US Navy's New SSN(X) Submarine Could Change Everything". Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. ^ O'Rourke, Ronald (16 April 2019). Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress (Report). CRS Report for Congress, RL32418. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b O'Rourke, Ronald (6 July 2023). Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress (Report). CRS Report for Congress, RL32418. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference blockVa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Ragheb, Magdi (9 September 2011). Tsvetkov, Pavel (ed.). Nuclear Naval Propulsion. IntechOpen. ISBN 978-953-307-474-0.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference NavyFactFile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "How deep can a submarine dive?". navalpost.com. 26 April 2021. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "US Navy to Arm Virginia-Class Attack Subs With New Hypersonic Weapon". The Diplomat. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Virginia Block III: The Revised Bow". Defense Industry Daily. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  10. ^ "An Analysis of the Navy's Fiscal Year 2013 Shipbuilding Plan" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office. July 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Submarine Products and Technology". BAE Systems. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  12. ^ O'Rouke, Ronald (17 May 2017). "Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017 – via Federation of American Scientists.
  13. ^ a b "Navy Selects Virginia Payload Module Design Concept". USNI News. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  14. ^ a b "The Strategic Imperative of Virginia Block VI Submarines". Americans for a Stronger Navy. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Submarine surge: Why the Navy plans 32 new attack subs by 2034". Warrior Maven. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  16. ^ Osborn, Kris (12 February 2014). "Navy Considers Future After Virginia-class Subs". Defensetech.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  17. ^ Thompson, Loren (6 May 2014). "Five Reasons Virginia-Class Subs Are the Face of Future Warfare". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  18. ^ Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak; President of the United States of America Joseph R. Biden (14 March 2023). "Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS". Prime Minister of Australia (Press release). Retrieved 14 March 2023. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
  19. ^ Stewart, Cameron (14 March 2023). "Big gamble, but even bigger benefits in AUKUS subs". The Australian. Retrieved 17 March 2023.

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