Navy Awards $11.8 Billion for Columbia, Virginia-Class Submarines

General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls received contract modifications to build five ballistic missile submarines and nine attack submarines, with work running through July 2038.

First Published: July 29, 2026, 1:32 PM ET

GROTON, CONNECTICUT — The U.S. Navy committed nearly $11.8 billion to build 14 nuclear submarines, deepening its bet on undersea power, as announced on war.gov.

The award covers five Columbia-class fleet ballistic missile submarines, SSBN 828-832, and nine Virginia-class attack submarines, SSN 814-822, plus a tenth shipset of material and investments in shipbuilder productivity, according to war.gov.General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., the Groton, Connecticut, shipyard that has built submarines for more than a century, and Huntington Ingalls Inc., the Newport News, Virginia, builder that is the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, received the incentive contract modifications.

“These changes anchor the undersea fleet for decades,” the Navy signaled through the structure of the deal, which the service will obligate in full at the time of award.

The Columbia class replaces the aging Ohio-class boats that carry the sea leg of the nuclear triad, and the Virginia class serves as the Navy’s front-line attack submarine, according to war.gov. Fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion money supplies 54% of the total, while fiscal 2025 shipbuilding funds add another 32%, according to war.gov. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

The stakes reach far beyond the two shipyards. Work will spread across nine states, with 30% performed in Groton, 22% in Newport News, and 18% in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, according to war.gov. Suppliers in Sunnyvale, California, Sykesville, Maryland, Goose Creek, South Carolina, Chesapeake, Virginia, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Tucson, Arizona, each draw a share of the funding. The submarine industrial base employs tens of thousands of skilled tradespeople, and the productivity investments target long-standing bottlenecks in that workforce.

The award ranks among the year’s largest defense commitments. It marks the sixth contract awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat in 2026, lifting the company’s total for the year to about $7.1 billion, and the 21st Department of Defense contract recorded in Connecticut this year. For Huntington Ingalls, the modification is its first logged award of 2026. The combined figure trails the pair’s record award of about $22.2 billion but stands high within the 2026 Navy portfolio.

The money represents a long-term investment in national defense rather than an immediate change to daily life. The submarines will not enter service for years, and construction spanning through July 2038 anchors thousands of manufacturing jobs and supplier contracts across the country.

This has happened before. The Navy has repeatedly bundled Columbia- and Virginia-class work into multiyear procurement deals to lock in prices and stabilize the industrial base. Block buys have long served as the mechanism for building attack submarines in batches rather than one at a time.

Naval Sea Systems Command and Congress will make the next decisions, funding and overseeing the shipbuilding program through annual appropriations. A date for the next contract action has not been announced.

Submarine construction at Groton is not new to the shipyard, as history shows. Electric Boat delivered the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, which was launched on Jan. 21, 1954, and put to sea in 1955. That vessel steamed more than 62,000 nautical miles on its first reactor core and passed beneath the North Pole in 1958. Groton has remained a cornerstone of American undersea power ever since, tying today’s award to a lineage stretching back seven decades.

This contract represents the 6th contract awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut (N00024-12-C-2115, N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-17-C-2117), in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $7,065,336,259. It is also the 21st Department of Defense contract awarded in Connecticut during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut (N00024-12-C-2115, N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-17-C-2117), whose record stands at $22,209,893,409, it is notable within the Navy portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Navy portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $9,046,496 and maximum of $8,000,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 2 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 29, 2026. This contract represents the 1st contract awarded to and Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia (N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-15-C-2114, N00024-16-C-2116), in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $6,441,442,332. Because this is the first award to and Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia (N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-15-C-2114, N00024-16-C-2116) recorded in the database, it establishes the company’s initial benchmark within the Navy portfolio. This contract represents the 6th contract awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut (N00024-12-C-2115, N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-17-C-2117); and Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia (N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-15-C-2114, N00024-16-C-2116), in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $7,065,336,259. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut (N00024-12-C-2115, N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-17-C-2117); and Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia (N00024-17-C-2100, N00024-15-C-2114, N00024-16-C-2116), whose record stands at $22,209,893,409, it is notable within the Navy portfolio.