The next-generation SSN(X) submarine will allow the Navy to control contested sea lanes around the world.

The U.S. Navy’s next-generation SSN(X) attack submarine is not immune to the shipbuilding setbacks and budgetary constraints hampering the service’s modernization programs. From destroyers and frigates to fighter jets and aircraft carriers, almost all of the Navy’s next-gen projects are running behind schedule. Since the service’s submarine fleet represents a large chunk of its sea-based nuclear deterrence strategy, maintaining a formidable force is of utmost importance to the Navy. While the SSN(X) was scheduled to begin the construction phase in 2031, this estimate has now been pushed back by at least a decade.

Last year, then-Navy Undersecretary Erik Raven discussed these setbacks in detail, noting that “If you look at F/A-XX, or the other X [next-generation] programs, we knowingly took risks in the schedule for development of those programs in order to prioritize those key investments — whether that’s readiness, or investing in our people, or undersea, to make sure that we make those programs whole.” Considering the Navy has requested nearly $600 million for SSN(X) design and development efforts, it is clearly investing heavily in its next-generation attack submarine fleet.

What About the Virginia-class?

The Navy’s SSN(X) fleet is designed to eventually replace the service’s existing Virginia-class submarines down the line. Since fiscal year 1998, the service has procured the Virginia vessels at a rate of two boats per year. Widely considered to be one of the most advanced sub fleets in service today, the Virginia-class features a litany of upgrades that have been incorporated over the years. The most recent Block V variants are equipped with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) and cost roughly $4.3 billion per boat. This VPM will increase the submarine’s armament-carrying capabilities. An additional 84-foot section will specifically be able to accommodate the four new vertical launch tubes that will be fitted to the vessels. The Block V submarines will also be equipped with the latest Tomahawk Block V missiles which will enable an anti-ship capability to the existing land-attack mode.

Introducing the SSN(X)

While the Block V submarines are designed to be outmatched out at sea, the Navy is investing in its future successor fleet. Although details surrounding the exact specs of the new class remain highly classified, a 2024 Congressional Research Service report explained that the new submarine class would incorporate characteristics of the three primary classes currently in operation with the service. According to the report, “the speed and payload of the Navy’s fast and heavily armed Seawolf (SSN-21) class SSN design, the acoustic quietness and sensors of the Virginia-class design, and the operational availability and service life of the Columbia-class design.” Combining the best attributes of the Navy’s top-notch submarines that have already been tried and trusted should make the SSN(X) unstoppable once introduced. Despite its heavy price tag, the next-generation submarine is still a necessary procurement that will allow the Navy to properly counter threats in the Pacific, the Red Sea, and other geopolitically tense climates.

About the Author: Maya Carlin

Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.

Image: DVIDS.

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