US Navy Awards GDEB and HII $76.6 Billion Contract for Virginia and Columbia-Class Submarines

The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) a combined $76.6 billion in contracts for nine Block VI Virginia-class attack submarines and five Build II Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. Per HII’s official announcement on 29 July 2026, the award followed a roughly three-year delay in reaching the program.

According to USNI News, the contract breaks down into three main pieces: about $42.1 billion for the ninth Virginia-class boat plus long-lead material for a tenth; about $29.5 billion for five Columbia-class submarines; and about $5 billion for shipyard infrastructure and workforce development.

How the work is split

On the Virginia-class program, NNS will serve as delivery yard for six of the planned boats. On Columbia, NNS is a major partner to lead contractor GDEB, building and delivering six module sections per submarine. HII Newport News President Kari Wilkinson said the company is “committed to building the nuclear-powered submarines that protect our nation.”

GDEB and NNS have jointly delivered 26 Virginia-class submarines to the Navy to date. The new award substantially expands the capacity of that joint production line.

Why Columbia-class matters

Per Naval News, the Columbia-class submarines will replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines that form the sea-based leg of the US nuclear triad. The program ranks among the Navy’s highest-priority efforts, since delivery delays feed directly into strategic-deterrence planning.

Virginia-class attack submarines, meanwhile, form the backbone of the Navy’s multi-mission undersea force, covering intelligence gathering, special-operations support and land-attack cruise missile strikes. For more on the class, see our file on the Virginia-class submarine.

Why was the program delayed?

USNI News reports the contract’s roughly three-year delay stemmed from shipyard capacity constraints, supply-chain bottlenecks and workforce shortages. The $5 billion workforce-development component in the new award directly targets those bottlenecks.

What it means for Turkey

Submarine construction remains one of the most labor- and technology-intensive segments of naval shipbuilding. An investment of this scale in US shipyard capacity also shapes the global capacity picture that allied navies reference when planning their own submarine programs. Turkey’s Reis-class program follows a different technology family — conventional, air-independent propulsion — but the production cadence and delay dynamics at major shipyards remain a useful industry benchmark to watch. See our file on HII’s role in the US Navy for more.

Sources

1. HII official press release – “HII is Awarded Contracts for Construction of Block VI Virginia-class and Build II Columbia-class Submarines” – 29 July 2026. Used for the total contract value, hull counts and shipyard roles. Link: https://www.hii.com/news/hii-is-awarded-contracts-for-construction-of-block-vi-virginia-class-and-build-ii-columbia-class-submarines
2. USNI News – “Navy Awards $76.6B for 9 Virginia, 5 Columbia Subs to General Dynamics, HII” – 29 July 2026. Used for the budget breakdown and the program’s delay history. Link: https://news.usni.org/2026/07/29/navy-awards-76-6b-for-9-virginia-5-columbia-subs-to-general-dynamics-hii
3. Naval News – “US Navy Awards Historic $76.6B Contract for 9 Block VI Virginia SSNs and 5 Columbia SSBNs” – 29 July 2026. Used for the Columbia program’s strategic role in nuclear deterrence. Link: https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/07/us-navy-awards-historic-76-6b-contract-for-9-block-vi-virginia-ssns-and-5-columbia-ssbns/

Note: the award does not itemize the exact split between shipyards; the figures cited are total programme values.