Navy Starts to Build New Missile Tubes For Virginia-Class Attack Subs

The Navy has begun early “tube and hull” forging of new missile tubes for its fleet of Block V Virginia-Class attack submarines as part of a plan to massively increase undersea firepower and provide commanders with a wider range of attack options.

For Virginia-class Block V construction, the Navy is planning to insert a new 84-foot long section designed to house additional missile capability – “Virginia Payload Modules.”

The Virginia Payload Modules, slated to become operational by the 2020s, will increase the Tomahawk missile firepower of the submarines from 12 missiles up to 40, Navy weapons developers explain.

“Early construction of Virginia Payload Modules, is underway,” Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Bill Couch told Warrior Maven.

The Navy recently awarded General Dynamics subsidiary Electric Boat a nearly $700 million deal to start long-lead items acquisition for the Block V Virginia-class boats.

Production of the tubes follows extensive planning and prototyping efforts in recent years.

“Tube and Hull” forging is a key step in the construction of submarine-launched weapons by merging missile tubes into a base-structure in blocks – which are then inserted into “modules” for the boat. While a similar technique is now also underway with the Columbia-Class submarines, Couch explained that the process and configuration is proceeding differently for Virgina-class subs.

The VPM submarines will have an additional (approximately 84 feet) section with four additional Virginia Payload Tubes (VPTs), each capable of carrying seven Tomahawk cruise missiles, for a ship total of 40 Tomahawks.