General Dynamics Electric Boat has received a $480.66 million contract for advance procurement and construction of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.

Work on the contract, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Quonset, R.I., Newport News, Va., and Groton, Conn., and will be integrated into the lead ship construction in October 2020. The contract is being combined with a previous United Kingdom contract in the amount of $10 million.

The Columbia-class is expected to replace the current fleet of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. It will field 16 Trident II D5 nuclear ballistic missiles, along with torpedoes for self-defense. Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles, or SLBM, form a key part of the "nuclear triad" of U.S. land, air and sea-based nuclear weapons.

Ballistic missile submarines are designed for long-endurance nuclear deterrence patrols operating under near complete silence. They form a difficult to detect and destroy fail-safe against the possibility of an enemy first strike destroying land and air-based nuclear delivery systems.

The first of 12 planned submarines, the Columbia, is expected to be completed by 2031 at a cost of $10.4 billion, counting research and engineering costs. Follow-on vessels are expected to cost over $5 billion a piece.

BAE contracted for Virginia-class submarine hardware
Washington (UPI) Sep 10, 2018 - BAE Systems Platforms & Services in Minneapolis, Minn., has received a $37.6 million contract modification for long-lead-time material procurement and manufacturing of propulsors and tailcones for Virginia-class submarines SSN 800 through SSN 803.

The contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, provides for the manufacture and assembly of four ship sets of propulsors, tailcones and other equipment. Work will be performed in Louisville, Ky., Minneapolis, Minn., and Jacksonville, Fla., and is expected to be completed by October 2022.

Navy fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion funding in the amount of $37.6 million will be obligated at time of award.

The contract covers four Virginia-class submarines, two from Block IV -- the USS Arkansas and USS Utah -- as well as two from Block V, neither of which have been named yet.

The Virginia-class is a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine built for anti-sub and anti-surface operations. It is armed with torpedoes, Tomahawk cruise missiles and is capable of mine-laying operations. It can also deliver special forces teams as it has the ability to operate in shallow or littoral waters.

The Virginia-class is expected to gradually replace the Los Angeles-class attack submarine whose design dates back to the 1970s. The submarine has faced a number of redesigns and upgrades to simplify construction and reduce operating costs.

Further expected modifications will include the Virginia Payload Module, which the Navy says will be incorporated in the second Block V submarine. The VPM will triple the Virginia-class Tomahawk capacity and allow greater flexibility for installing other vertical launch weapons systems.

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Phoenix International contracted for submarine rescue system
Washington (UPI) Aug 29, 2018
Phoenix International has received a $29.9 million contract for maintenance and operation of the Navy's Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System. The modification to a previous contract, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, will provide support personnel and logistical and other services for the submarine rescue systems. Phoenix is required to maintain rescue systems are ready for worldwide deployment at any time. The contract includes work for the U.S. Navy and foreig ... read more