How to Make the US Navy Great Again: More Block V Virginia-Class Submarines

Summary and key points: The Virginia-class Block V submarine represents a significant leap in the U.S. Navy’s naval capabilities. Equipped with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), these submarines can carry an additional 40 cruise missiles and offer greater payload versatility.

-Enhanced stealth technology, improved nuclear propulsion, and advanced sensors make them formidable vessels in contested waters.

-These submarines are designed for operations such as Seabed Warfare and are ideally suited for shallow areas such as the South China Sea. They play a key role in the Navy’s ‘distributed lethality’ strategy.

-Despite their capabilities, however, the U.S. Navy faces challenges in meeting shipbuilding demand due to its limited fleet size and struggling shipyards.

The US Block V Virginia-class submarine is astonishing

The U.S. Navy has striven to maintain the naval supremacy it enjoyed from the end of the Cold War until very recently. While the Navy may not have been as successful in doing so recently, it still has some great platforms, including the Virginia-class Block V submarine.

There have been four previous versions of the Virginia-class submarine. But the Block V is something special. It carries the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), an 84-foot extension that can be placed in the mid-body of the submarine.

The VPM will allow a Virginia-class Block V to carry as many as 40 additional cruise missiles. This capability is seen as a real game-changer for the Navy, especially as they are forced to retire more Ohio-class guided-missile submarines.

Another important aspect of the VPM is that it allows the submarine to carry additional payloads, increasing the versatility of this deadly system and increasing the fear of the American enemy.

The Block V is an all-round upgrade of what came before. It will have stealth capabilities, thanks to improved acoustic dampening technology. Having improved stealth capabilities on board is essential for conducting long-range, covert operations in contested waters.

Understanding Block V

A coterie of technological advances are included, such as improved sensors and communications systems that aid in the submarine’s situational awareness. These systems are specifically poised for greater interoperability with other systems and ships in the U.S. Navy, as well as allied systems and ships. These boats can also operate in tandem with air assets. In this way, the systems contribute significantly to force unity.

Block Vs have improved nuclear propulsion systems that are intended to enhance their already excellent ability to stay submerged for extended periods of time. The new propulsion system gives these boats greater speed and range compared to many of their competitors and predecessors.

One of the most interesting areas of advancement is what is known as Seabed Warfare. This variant of the Virginia class would have the capability to house and deploy lethal unmanned underwater vehicles. The Seabed Warfare capability, as the name suggests, gives the Block V a greater ability to conduct military operations on the seabed.

Given the importance of the global undersea communications cables that connect all continents and the relatively vulnerable nature of those cables, the Block V has a greater capability to conduct espionage against those cables.

Block V’s were built to fight China

The US Virginia-class submarine, Block V, appears best suited for use in the shallower waters of the increasingly contested South China Sea.

The capabilities installed on these boats increase long-range lethality and provide greater survivability. The Navy has announced the need for what it calls “distributed lethality.” According to the official website of the Department of Defense, this concept means that the Navy plans to “increase the offensive and defensive capabilities of individual warships, deploy them in dispersed formations over a large geographic area, and generate dispersed fires.”

Submarines, particularly the Block V Virginia class, will play a key role in distributed lethality. They are specifically intended to allow the Navy to project energy into areas such as the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait, where surface warships may not have access in wartime.

General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries are working together to develop the Block V. The tenth submarine of this class is currently under construction and they are widely seen as a lower-cost alternative to the more expensive Seawolf-class submarines.

America can’t build enough

Despite their impressive capabilities, however, having 10 of these boats is not nearly as useful as one might think. The Navy is the smallest it has been since the interwar years. America’s defense industrial base, particularly its shipyards, has long been in decline.

Shipyards can barely keep up with the demand for submarines in peacetime. Should a war break out that forces the U.S. Navy to respond, it will be difficult to project effective power while maintaining the fleet, even in its current state.

Author’s Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who contributes to The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, will be published October 22 by Encounter Books. You can follow Weichert on Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock.

From the vault

Russia in Panic: Why the US Navy Hasn’t Recommissioned the Iowa-Class Battleships

Battleship vs. Cruiser: Iowa Class vs. Russian Kirov Class (Who Wins?)