Reed: New $15.38B U.S. Navy Contract for Electric Boat Aims to Spur Production of Next-Gen Submarines

WASHINGTON, DC -- This week, the U.S. Navy awarded submarine manufacturer General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) a $15.38-billion contract modification aiming to spur the serial construction of the Columbia-class submarine program and the Virginia-class submarine program. The contract extends through 2035 and covers design work, class lead-yard support, sustainment, integrated enterprise planning, and supplier-base expansion. The contract modifications are financed primarily through the fiscal year 2026 National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund (NSBDF), with additional funding from Maritime Industrial Base and Navy Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and a champion of the Submarine Industrial Base (SIB), has worked for years to procure funding for these submarine programs. Reed helped create the NSBDF so the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) could more effectively finance construction of Columbia-class submarines.

Reed stated: "This contract is good news for national defense and Rhode Island's economy. It puts submarine production on a clear, sustainable path forward. It provides a major boost to production readiness. These next generation submarines are our strategic undersea force across the globe. Whether it's protecting economic zones, collecting intelligence, or projecting deterrence, the U.S. submarine fleet provides our forces with overwhelming operational advantages -- which is why building these new boats is the Navy's top priority."

Senator Reed recently helped include an additional $1.9 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program in the 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act to help make up for shortfalls in the Defense Department's budget request. He also helped successfully steer the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) through Congress, providing contracting authority for the Navy for five more Columbia-class submarines.

EB is heavily investing in facilities in Rhode Island and is planning on hiring approximately 3,500 new employees at their Quonset Point location in the coming year.

Senator Reed was hoping to join state and local leaders, and General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) President Mark Rayha for EB's annual legislative breakfast meeting on Monday in Warwick, but due to a weekend session of the U.S. Senate and Monday's voting schedule, Reed is expected to remain in Washington, DC.

ABOUT COLUMBIA-CLASS

Twelve Columbia-class submarines are planned, pending future appropriations by Congress, to replace fourteen Ohio-class submarines that began entering service in the early 1980s. The Columbia-class boats are projected to remain operational at sea through the mid-2080s.

The new fleet of Columbia-class submarines get their start and some of their modules at specialized facilities in Rhode Island. Other parts of the boats are built in other states, including in partnership with Huntington-Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, and final assembly takes place at EB's submarine shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.

Measuring at about 560 feet in length, each Columbia-class submarine displaces about 21,000 tons and is about two-and-a-half times the size of a Virginia-class submarine.

Construction is well underway on the first two Columbia-class submarines: the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826) and the future USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827) and has already begun on the third Columbia-class submarine, the future USS Groton (SSBN 828). The newly awarded contract will support advanced construction and procurement of long-lead items for USS Groton as well as engineering and design work on future boats.

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