Construction milestone reached for US Navy’s first Block V Virginia-class submarine

December 18, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division has reached a significant construction milestone for USS Oklahoma (SSN 802), the US Navy’s first Block V Virginia-class submarine.

The company reported that the submarine is now “pressure hull complete,” which signifies all of the hull sections have joined to form a single, watertight unit.

“Achieving pressure hull complete on Oklahoma highlights our commitment to accelerating production and delivering unmatched capability to our Navy customer,” said Jason Ward, NNS vice president of new construction submarine programs.

“Our dedicated shipbuilders, Navy teammates and suppliers from across the country, are working hand-in-hand to bring Oklahoma to life.”

USS Oklahoma is the 29th Virginia-class fast attack submarine, the first of Block V and the 14th to be delivered by NNS.

The Block V Virginia-class submarine represents a significant evolution of the US Navy’s Virginia-class fast attack submarine program. Block V boats introduce the Virginia payload module (VPM), a new mid-body section that increases the submarine’s length and significantly expands its payload capacity.

The VPM incorporates four large-diameter payload tubes, enabling each Block V submarine to carry up to 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles, compared to 12 on earlier Virginia-class blocks. This enhancement restores undersea strike capacity following the planned retirement of the navy’s Ohio-class guided missile submarines (SSGNs).

Like previous Virginia-class submarines, Block V boats are designed for a wide range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), special operations support, and strike warfare. The class features a nuclear-powered propulsion system, providing extended endurance, high speed, and the ability to operate globally without refueling.

The Block V variant is being built by HII and General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) as part of the US Navy’s long-term undersea strategy. The original Block V contract awarded by the US Navy covered nine new Block V Virginia-class submarines, with an option for a tenth unit. In May this year, GDEB was awarded a total of $12.4 billion in contract modifications for the construction of two more Virginia-class submarines.