HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding officially began construction of the U.S. Navy’s next Virginia-class Block V submarine, USS Barb (SSN-804), with the keel laying on December 9, 2025.
On December 9, 2025, HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding hosted the keel-laying ceremony for the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Barb (SSN-804) in Newport News, Virginia, officially starting construction. The future USS Barb will be the U.S. Navy’s 31st Virginia-class fast attack submarine and the 15th built at Newport News. It is the first Block V Virginia-class submarine to carry a World War II lineage into modern service while remaining part of the joint production program between Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat.
USS Barb (SSN-804) will be the third U.S. submarine to bear the name and the first Virginia-class unit to do so, connecting a modern nuclear-powered attack submarine to a historic legacy spanning World War II and the Cold War. Ordered on December 2, 2019, the submarine is designed for multi-mission operations including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike missions using cruise missiles, intelligence and surveillance, special operations support, and mine warfare. It will join the fleet after outfitting, testing, and trials, following operational patterns consistent with the Virginia-class program. Its construction is part of the Navy’s ongoing effort to maintain attack submarine capabilities as older Los Angeles-class submarines retire.
The first USS Barb (SS-220), a Gato-class diesel-electric submarine commissioned in 1942, conducted eight war patrols in the Pacific, sinking 17 enemy vessels totaling over 96,000 tons, including the escort carrier Unyo. It disrupted Japanese maritime logistics and executed a land operation on Sakhalin, destroying a train on a rail line. The submarine earned multiple unit awards before being transferred to Italy in 1954 as Enrico Tazzoli (S-511) and served until the early 1970s.
The second USS Barb (SSN-596), a Permit-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, served from 1963 to 1989, conducting Cold War patrols, intelligence gathering, and support missions during the Vietnam conflict. It participated in Tomahawk cruise missile development and undertook extended submerged operations, enhancing deep-water and shallow-water tactics.
The future USS Barb (SSN-804) will be a Virginia-class Block V submarine, featuring the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), which adds a hull section with four large-diameter vertical payload tubes. Each tube can carry seven Tomahawk missiles, increasing the total vertical payload to 40, with room for future weapons and payloads. The Block V design extends the submarine’s strike capabilities while retaining propulsion and acoustic systems from earlier blocks.
Specifications of SSN-804 include a submerged displacement of ~10,200 tons, length of ~140 meters, beam ~10.4 meters, and draft ~9.8 meters. It is powered by an S9G pressurized water reactor, an auxiliary diesel generator, and a pump-jet propulsor, enabling submerged speeds up to 25 knots and extended underwater endurance. The crew typically includes 15 officers and 120 enlisted personnel, with armament comprising four 533 mm torpedo tubes for Mk 48 torpedoes and vertical launch capacity for BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles. The submarine uses photonics masts and integrated bow, flank, and towed-array sonar systems for advanced detection and tracking.
The long-term U.S. Navy plan calls for 66 Virginia-class submarines, with 24 delivered by early 2025 and 16 under contract. The USS Iowa (SSN-797) was the 24th delivered in April 2025, followed by the future USS Massachusetts (SSN-798) on November 21, 2025. At least nine more submarines are under construction, with Block V and Block VI hulls authorized, aiming for an average delivery rate of 1.1–1.2 submarines per year to meet fleet requirements.
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