BAE Systems has been awarded a $92 million U.S. Navy contract to continue building propulsors for the Virginia class, or the SSN-774 class, submarine program. Under this contract, BAE Systems will deliver the Propulsor Forward Assemblies, as well as design engineering support services and support and sustainment hardware. The Navy’s submarine force will continue to receive high-quality and reliable propulsion systems from BAE Systems’ experienced and dedicated submarine structures production workforce at our Submarine Center of Excellence in Louisville, Kentucky. The company will also continue to provide expert engineering and business support from its Minneapolis, Minnesota, facility. To date, BAE Systems has delivered 33 forward assemblies to the U.S. Navy.
“During the more than three decades that BAE Systems has manufactured propulsors for the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet, we have developed significant expertise in the fabrication of complex heavy structures,” said Brent Butcher, vice president and general manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems. “We remain committed to building high-quality, reliable submarine structures and systems in support of U.S. Navy shipbuilding requirements, and our expert workforce and facilities are prepared to take on additional complex submarine assemblies to strengthen our strategic submarine industrial base.”
The Virginia class is the newest class of nuclear-powered cruise missile fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy. The class is designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions, including anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering operations. They are scheduled to replace older Los Angeles-class submarines, many of which have already been decommissioned. Virginia-class submarines will be acquired through 2043, and are expected to remain in service until at least 2060, with later submarines expected to operate into the 2070s. On 14 March 2023, the trilateral Australian-British-American security pact known as AUKUS announced that the Royal Australian Navy would purchase three Virginia-class submarines as a stopgap measure between the retirement of their conventionally powered Collins-class submarines
BAE Systems is a critical member of the submarine industrial base. With the advanced manufacturing capabilities of its Louisville facility, BAE Systems is also building a heavy propulsor structure for the Columbia-class submarine. The Louisville site also builds the Virginia Payload Module launch tubes, which enable Virginia-Class submarines to fire Tomahawk missiles and future payloads. As the company continues its support of the Navy’s submarine community, its facilities are ready to take on additional production needs and provide innovative solutions to support the submarine production requirements established by the U.S. shipbuilding community working to meet the needs of the U.S. Navy, and its allies.
