BAE Garners Order for Payload Tubes of Virginia-Class Submarines

LOUISVILLE,
Ky. — BAE Systems has received a follow-on contract to produce 28 more payload
tubes for the U.S. Navy’s Block V Virginia-class attack submarines, the company
said in a July 25 release.

Under the
contract with General Dynamics Electric Boat, a builder of the Virginia class,
BAE Systems will deliver seven sets of four tubes each for the Virginia Payload
Modules (VPM).

The Navy
is adding significant capability to the latest Virginia-class boats by
increasing the firepower and payload capacity of the Block V submarines. The
VPM extends the length of Block V subs over previous versions of the Virginia
class by adding a midbody section to create more payload space. Each
large-diameter payload tube can store and launch up to seven Tomahawk and
future guided cruise missiles.

“The VPM
is critical to the Virginia class because it offers not only additional strike
capacity, but the flexibility to integrate future payload types, such as
unmanned systems and next-generation weapons, as threats evolve,” said Joe
Senftle, vice president and general manager of weapon systems at BAE Systems.

“We’ve
invested heavily in the people, processes and tools required to successfully
deliver these payload tubes to Electric Boat and to help ensure the Navy’s
undersea fleet remains a dominant global force.”

BAE
Systems is also providing nine payload tubes under previously awarded VPM
contracts. As the leading provider of propulsors and other submarine systems,
the company has a long history of supporting the Navy’s submarine fleet. In
addition to payload tubes, BAE Systems is also providing propulsors, spare
hardware and tailcones for Block IV Virginia-class vessels and is prepared to
do the same for Block V.

Work under this contract
will be performed at the company’s facility in Louisville, Kentucky, with
deliveries scheduled to begin in 2021.