--- title: "Virginia Class Submarines: The Greatest Attack Sub Ever Built?" description: "For two decades now, the Virginia-class attack submarine has quietly dominated the world's oceans. It's stealthy, deadly, and packed with enough high-tech wizardry to make even hardened military analysts sit up and take notice. Built to be cheaper than its Seawolf predecessor, but nearly as capable, the Virginia-class has gone on to become the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet – and the most-produced U.S. attack sub since the Cold War.\n\nBut here's the thing: this isn't just a story about a successful attack submarine. It's about a platform so much more than that mere role – adaptable, so versatile, and so important to U.S. strategy that the Pentagon can't stop building them, even as delays, backlogs, and rivals start to pile up.\n\nSo just how good is the Virginia-class really? Is it the best ever built? And how long can it hold the crown?\n\n## A New Sub for a New Era\n\nIn the 1990s, the U.S. Navy faced a problem: the Cold War was now over, and the once fearsome Soviet Navy was now a thing of the past. As a result, America's all the bells and whistles, no expense spared Seawolf-class attack submarines – designed to hunt down Typhoon and Akula-classes with righteous impunity – was now looking like rather expensive overkill.\n\nConsequently, only three Seawolves out of a planned class of 29 were built before the plug was pulled. They were marvels of engineering, sure, but they carried a staggering price tag that just could not be justified in a post-Soviet world.\n\nWhat the Navy needed instead, to use their words, was an attack submarine that was \"less expensive and better optimized for post-Cold War … missions than the Seawolf-class design.\" In plain English, that meant something that could do (almost) everything a Seawolf could do – just more affordably and with a couple of new features thrown in for good measure.\n\nThe Virginia-class, as you have no doubt guessed, was the submarine born from that want, with the lead ship of the class, USS Virginia, being ordered in 1998, and getting commissioned in October 2004.\n\nAnd General Dynamics Electric Boat, the company responsible for the design work, really rolled with the whole 'multi-mission profile' schtick, too. During the Cold War, American attack submarines had one primary job: track and, if necessary, kill Soviet subs – quickly, cleanly, and quietly. But for the Virginia-class, that old remit was expanded to allow it to also serve as a stealthy intel gatherer, a covert SEAL team taxi, and a precision strike platform.\n\nThat's a lot of different hats for one submarine to wear, to be sure, but the Virginia-class was designed from the keel up, very specifically, to be a jack-of-all-trades – a sub-nautical Swiss Army Knife of sorts. As for how they did this – don't worry about it right now, we'll come back to look at its design properly later on.\n\nSomething else General Dynamics were very keen on too, was keeping the cost down. Not through any altruism on their part, they were and are a profit-making enterprise of course, instead it was due to the fact that both Congress and the Navy really were not messing about with their penny pinching, and any waste on General Dynamics' part, would result only in a reduction in their profit margins.\n\nAs an example, one strategy the aforementioned government bodies tried was so called \"multi-year block buys,\" i.e. only buying a few at a time, so that any spikes in unit price could be quickly identified, dissected, and nipped in the bud. This worked too, as when produced at a steady two-per-year clip, each Virginia-class came in at roughly 2.5 billion USD a pop in 2005 dollars, or just shy of four billion adjusted for inflation.\n\nThis was still a king's ransom, to be sure, but it was notably cheaper than the Seawolves, with the last of that class, the USS Jimmy Carter, costing 3.5 billion when she was first plopped into the drink back in '05.\n\nCome 2011, the Navy had settled into a rhythm of ordering two Virginias per year. It wasn't quite a Cold War pace, as they really knocked them out back in those days – as the 62 Los Angeles-classes built in just 24 years can attest to – but it was impressive, nonetheless.\n\nAnd thanks to that steady production, the Virginia-class quickly became the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet, with, as of the time of writing, 24 of them being in commission – just pipping the remaining Los Angeles-class boats as the most numerous attack subs in the fleet by a single unit. The Navy plans to keep buying them for the foreseeable future too, with there currently being plans to build 66 of the things, and production being slated to continue for decades still to come.\n\nBut how did the new sub actually stack up in practice? To answer that, we need to take a closer look at what makes a Virginia tick – from its high-tech innards to its formidable arsenal.\n\n## Stealth and Sensors – Inside the Virginia-Class\n\nOn the outside, a Virginia-class submarine looks like a sleek black tube – as submarines do tend to. Unassuming? Perhaps, but looks can be deceiving, because crammed within that subaqueous cigar is some seriously high-tech kit.\n\nAs for dimensions, a Virginia comes in at 377 feet long, 34 feet across, and displaces about 7,800 tons submerged. That makes it a bit longer than a football field and around 1,000 tons heavier than its Los Angeles-class forerunners. Notably, however, those numbers also make it smaller than a Seawolf, which has a smidge over a thousand tons on a Virginia.\n\nNot to besmirch the Virginia's good name, however, because like we say, there's some properly advanced stuff going on under its hood, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of stealth, where it is truly world-class – with the Navy having invested heavily to keep it quieter than anything a potential adversary can put in the water.\n\nA big part of those capabilities come from its propulsion. While the fine details are classified, it's well known that Virginia-class subs use pump-jet propulsors instead of old-school propellers. And if you're wondering what they're about, they work by drawing in water and forcing it out through an internal nozzle, as compared to a traditional propeller, which spins open blades to push water backwards.\n\nAs for why doing that way is better for stealthiness, pump-jets drastically reduce cavitation, which is the sound of bubbles forming and collapsing around the blades – and cavitation is what makes traditional screws noisy at speed. Swap that out, and the sub glides like a whisper – happy days.\n\nAdd a life-of-the-boat nuclear reactor into the equation too, and a Virginia will be able to keep on chugging away for 33 years. Yes, thirty-three. And with a top speed of over 25 knots submerged, it can outrun many surface ships while remaining nearly impossible to detect too. One Navy report called all this \"an asymmetric strategic advantage\" – which in lay speak means a Virginia can be lingering off the coastline of one of Uncle Sam's naughty nations, and there's the best part of nothing they can do about it.\n\nSubmarine does not live by stealth alone however, they also need sharp senses, and even sharper still teeth… how fortunate it is then, that the Virginia-class has the lot!\n\nFor weapons, each Virginia-class comes with four 21-inch torpedo tubes capable of firing both traditional, Mk-48 torpedoes, and UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles – both of them able to maybe take out a destroyer or a frigate in a single hit, and even capital ships if they manage to land enough shots on target.\n\nFor 'eyes,' its sonar suite includes a massive spherical bow array, flank arrays, and a towed array, giving it a full 360-degree underwater 'view.' These sensors are among the best in the world – sensitive enough to pick up the faint hum of an engine or the churn of another sub's screw tens of miles away. In fact, a Virginia can often detect and track an enemy sub long before the other guy even knows it's in the same ocean.\n\nThere's also the photonic mast – basically a high-tech periscope replacement that uses cameras, thermal imaging, and sensors instead of a good old-fashioned tube with some mirrors in it. It's more stealthy, more capable, and more flexible.\n\nAlongside that, every Virginia also carries Tomahawks, but the packaging changed over time. On early boats (Blocks I–II) there were 12 individual vertical launch tubes in the bow. From Block III onward, the bow was redesigned around two large-diameter 'Virginia Payload Tubes'; each tube holds six Tomahawks, so it's still 12 total forward, just packaged differently. Starting with Block V, new-build Virginias add the 84-foot Virginia Payload Module, VPM: four large tubes, seven weapons each, for 28 additional missiles. Combined with the forward load, that gives VPM-equipped Virginias the ability to carry around 65 torpedo-sized weapons — roughly a 76% bump.\n\nThe VPM also bulks the sub out. These later Virginias are 461 feet long and displace around 10,000 tons submerged – more than a Seawolf. The Navy sees this as a fair trade, however, as the VPMs help offset the impending retirement of the four Ohio-class cruise missile submarines, which are due to bow out between 2026 and 2028.\n\nBottom line then: the Virginia-class is a technical masterpiece. No ifs, and no buts.\n\n## Backlogs and Bottlenecks – Building the Virginia Fleet\n\nDesigning a world-class submarine is hard. Building dozens of them on time and budget is harder still, and accordingly, the Virginia-class production story has delivered impressive results, but not without hitting a few speed bumps in the road – especially in recent years.\n\nAll U.S. Navy submarines are built by a tag-team of two shipyards: General Dynamics Electric Boat – who also designed the Virginia-class if you recall – out of Connecticut, and Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding, who, ironically, are based in Virginia. These are the only U.S. yards capable of nuclear submarine construction. Each sub is assembled at one single yard, but major components come from both, keeping both yards fully engaged. For most of the 2010s, this partnership delivered Virginias at a healthy clip of two per year, exactly the rate that the powers that be were ordering them.\n\nAnd then came the 2020s, and it all started to go a bit wrong. To begin with, it was just the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines entering production and taking up precious production resources, but then, just to make things even worse, COVID-19 both hammered the labour pool, and supply chains.\n\nThe result? The build rate slid, and has yet to recover, with it having dropped to around 1.2 boats per year since 2022. The Navy has admitted this freely too, stating in 2024 that Virginia deliveries were running around 24 to 36 months behind schedule.\n\nTo fix it, the Navy and Congress launched a crash effort to bolster the submarine industrial base. Billions of dollars have gone into expanding fabrication capacity, ramping up supplier resilience, and training thousands of new skilled workers. The Defense Production Act – a law that allows the federal government to prioritize and accelerate the production of critical materials and goods for national defence – was even invoked in 2021 to prioritize key sub components.\n\nThe goal? Return to two boats per year by 2028 – and eventually hit 2.33 subs per year (seven boats every three years). Why 2.33 specifically? That would be because the U.S. plans to not only clear its own backlog, but also build a few extra Virginias for Australia, which is slated to buy three to five boats under the AUKUS pact… and that'll place even more strain on an already maxed-out system.\n\nThis maxed-out system is also fragile too. There are over 16,000 suppliers involved in Virginia construction, and about 70% of them are single-source vendors – making critical items like nuclear valves or reactor parts. If even one falters, it can delay the entire process.\n\nDespite all that, however, the program is far from in crisis – it's more of a nipping it in the bud before it gets too bad thing. Officials say the shipyards can catch up – but they'll need continued support and patience from Congress. Who, to be fair, have remained generous, as recent defence budgets have included provisions for multi-year procurement and incremental funding to keep Virginia production moving forward.\n\nOne thing's for sure though: the demand isn't slowing. With China's navy expanding fast and tensions rising across the Pacific, there's real pressure to get more of these stealthy warships to sea – and rapidly so as well. Whether the Navy can fix the pipeline in time remains to be seen. But make no mistake: Virginia-class submarines are too valuable to fall behind. The Navy, industry, and Congress all know it. And they're racing to make sure the fleet gets what it needs.\n\n## Spies, SEALs, and Tomahawks – The Virginia's Mission Profile\n\nAnd now, with background, construction chaos, and tech specs alike all behind us, it's time to take a proper look at what these Virginia-classes actually do, in depth.\n\nAs we've already mentioned in passing, they aren't just stealthy killers – they're multi-mission platforms that excel in both peacetime and war. A Virginia can lurk near hostile coastlines for weeks, eavesdropping on communications, monitoring radar activity, and mapping seabed installations – all while remaining essentially invisible. While the specific ins and outs of how they do this are very classified, it is known that they often collect data for national intelligence agencies, not just the Navy.\n\nThe Virginia-class was also built with special forces operations in mind too. Its torpedo room is actually reconfigurable, and can be specced to house both SEAL teams and their gear, while a built-in lockout chamber allows divers to exit underwater without surfacing. It can also carry a Dry Deck Shelter, an add-on module used to deploy SEAL Delivery Vehicles. Make no mistake, many submarines can do all that, or some of it, these days, so the Virginia-class certainly isn't standout in this regard, but nonetheless, it's a big deal – the ability to insert a team, remain on station while they do what they do, then pick them up, and vanish without a trace.\n\nVirginia subs pack serious firepower too, as we have already mentioned. But what we didn't mention, was the fact that their Tomahawk missile complement, which gives them serious inland strike capabilities, allow it to reach out to targets between 250 to 1,550 miles away, exact variant depending. Annoyingly, the U.S. Navy seems to be keeping the exact one they carry close to their chest, so instead, we can only gesture wildly at the full Tomahawk range – hence the disparate figures we gave – and say, \"Yeah, one of them.\"\n\nThe ground pounding role of its subs is one that the U.S. Navy uses too, quite extensively in fact. They first did it back in the 1991 Gulf War, when USS Louisville and USS Pittsburgh – both Los Angeles-classes – sent 12 Tomahawks into Saddam's Iraq between them. From there, they went on to do it in basically every conflict they participated in where an enemy with a coastline was involved, with the Virginia-classes first salvo in anger occurring in April 2018, when the USS John Warner fired six of her Tomahawks into al-Assad's Syria.\n\nOf course though, hunting other submarines and surface ships remains the Virginia's bread and butter, and in that role, it excels. Using its powerful sonar suite and extreme quietness, a Virginia can detect and trail enemy vessels long before it's spotted itself. In training too, they regularly 'sink' adversary ships before those ships even know they're being tracked. They haven't done this in anger, yet, but with rising tensions and increased undersea activity from China and Russia… watch this space? Maybe?\n\nAnd the Virginia's toolbox doesn't stop there, because what we haven't mentioned yet, at all, is that it can also lay naval mines to deny key passages, and conduct covert mapping of harbours or coastal terrain. Both these capabilities are critical when preparing for amphibious operations or monitoring chokepoints.\n\nTaken together then, this diverse mission mix makes the Virginia-class one of the most flexible warfighting tools in the U.S. arsenal. In peace, they're spies, scouts, and deterrent shadows. In war, they're missile platforms, SEAL transports, and silent killers. And unlike a surface ship, they don't need escorts, bases, or support fleets to operate. They go where they want, strike when needed, and disappear before the enemy can even respond.\n\n## The Greatest Submarine?\n\nSo, we've talked about what Virginia-class pretty exhaustively at this point, and that means, with nothing else left to discuss, we have arrived at the crux of the video: how does it actually compare to everything else out there?\n\nBecause the Virginia-class doesn't exist in a vacuum. It follows a long line of American attack submarines, competes with the best of Britain, France, and Russia, and is also being watched very closely by China. If this is going to be remembered as the greatest sub of its generation – or maybe even the greatest of all time – then it needs to hold its own against some serious competition.\n\nLet's start at home. The Seawolf-class is, technically, the higher performer. Bigger, faster, deeper-diving, and even stealthier. But it is also expensive, overspecialised, never really got to prove itself, and only three were built before the programme was scrapped. The Virginia, on the other hand, was designed to do 90% of what the Seawolf could, at around 70% of the price – and do it while carrying Tomahawks. You lose a bit of raw power, sure, but gain a boat that's relevant across every domain short of a full on WWIII 'hunt down and sink everything of theirs that we can find' type scenario.\n\nWhat about the Los Angeles-class – it's worth considering given that 23 of them are still in service? Well, in what likely won't come as much of a surprise to you, given the difference in age and tech, Virginia beats it across the board: it's quieter, better armed, more versatile – the lot. Simple as.\n\nAcross the Atlantic, the most comparable peer is the UK's Astute-class. Excellent boats, no doubt – nuclear-powered, equipped with both Tomahawks and Spearfish torpedoes, and uses pump-jet propulsion so it's nice and stealthy. But only seven are being built, so they'll never have the full global capabilities of the Virginia, and their mission load is narrower. That said, as far as NATO attack subs go, the commentariat at large seems convinced that Astutes are probably at a happy second place.\n\nFrance's Suffren-class is another high-end contender. It's the latest French attack sub design, with six boats planned in all. Like the Virginia, it's multi-mission: cruise missiles, special forces, long endurance patrols. But again, smaller fleet, and less global range as a result. If Virginia is the cutting-edge fashion that takes the world by storm, Suffren is the boutique copy – competent, but just never going to be available in the numbers needed to shake the very foundations of geo-politics.\n\nThen there's Russia's Yasen-class – fast, heavily armed, and very quiet… by Russian standards. Western analysts take them seriously, especially the upgraded Yasen-M variant. But there are just a handful of them, and the Russian defence industry isn't exactly in great shape after finding itself on day 1,257 – and counting – of its three day Special Military Operation into Ukraine. Long story short: on paper, they could be a bit of alright. In reality, they're outnumbered and logistically stretched.\n\nAnd as for China's offerings… now they are the ones to really think about. On paper, their current lineup makes them look like they are on a rough parity with France or the UK, at best, with its force comprising of six fresh off the line Type 093s and two older Type 091s – both types being nuclear powered. In terms of stealth… the Type 091 has the old-style propeller, so is about as stealthy as a high visibility jacket, and only a few of the Type 093s have been fitted with pump-jets – and it's a similar story with their weapons too, as only a few of the latest Type 093s have vertical launch systems.\n\nBut, here's the thing, China is taking its subs seriously, very, very seriously. And when China takes something seriously, they tend to get better at it with alarming speed. Their upcoming design, the Type 095, is already shaping up to be a step-change. Rumours and analyst guesses suggest it'll feature far quieter hull construction, a more advanced nuclear reactor, and some kind of fancy ultra stealthy propulsion system. It'll also likely come with a new suite of flank and towed array sonars, and – crucially – vertical launch tubes capable of firing anti-ship or land-attack missiles from initial design. If they really nail it with that one, and produce them in decent enough number – oh dear… the Virginia-class just might find it with a legitimate challenger to its throne.\n\nThat is, of course, assuming that the Americans don't build something even better in the meantime themselves… which they just might do, courtesy of the SSN(X)-class Program – the planned future U.S. attack sub. We don't know much about it, at all, but the Navy has hinted it'll combine the budget of Seawolf, the flexibility of Virginia, and new tech like directed energy or AI-aided combat systems. However, they are estimating that it'll be hitting the wet stuff in the 2040's… so probably not worth holding your breath on that one.\n\nSo, with all that said then. Is the Virginia the best class of submarine of all time? If you aren't bothered about the ones that launch ICBMs to end the world, yeah, probably, in all likeliness it is… at least… for now.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- The Virginia-class submarine is highly stealthy and versatile, designed for multiple missions including intelligence gathering, special forces operations, and precision strikes.\n- The Virginia-class is the most-produced U.S. attack submarine since the Cold War, with plans to build 66 units, making it the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet.\n- The Virginia-class uses advanced technologies like pump-jet propulsors and a photonic mast, making it quieter and more capable than its predecessors.\n- Production of the Virginia-class has faced delays due to factors like the Columbia-class submarine production and COVID-19, but efforts are underway to return to a two-boats-per-year production rate.\n- The Virginia-class is considered one of the best submarines of its generation, outperforming many international counterparts in stealth, versatility, and firepower.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What is the Virginia-class submarine?\n\nThe Virginia-class submarine is a stealthy, deadly, and high-tech attack submarine that has dominated the world's oceans for two decades. It is designed to be cheaper than its Seawolf predecessor but nearly as capable, and it serves as the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet.\n\n### How many Virginia-class submarines have been built?\n\nAs of the time of writing, 24 Virginia-class submarines are in commission. The Navy plans to build a total of 66 of these submarines.\n\n### What are the key features of the Virginia-class submarine?\n\nThe Virginia-class submarine is known for its stealth, powerful sonar suite, and versatile mission capabilities. It can serve as a stealthy intel gatherer, a covert SEAL team taxi, and a precision strike platform. It is equipped with pump-jet propulsors for reduced noise, a life-of-the-boat nuclear reactor, and advanced sensors.\n\n### How does the Virginia-class compare to the Seawolf-class?\n\nThe Virginia-class was designed to do 90% of what the Seawolf-class could do at around 70% of the price. While the Seawolf-class is technically a higher performer, it is more expensive, overspecialized, and only three were built. The Virginia-class is more versatile and relevant across various domains.\n\n### What are the mission capabilities of the Virginia-class submarine?\n\nThe Virginia-class submarine can lurk near hostile coastlines for weeks, eavesdropping on communications, monitoring radar activity, and mapping seabed installations. It can also insert and extract SEAL teams, lay naval mines, conduct covert mapping, and strike targets with Tomahawk missiles.\n\n### How does the Virginia-class compare to other international submarines?\n\nThe Virginia-class is considered one of the best, if not the best, attack submarines of its generation. It outperforms the Los Angeles-class and is seen as superior to the UK's Astute-class and France's Suffren-class in terms of global capabilities and mission versatility. The Russian Yasen-class and Chinese Type 093 are potential competitors, but they face logistical and production challenges.\n\n### What are the challenges in building the Virginia-class submarines?\n\nThe production of Virginia-class submarines has faced delays due to the introduction of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions. The Navy and Congress are working to bolster the submarine industrial base to return to a production rate of two boats per year by 2028.\n\n### What is the future of the Virginia-class submarine?\n\nThe Virginia-class submarine is expected to remain a key component of the U.S. Navy's undersea fleet for decades to come. The Navy plans to continue building these submarines and has initiated efforts to address production delays and backlogs. Additionally, the U.S. is developing the SSN(X)-class Program, which aims to combine the budget of Seawolf, the flexibility of Virginia, and new technologies.\n\n### How does the Virginia-class submarine contribute to U.S. strategy?\n\nThe Virginia-class submarine is adaptable, versatile, and crucial to U.S. strategy. It can operate in various roles, from intelligence gathering to precision strikes, and its stealth capabilities make it a formidable deterrent. The Pentagon continues to invest in these submarines despite challenges, highlighting their strategic importance.\n\n### What is the cost of a Virginia-class submarine?\n\nWhen produced at a steady two-per-year clip, each Virginia-class submarine cost roughly 2.5 billion USD in 2005 dollars, or just shy of four billion adjusted for inflation. This is notably cheaper than the Seawolf-class submarines, which cost around 3.5 billion USD each.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original MegaProjects video: Virginia Class Submarines: The Greatest to Ever Do It?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xyYzocJi1c)\n- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/USS_Paul_Ignatius_departs_Rostock_at_BALTOS_2025.JPG) by Boevaya mashina / openverse, by-sa.\n\n## Related Coverage" url: https://megaprojects.pub/article/virginia-class-submarines-greatest-ever.md canonical: https://megaprojects.pub/article/virginia-class-submarines-greatest-ever datePublished: 2026-07-02 dateModified: 2026-07-02 author: - name: Simon Whistler url: https://megaprojects.pub/author/simon-whistler publisher: MegaProjects image: "https://media.megaprojects.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=338,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/6xyYzocJi1c/hero.jpg" type: NewsArticle contentHash: 9d3a188f69d460a460139cad2934a2e269c37579d7191c73651e5b50112d5b94 tokens: 6696 summaryUrl: https://megaprojects.pub/article/virginia-class-submarines-greatest-ever.md.summary.md --- For two decades now, the Virginia-class attack submarine has quietly dominated the world's oceans. It's stealthy, deadly, and packed with enough high-tech wizardry to make even hardened military analysts sit up and take notice. Built to be cheaper than its Seawolf predecessor, but nearly as capable, the Virginia-class has gone on to become the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet – and the most-produced U.S. attack sub since the Cold War. But here's the thing: this isn't just a story about a successful attack submarine. It's about a platform so much more than that mere role – adaptable, so versatile, and so important to U.S. strategy that the Pentagon can't stop building them, even as delays, backlogs, and rivals start to pile up. So just how good is the Virginia-class really? Is it the best ever built? And how long can it hold the crown? ## A New Sub for a New Era In the 1990s, the U.S. Navy faced a problem: the Cold War was now over, and the once fearsome Soviet Navy was now a thing of the past. As a result, America's all the bells and whistles, no expense spared Seawolf-class attack submarines – designed to hunt down Typhoon and Akula-classes with righteous impunity – was now looking like rather expensive overkill. Consequently, only three Seawolves out of a planned class of 29 were built before the plug was pulled. They were marvels of engineering, sure, but they carried a staggering price tag that just could not be justified in a post-Soviet world. What the Navy needed instead, to use their words, was an attack submarine that was "less expensive and better optimized for post-Cold War … missions than the Seawolf-class design." In plain English, that meant something that could do (almost) everything a Seawolf could do – just more affordably and with a couple of new features thrown in for good measure. The Virginia-class, as you have no doubt guessed, was the submarine born from that want, with the lead ship of the class, USS Virginia, being ordered in 1998, and getting commissioned in October 2004. And General Dynamics Electric Boat, the company responsible for the design work, really rolled with the whole 'multi-mission profile' schtick, too. During the Cold War, American attack submarines had one primary job: track and, if necessary, kill Soviet subs – quickly, cleanly, and quietly. But for the Virginia-class, that old remit was expanded to allow it to also serve as a stealthy intel gatherer, a covert SEAL team taxi, and a precision strike platform. That's a lot of different hats for one submarine to wear, to be sure, but the Virginia-class was designed from the keel up, very specifically, to be a jack-of-all-trades – a sub-nautical Swiss Army Knife of sorts. As for how they did this – don't worry about it right now, we'll come back to look at its design properly later on. Something else General Dynamics were very keen on too, was keeping the cost down. Not through any altruism on their part, they were and are a profit-making enterprise of course, instead it was due to the fact that both Congress and the Navy really were not messing about with their penny pinching, and any waste on General Dynamics' part, would result only in a reduction in their profit margins. As an example, one strategy the aforementioned government bodies tried was so called "multi-year block buys," i.e. only buying a few at a time, so that any spikes in unit price could be quickly identified, dissected, and nipped in the bud. This worked too, as when produced at a steady two-per-year clip, each Virginia-class came in at roughly 2.5 billion USD a pop in 2005 dollars, or just shy of four billion adjusted for inflation. This was still a king's ransom, to be sure, but it was notably cheaper than the Seawolves, with the last of that class, the USS Jimmy Carter, costing 3.5 billion when she was first plopped into the drink back in '05. Come 2011, the Navy had settled into a rhythm of ordering two Virginias per year. It wasn't quite a Cold War pace, as they really knocked them out back in those days – as the 62 Los Angeles-classes built in just 24 years can attest to – but it was impressive, nonetheless. And thanks to that steady production, the Virginia-class quickly became the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet, with, as of the time of writing, 24 of them being in commission – just pipping the remaining Los Angeles-class boats as the most numerous attack subs in the fleet by a single unit. The Navy plans to keep buying them for the foreseeable future too, with there currently being plans to build 66 of the things, and production being slated to continue for decades still to come. But how did the new sub actually stack up in practice? To answer that, we need to take a closer look at what makes a Virginia tick – from its high-tech innards to its formidable arsenal. ## Stealth and Sensors – Inside the Virginia-Class On the outside, a Virginia-class submarine looks like a sleek black tube – as submarines do tend to. Unassuming? Perhaps, but looks can be deceiving, because crammed within that subaqueous cigar is some seriously high-tech kit. As for dimensions, a Virginia comes in at 377 feet long, 34 feet across, and displaces about 7,800 tons submerged. That makes it a bit longer than a football field and around 1,000 tons heavier than its Los Angeles-class forerunners. Notably, however, those numbers also make it smaller than a Seawolf, which has a smidge over a thousand tons on a Virginia. Not to besmirch the Virginia's good name, however, because like we say, there's some properly advanced stuff going on under its hood, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of stealth, where it is truly world-class – with the Navy having invested heavily to keep it quieter than anything a potential adversary can put in the water. A big part of those capabilities come from its propulsion. While the fine details are classified, it's well known that Virginia-class subs use pump-jet propulsors instead of old-school propellers. And if you're wondering what they're about, they work by drawing in water and forcing it out through an internal nozzle, as compared to a traditional propeller, which spins open blades to push water backwards. As for why doing that way is better for stealthiness, pump-jets drastically reduce cavitation, which is the sound of bubbles forming and collapsing around the blades – and cavitation is what makes traditional screws noisy at speed. Swap that out, and the sub glides like a whisper – happy days. Add a life-of-the-boat nuclear reactor into the equation too, and a Virginia will be able to keep on chugging away for 33 years. Yes, thirty-three. And with a top speed of over 25 knots submerged, it can outrun many surface ships while remaining nearly impossible to detect too. One Navy report called all this "an asymmetric strategic advantage" – which in lay speak means a Virginia can be lingering off the coastline of one of Uncle Sam's naughty nations, and there's the best part of nothing they can do about it. Submarine does not live by stealth alone however, they also need sharp senses, and even sharper still teeth… how fortunate it is then, that the Virginia-class has the lot! For weapons, each Virginia-class comes with four 21-inch torpedo tubes capable of firing both traditional, Mk-48 torpedoes, and UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles – both of them able to maybe take out a destroyer or a frigate in a single hit, and even capital ships if they manage to land enough shots on target. For 'eyes,' its sonar suite includes a massive spherical bow array, flank arrays, and a towed array, giving it a full 360-degree underwater 'view.' These sensors are among the best in the world – sensitive enough to pick up the faint hum of an engine or the churn of another sub's screw tens of miles away. In fact, a Virginia can often detect and track an enemy sub long before the other guy even knows it's in the same ocean. There's also the photonic mast – basically a high-tech periscope replacement that uses cameras, thermal imaging, and sensors instead of a good old-fashioned tube with some mirrors in it. It's more stealthy, more capable, and more flexible. Alongside that, every Virginia also carries Tomahawks, but the packaging changed over time. On early boats (Blocks I–II) there were 12 individual vertical launch tubes in the bow. From Block III onward, the bow was redesigned around two large-diameter 'Virginia Payload Tubes'; each tube holds six Tomahawks, so it's still 12 total forward, just packaged differently. Starting with Block V, new-build Virginias add the 84-foot Virginia Payload Module, VPM: four large tubes, seven weapons each, for 28 additional missiles. Combined with the forward load, that gives VPM-equipped Virginias the ability to carry around 65 torpedo-sized weapons — roughly a 76% bump. The VPM also bulks the sub out. These later Virginias are 461 feet long and displace around 10,000 tons submerged – more than a Seawolf. The Navy sees this as a fair trade, however, as the VPMs help offset the impending retirement of the four Ohio-class cruise missile submarines, which are due to bow out between 2026 and 2028. Bottom line then: the Virginia-class is a technical masterpiece. No ifs, and no buts. ## Backlogs and Bottlenecks – Building the Virginia Fleet Designing a world-class submarine is hard. Building dozens of them on time and budget is harder still, and accordingly, the Virginia-class production story has delivered impressive results, but not without hitting a few speed bumps in the road – especially in recent years. All U.S. Navy submarines are built by a tag-team of two shipyards: General Dynamics Electric Boat – who also designed the Virginia-class if you recall – out of Connecticut, and Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding, who, ironically, are based in Virginia. These are the only U.S. yards capable of nuclear submarine construction. Each sub is assembled at one single yard, but major components come from both, keeping both yards fully engaged. For most of the 2010s, this partnership delivered Virginias at a healthy clip of two per year, exactly the rate that the powers that be were ordering them. And then came the 2020s, and it all started to go a bit wrong. To begin with, it was just the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines entering production and taking up precious production resources, but then, just to make things even worse, COVID-19 both hammered the labour pool, and supply chains. The result? The build rate slid, and has yet to recover, with it having dropped to around 1.2 boats per year since 2022. The Navy has admitted this freely too, stating in 2024 that Virginia deliveries were running around 24 to 36 months behind schedule. To fix it, the Navy and Congress launched a crash effort to bolster the submarine industrial base. Billions of dollars have gone into expanding fabrication capacity, ramping up supplier resilience, and training thousands of new skilled workers. The Defense Production Act – a law that allows the federal government to prioritize and accelerate the production of critical materials and goods for national defence – was even invoked in 2021 to prioritize key sub components. The goal? Return to two boats per year by 2028 – and eventually hit 2.33 subs per year (seven boats every three years). Why 2.33 specifically? That would be because the U.S. plans to not only clear its own backlog, but also build a few extra Virginias for Australia, which is slated to buy three to five boats under the AUKUS pact… and that'll place even more strain on an already maxed-out system. This maxed-out system is also fragile too. There are over 16,000 suppliers involved in Virginia construction, and about 70% of them are single-source vendors – making critical items like nuclear valves or reactor parts. If even one falters, it can delay the entire process. Despite all that, however, the program is far from in crisis – it's more of a nipping it in the bud before it gets too bad thing. Officials say the shipyards can catch up – but they'll need continued support and patience from Congress. Who, to be fair, have remained generous, as recent defence budgets have included provisions for multi-year procurement and incremental funding to keep Virginia production moving forward. One thing's for sure though: the demand isn't slowing. With China's navy expanding fast and tensions rising across the Pacific, there's real pressure to get more of these stealthy warships to sea – and rapidly so as well. Whether the Navy can fix the pipeline in time remains to be seen. But make no mistake: Virginia-class submarines are too valuable to fall behind. The Navy, industry, and Congress all know it. And they're racing to make sure the fleet gets what it needs. ## Spies, SEALs, and Tomahawks – The Virginia's Mission Profile And now, with background, construction chaos, and tech specs alike all behind us, it's time to take a proper look at what these Virginia-classes actually do, in depth. As we've already mentioned in passing, they aren't just stealthy killers – they're multi-mission platforms that excel in both peacetime and war. A Virginia can lurk near hostile coastlines for weeks, eavesdropping on communications, monitoring radar activity, and mapping seabed installations – all while remaining essentially invisible. While the specific ins and outs of how they do this are very classified, it is known that they often collect data for national intelligence agencies, not just the Navy. The Virginia-class was also built with special forces operations in mind too. Its torpedo room is actually reconfigurable, and can be specced to house both SEAL teams and their gear, while a built-in lockout chamber allows divers to exit underwater without surfacing. It can also carry a Dry Deck Shelter, an add-on module used to deploy SEAL Delivery Vehicles. Make no mistake, many submarines can do all that, or some of it, these days, so the Virginia-class certainly isn't standout in this regard, but nonetheless, it's a big deal – the ability to insert a team, remain on station while they do what they do, then pick them up, and vanish without a trace. Virginia subs pack serious firepower too, as we have already mentioned. But what we didn't mention, was the fact that their Tomahawk missile complement, which gives them serious inland strike capabilities, allow it to reach out to targets between 250 to 1,550 miles away, exact variant depending. Annoyingly, the U.S. Navy seems to be keeping the exact one they carry close to their chest, so instead, we can only gesture wildly at the full Tomahawk range – hence the disparate figures we gave – and say, "Yeah, one of them." The ground pounding role of its subs is one that the U.S. Navy uses too, quite extensively in fact. They first did it back in the 1991 Gulf War, when USS Louisville and USS Pittsburgh – both Los Angeles-classes – sent 12 Tomahawks into Saddam's Iraq between them. From there, they went on to do it in basically every conflict they participated in where an enemy with a coastline was involved, with the Virginia-classes first salvo in anger occurring in April 2018, when the USS John Warner fired six of her Tomahawks into al-Assad's Syria. Of course though, hunting other submarines and surface ships remains the Virginia's bread and butter, and in that role, it excels. Using its powerful sonar suite and extreme quietness, a Virginia can detect and trail enemy vessels long before it's spotted itself. In training too, they regularly 'sink' adversary ships before those ships even know they're being tracked. They haven't done this in anger, yet, but with rising tensions and increased undersea activity from China and Russia… watch this space? Maybe? And the Virginia's toolbox doesn't stop there, because what we haven't mentioned yet, at all, is that it can also lay naval mines to deny key passages, and conduct covert mapping of harbours or coastal terrain. Both these capabilities are critical when preparing for amphibious operations or monitoring chokepoints. Taken together then, this diverse mission mix makes the Virginia-class one of the most flexible warfighting tools in the U.S. arsenal. In peace, they're spies, scouts, and deterrent shadows. In war, they're missile platforms, SEAL transports, and silent killers. And unlike a surface ship, they don't need escorts, bases, or support fleets to operate. They go where they want, strike when needed, and disappear before the enemy can even respond. ## The Greatest Submarine? So, we've talked about what Virginia-class pretty exhaustively at this point, and that means, with nothing else left to discuss, we have arrived at the crux of the video: how does it actually compare to everything else out there? Because the Virginia-class doesn't exist in a vacuum. It follows a long line of American attack submarines, competes with the best of Britain, France, and Russia, and is also being watched very closely by China. If this is going to be remembered as the greatest sub of its generation – or maybe even the greatest of all time – then it needs to hold its own against some serious competition. Let's start at home. The Seawolf-class is, technically, the higher performer. Bigger, faster, deeper-diving, and even stealthier. But it is also expensive, overspecialised, never really got to prove itself, and only three were built before the programme was scrapped. The Virginia, on the other hand, was designed to do 90% of what the Seawolf could, at around 70% of the price – and do it while carrying Tomahawks. You lose a bit of raw power, sure, but gain a boat that's relevant across every domain short of a full on WWIII 'hunt down and sink everything of theirs that we can find' type scenario. What about the Los Angeles-class – it's worth considering given that 23 of them are still in service? Well, in what likely won't come as much of a surprise to you, given the difference in age and tech, Virginia beats it across the board: it's quieter, better armed, more versatile – the lot. Simple as. Across the Atlantic, the most comparable peer is the UK's Astute-class. Excellent boats, no doubt – nuclear-powered, equipped with both Tomahawks and Spearfish torpedoes, and uses pump-jet propulsion so it's nice and stealthy. But only seven are being built, so they'll never have the full global capabilities of the Virginia, and their mission load is narrower. That said, as far as NATO attack subs go, the commentariat at large seems convinced that Astutes are probably at a happy second place. France's Suffren-class is another high-end contender. It's the latest French attack sub design, with six boats planned in all. Like the Virginia, it's multi-mission: cruise missiles, special forces, long endurance patrols. But again, smaller fleet, and less global range as a result. If Virginia is the cutting-edge fashion that takes the world by storm, Suffren is the boutique copy – competent, but just never going to be available in the numbers needed to shake the very foundations of geo-politics. Then there's Russia's Yasen-class – fast, heavily armed, and very quiet… by Russian standards. Western analysts take them seriously, especially the upgraded Yasen-M variant. But there are just a handful of them, and the Russian defence industry isn't exactly in great shape after finding itself on day 1,257 – and counting – of its three day Special Military Operation into Ukraine. Long story short: on paper, they could be a bit of alright. In reality, they're outnumbered and logistically stretched. And as for China's offerings… now they are the ones to really think about. On paper, their current lineup makes them look like they are on a rough parity with France or the UK, at best, with its force comprising of six fresh off the line Type 093s and two older Type 091s – both types being nuclear powered. In terms of stealth… the Type 091 has the old-style propeller, so is about as stealthy as a high visibility jacket, and only a few of the Type 093s have been fitted with pump-jets – and it's a similar story with their weapons too, as only a few of the latest Type 093s have vertical launch systems. But, here's the thing, China is taking its subs seriously, very, very seriously. And when China takes something seriously, they tend to get better at it with alarming speed. Their upcoming design, the Type 095, is already shaping up to be a step-change. Rumours and analyst guesses suggest it'll feature far quieter hull construction, a more advanced nuclear reactor, and some kind of fancy ultra stealthy propulsion system. It'll also likely come with a new suite of flank and towed array sonars, and – crucially – vertical launch tubes capable of firing anti-ship or land-attack missiles from initial design. If they really nail it with that one, and produce them in decent enough number – oh dear… the Virginia-class just might find it with a legitimate challenger to its throne. That is, of course, assuming that the Americans don't build something even better in the meantime themselves… which they just might do, courtesy of the SSN(X)-class Program – the planned future U.S. attack sub. We don't know much about it, at all, but the Navy has hinted it'll combine the budget of Seawolf, the flexibility of Virginia, and new tech like directed energy or AI-aided combat systems. However, they are estimating that it'll be hitting the wet stuff in the 2040's… so probably not worth holding your breath on that one. So, with all that said then. Is the Virginia the best class of submarine of all time? If you aren't bothered about the ones that launch ICBMs to end the world, yeah, probably, in all likeliness it is… at least… for now. ## Key Takeaways - The Virginia-class submarine is highly stealthy and versatile, designed for multiple missions including intelligence gathering, special forces operations, and precision strikes. - The Virginia-class is the most-produced U.S. attack submarine since the Cold War, with plans to build 66 units, making it the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet. - The Virginia-class uses advanced technologies like pump-jet propulsors and a photonic mast, making it quieter and more capable than its predecessors. - Production of the Virginia-class has faced delays due to factors like the Columbia-class submarine production and COVID-19, but efforts are underway to return to a two-boats-per-year production rate. - The Virginia-class is considered one of the best submarines of its generation, outperforming many international counterparts in stealth, versatility, and firepower. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Virginia-class submarine? The Virginia-class submarine is a stealthy, deadly, and high-tech attack submarine that has dominated the world's oceans for two decades. It is designed to be cheaper than its Seawolf predecessor but nearly as capable, and it serves as the cornerstone of America's undersea fleet. ### How many Virginia-class submarines have been built? As of the time of writing, 24 Virginia-class submarines are in commission. The Navy plans to build a total of 66 of these submarines. ### What are the key features of the Virginia-class submarine? The Virginia-class submarine is known for its stealth, powerful sonar suite, and versatile mission capabilities. It can serve as a stealthy intel gatherer, a covert SEAL team taxi, and a precision strike platform. It is equipped with pump-jet propulsors for reduced noise, a life-of-the-boat nuclear reactor, and advanced sensors. ### How does the Virginia-class compare to the Seawolf-class? The Virginia-class was designed to do 90% of what the Seawolf-class could do at around 70% of the price. While the Seawolf-class is technically a higher performer, it is more expensive, overspecialized, and only three were built. The Virginia-class is more versatile and relevant across various domains. ### What are the mission capabilities of the Virginia-class submarine? The Virginia-class submarine can lurk near hostile coastlines for weeks, eavesdropping on communications, monitoring radar activity, and mapping seabed installations. It can also insert and extract SEAL teams, lay naval mines, conduct covert mapping, and strike targets with Tomahawk missiles. ### How does the Virginia-class compare to other international submarines? The Virginia-class is considered one of the best, if not the best, attack submarines of its generation. It outperforms the Los Angeles-class and is seen as superior to the UK's Astute-class and France's Suffren-class in terms of global capabilities and mission versatility. The Russian Yasen-class and Chinese Type 093 are potential competitors, but they face logistical and production challenges. ### What are the challenges in building the Virginia-class submarines? The production of Virginia-class submarines has faced delays due to the introduction of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions. The Navy and Congress are working to bolster the submarine industrial base to return to a production rate of two boats per year by 2028. ### What is the future of the Virginia-class submarine? The Virginia-class submarine is expected to remain a key component of the U.S. Navy's undersea fleet for decades to come. The Navy plans to continue building these submarines and has initiated efforts to address production delays and backlogs. Additionally, the U.S. is developing the SSN(X)-class Program, which aims to combine the budget of Seawolf, the flexibility of Virginia, and new technologies. ### How does the Virginia-class submarine contribute to U.S. strategy? The Virginia-class submarine is adaptable, versatile, and crucial to U.S. strategy. It can operate in various roles, from intelligence gathering to precision strikes, and its stealth capabilities make it a formidable deterrent. The Pentagon continues to invest in these submarines despite challenges, highlighting their strategic importance. ### What is the cost of a Virginia-class submarine? When produced at a steady two-per-year clip, each Virginia-class submarine cost roughly 2.5 billion USD in 2005 dollars, or just shy of four billion adjusted for inflation. This is notably cheaper than the Seawolf-class submarines, which cost around 3.5 billion USD each. ## Sources - [Original MegaProjects video: Virginia Class Submarines: The Greatest to Ever Do It?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xyYzocJi1c) - [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/USS_Paul_Ignatius_departs_Rostock_at_BALTOS_2025.JPG) by Boevaya mashina / openverse, by-sa. ## Related Coverage