Virginia-class submarine

The Virginia class, also called the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in United States Navy service, able to launch cruise missiles from a vertical launching system. They are designed for open-ocean and littoral missions including antisubmarine warfare and intelligence gathering, and are replacing the older Los Angeles class. The class is built under an arrangement that keeps both General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding, the only two American yards able to build nuclear submarines, in work, with the two yards alternating final assembly. Development began as the Centurion study in 1991, and boats will be acquired through 2043 and serve until at least 2060. Under the AUKUS pact Australia is to buy three Virginia-class boats.