The new design of the undersea ship, which should replace the Virginia-class submarines, will begin production no earlier than in the “early 2040s,” the report said.
This delay is the second postponement over the past years. Previously, the service had already pushed the deadline from 2031 to 2035, according to the report.
The US Navy has requested $586.9 million to design and develop the next-generation successor of the Virginia-class submarines in FY2025, an increase of more than $40 million from FY2024. The Navy estimates the SSN(X)’s average unit procurement cost to be $6.7 billion to $7 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.