The U.S. Navy’s Block V Virginia-class attack submarines will become more lethal and potent. The Block V version is larger and has more weapons than the earlier Virginia-class upgrades. This means they are almost as big as the Ohio-class of ballistic missile submarines. Longer means more missile tubes and the Block V’s will have an estimated 76 percent more missile slots. These enhancements could create the most powerful sub in the U.S. fleet.
The Block V subs boast the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), an 84-foot section of the submarine that will launch missiles. The VPM on the Block Vs has four new vertical launch tubes. Each of these can carry seven Tomahawks. Moreover, if new hypersonic missile technology is developed as planned, the Virginia-class’s larger launcher could fire a hypersonic weapon someday. This could come in 2028, according to the navy’s plan for hypersonic development.
