The US Navy is changing its submarine plans, with 19 nuclear-powered Virginia-class attack submarines set to be equipped with a much larger number of missile launchers. This could give the US a major advantage in a possible conflict with China in the Pacific.
The Pentagon has decided that the 19 planned submarines will be classified as guided-missile submarines, or SSGNs, CNN reported. They will be fitted with a new section called the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), which will increase the number of missiles each submarine can carry.
The VPM is an 84-foot-long section added to the submarine. It will provide 28 additional missile-launch cells. Current versions of Virginia-class submarines have 12 such cells. With the upgrade, the submarines will have a total of 40 missile-launch cells, which can carry Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as newer hypersonic weapons.
The biggest advantage of submarines is that they can operate underwater and could move closer to Chinese missile defences without being easily detected.
Sidharth Kaushal, a senior fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told CNN, "Submarines are one of the few capabilities which can loiter forward, near or within the first island chain, in relative safety." He was referring to the "first island chain", a line of islands stretching from Japan through Taiwan and the Philippines.
The US currently has four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines, known as SSGNs. After the US and Russia reduced their nuclear forces, the US converted four Ohio-class submarines into SSGNs. That conversion happened about 20 years ago and involved modifications to carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
During the 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, an Ohio-class submarine was used to support the operation. The submarine launched missiles to complement strikes carried out by B-2 bombers. But the four Ohio-class SSGNs are being retired.
The USS Georgia has already started the deactivation process, and the other three will follow over the coming years. The replacement will be Virginia-class submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module, or VPM.
One future Virginia-class SSGN will carry only around 26% of the missiles carried by one Ohio-class SSGN. That means it needs around four Virginia-class submarines to match the missile capacity of one Ohio-class submarine.
The US wants submarines that can secretly get close to China and attack important military targets, as it is also building more submarines.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, China launched 10 submarines between 2021 and 2025, compared with seven launched by the US. During the same period, China launched 79,000 tonnes of submarine tonnage, while the US launched 55,000 tonnes.
