The Navy’s next-generation attack submarine won’t be hitting the water for at least another decade, possibly creating issues for U.S. undersea dominance in the coming decade.
According to a new report from the Congressional Research Service, the Navy’s new sub, called the SSN (X) in the paper, is not expected to be completed until at least 2040. The report, submitted to Congress on Wednesday, said the Navy chalked up the delays to insufficient funding for the program.
Notably, the Navy’s 2026FY budget requests $622.8 million in research and development funding for the SSN (X) project, but keeps the expected completion date at 2040. The service had initially moved the completion date from 2035 to 2040 in its 2025FY budget request.
“The delay of SSN(X) construction start from the mid-2030s to the early 2040s presents a significant challenge to the submarine design industrial base associated with the extended gap between the