US Navy Plans 19 Virginia Missile Submarines as Ohio Retirements Leave a Strike Gap

New submarines arrive after the old missile boats begin leaving

The US Navy plans to designate 19 Virginia-class attack submarines as guided missile submarines, with the first scheduled to enter service in 2029 and deliveries continuing through 2038. Each will carry as many as 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles, compared with up to 154 aboard each of the four retiring Ohio-class guided missile submarines.

As of August 11, 2026, the USS Georgia has recently begun its deactivation process. The USS Ohio, USS Michigan and USS Florida are scheduled to follow over the next several years. Together, those four boats represent up to 616 Tomahawk launch positions, although some missile tubes can be used for special operations equipment instead.

The replacement program includes 10 Block V submarines and nine planned Block VI submarines. These are successive groups within the Virginia construction program. The boats will receive the Virginia Payload Module, known as VPM, an additional hull section that increases their capacity for missiles and other large payloads.

The Navy is moving toward a force that spreads conventional strike weapons across more submarines. The change promises newer technology and more places from which to launch attacks, but it also leaves a period of reduced underwater firepower as the Ohio boats retire before their successors arrive.

That timing matters in the Indo Pacific, where US planners are preparing for a possible conflict involving Taiwan. China is expanding its missile and submarine forces while American shipyards face delays building the submarines intended to carry a larger share of the Navy's future strike mission.

What the Virginia Payload Module changes

The Virginia Payload Module is an 84 foot section inserted into the submarine's hull. It contains four large launch tubes, each able to carry seven Tomahawk cruise missiles. Those tubes add 28 weapons to the 12 launch cells found on earlier Virginia submarines, bringing the maximum Tomahawk capacity to 40.

A launch cell is a position from which a weapon can be fired. Adding more cells gives a submarine a larger supply of missiles before it must return to replenish them. The VPM also provides room for future weapons and other large payloads, giving the Navy options beyond the Tomahawk.

The planned guided missile designation reflects the heavier strike role of these boats. SSGN is the designation for a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor and equipped for guided missile missions. The missiles described in this program provide conventional strike power, while the reactor supplies propulsion.

The Virginia submarines will continue performing attack submarine missions alongside their expanded missile role. Those tasks include hunting enemy submarines and surface ships, collecting intelligence, conducting mine warfare and supporting special operations forces. The Navy is adding strike capacity to an existing submarine design rather than creating an entirely separate type of boat.

Why the Ohio boats leave such a large gap

The four Ohio-class guided missile submarines began life as ballistic missile submarines. Their original nuclear deterrent mission ended following changes in the US and Russian strategic arms posture, and the Navy converted them into conventional strike platforms in the early 2000s.

An Ohio boat can launch a large salvo while remaining submerged and difficult to detect. Its size provides exceptional endurance and space for special operations forces, underwater vehicles, intelligence missions and command functions. A single boat can carry more than four times the Tomahawk load of a Virginia equipped with VPM.

Keeping these submarines in service would preserve a large amount of firepower concentrated aboard a few vessels. Their hulls and reactors, however, date from the 1980s. Maintenance costs are rising, and extending their service would draw on shipyard capacity also needed for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program and future attack submarine projects.

The transition therefore involves more than replacing launch tubes. The Ohio boats combine missile volume, endurance and space for other missions in one large platform. The Virginia program distributes those responsibilities among more vessels, each carrying a smaller missile load.

More boats, fewer missiles on each

One Virginia equipped with VPM carries about 26 percent of the maximum missile load of one Ohio guided missile submarine: 40 Tomahawks compared with 154. Four Virginias would be needed to match the missile capacity of one Ohio boat, before allowing for patrol schedules, maintenance and crew availability.

The crew arrangements also differ. Ohio guided missile submarines use two rotating crews, allowing each boat to spend more time at sea. Virginia submarines generally operate with one crew, reducing the number of days they can remain deployed. The newer class requires fewer personnel and provides improved sensors, automation and stealth.

Spreading missiles across more submarines gives commanders additional choices about where to position strike weapons. An opposing force must locate and track more platforms instead of focusing its search on a few very large boats. Each Virginia can also carry out other missions while retaining its missile load.

Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, the Navy officer responsible for submarine programs, said the additional payload capacity would give commanders more ways to apply strike power. He described the planned boats as part of the Navy's effort to maintain its undersea advantage:

These VPM equipped SSGNs will ensure the Navy continues to dominate the undersea domain for decades to come. By integrating this additional payload capacity, we will have the ability to surge strike power to assure our allies, deter aggression and outmatch any adversary.

The Navy's choice exchanges some of the missile concentration offered by each Ohio boat for newer hulls, greater survivability and a force spread across more locations. Reaching comparable firepower at sea will require enough submarines to be delivered, crewed and available at the same time.

Why Taiwan shapes the strike mission

The first island chain runs from Japan through Taiwan and the Philippines. Around this region, China can deploy missiles based on land, aircraft, sensors and naval forces that make operations dangerous for surface ships. The geography places a premium on weapons platforms able to approach contested areas while remaining concealed.

Submarines can operate close to the chain without presenting the same visible target as a surface ship or aircraft. From underwater positions, they could fire missiles at radar sites, command centers, air bases, ports and missile units supporting a Chinese campaign.

Sidharth Kaushal, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, said submarines are among the few US capabilities able to remain near or inside the first island chain with a reasonable chance of survival. He also pointed to the value of launching fast, maneuverable weapons from positions closer to their targets:

They expand the number of platforms that can bring the fight deep into an enemy territory, and opponents will have to contend with more assets they have to track.

Such attacks could help weaken China's missile defenses before US surface ships and aircraft move closer to the battlespace. The purpose would be to disrupt the sensors and command networks that guide Chinese attacks, giving carriers, destroyers and aircraft more room to operate.

The Virginia plan therefore links missile capacity with access. A submarine's value depends both on how many weapons it carries and on whether it can reach a useful firing position while avoiding detection. More boats offer more potential launch locations, while fewer missiles per boat limit the size of the salvo each can deliver.

Hypersonic weapons could broaden the payload

The VPM's large tubes were designed to support more than Tomahawks. They can accommodate future weapons, including the Conventional Prompt Strike system, which uses a hypersonic glide vehicle.

Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds above Mach 5, meaning more than five times the speed of sound, and can maneuver during flight. Their speed and changing flight paths make them harder to track and intercept than many conventional ballistic or cruise missiles. Launching them from a submarine close to contested waters would shorten an opposing command's warning time.

Alessio Patalano, a professor at King's College, described the planned system as a major improvement in the submarines' strike role. The Navy has been testing hypersonic technology, but the schedule, final weapon design and operational deployment numbers remain subject to development and budget decisions.

The larger payload section gives the Virginia class a heavier strike function while retaining its established missions. A boat could still hunt submarines or surface ships, gather intelligence and support special operations. Its large tubes provide space for a changing mix of weapons and other payloads as the program develops.

China expands submarines and missiles

A recent assessment by the International Institute for Strategic Studies found that China launched 10 submarines powered by nuclear reactors between 2021 and 2025, compared with seven launched by the United States. Chinese production also exceeded US output in total tonnage during that period.

China's missile force has grown as well. A 2024 Pentagon estimate said the Chinese Rocket Force increased its missile inventory by about 50 percent over four years. Those weapons are intended to attack ports, airfields, supply sites and other facilities that could support US forces defending Taiwan.

China has also displayed hypersonic weapons and uncrewed underwater vehicles. Such underwater drones could search for submarines, monitor sea lanes or complicate American efforts to approach the Chinese coast undetected.

China operates six nuclear ballistic missile submarines and six nuclear attack submarines, alongside a larger fleet of boats powered by diesel engines and electric motors. Some analysts still judge the US submarine force to hold a strong advantage in acoustic stealth, reliability and operations over long distances. Acoustic stealth means limiting the sound a submarine produces so that opposing sensors have greater difficulty finding it.

The undersea contest depends on training, sensors, underwater communications, patrol experience and the ability to maintain submarines far from their home ports. China has improved quickly. American attack submarines retain decades of operational experience and continue working closely with Japan, Australia and other regional partners.

A capacity gap meets shipbuilding delays

The Submarine Industrial Base Council has estimated that retirement of the Ohio guided missile submarines could reduce undersea strike capacity by as much as 60 percent during the transition. The first Virginia guided missile submarine is scheduled for 2029, leaving a gap as the older boats begin departing.

The Navy will still operate Virginia submarines without VPM, around 20 older Los Angeles-class boats and three specialized Seawolf-class submarines. These vessels can carry conventional missiles launched from submarines, although none matches the missile volume of an Ohio guided missile boat.

The United States is also retiring Ticonderoga-class cruisers. The combined loss of those cruisers and the Ohio missile submarines could remove more than 2,000 missile launch cells from the fleet by the early 2030s, depending on retirement schedules and how launch positions are counted. That reduction extends beyond the underwater force.

US shipyards are building Virginia submarines more slowly than the Navy's target of two boats per year. The Columbia program needs many of the same skilled workers, suppliers and industrial facilities. Shortages of welders, electricians, nuclear technicians and other specialists have affected delivery schedules.

The main dates show how long the change will take:

• Early 2000s: The four Ohio boats were converted from ballistic missile submarines to conventional guided missile platforms.
• 2021 to 2025: China launched 10 submarines powered by nuclear reactors, compared with seven for the United States.
• August 11, 2026: USS Georgia has recently begun deactivation, with USS Ohio, USS Michigan and USS Florida scheduled to follow over the next several years.
• 2029: The first Virginia guided missile submarine is scheduled to enter service.
• Early 2030s: Combined cruiser and Ohio retirements could remove more than 2,000 fleet missile launch cells.
• 2038: Deliveries of the 19 planned Virginia guided missile submarines are expected to continue through this year.

The Navy's trade between volume and flexibility

The planned Virginia force offers more platforms, newer technology and a wider range of missions. Smaller submarines can be spread across several areas, making the force harder to locate and giving allies more options for coordinated operations.

A single Virginia will carry a smaller opening salvo than an Ohio, accommodate fewer special operations personnel and operate without the same two crew patrol system. More boats will be needed to deliver comparable firepower. Those limits make shipbuilding speed and the availability of crews central to the transition.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, said the Virginia guided missile submarines would build on the Ohio boats' record by combining stealth with greater flexibility and lasting combat strength:

The next generation of Virginia class SSGNs builds on that legacy with greater survivability, adaptability and sustained combat power.

The Navy regards undersea access as one of its strongest advantages in a heavily defended Pacific theater. Its modernization plan accepts less missile capacity on each submarine in return for a newer, more distributed force. The immediate difficulty is the temporary reduction in strike capacity while China continues building missiles, ships and submarines at high speed.

The Bottom Line

• The Navy plans 19 Virginia guided missile submarines, comprising 10 Block V boats and nine planned Block VI boats.
• The 84 foot Virginia Payload Module adds four large tubes and 28 Tomahawk positions, bringing maximum capacity to 40 missiles.
• The first new boat is scheduled for 2029, with deliveries expected to continue through 2038.
• Each retiring Ohio guided missile submarine can carry up to 154 Tomahawks. The four boats represent up to 616 positions.
• The Submarine Industrial Base Council estimates a possible reduction of as much as 60 percent in undersea strike capacity during the gap.
• The Virginia boats will retain attack, intelligence and special operations missions while adding capacity for future weapons, including hypersonic systems.
• Shipyard delays and competition for workers and facilities complicate the transition as China expands its submarine and missile forces.