Summary and Key Points: The SSN(X) program represents the next generation of American undersea dominance, promising the stealth of a Virginia-class submarine combined with the devastating firepower of the Seawolf-class.
-However, the $8 billion-per-unit project is drowning in delays, with the first delivery slipping to 2040.
USS Missouri Virginia-Class Submarine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Norfolk, Va. (Aug. 22, 2006) – Sailors stationed aboard the Pre Commissioning Unit (PCU) Texas (SSN 775) stand topside as she gets underway from Naval Station Norfolk.
-While the U.S. Navy struggles with a convoluted acquisition process and Congressional skepticism over its nuclear fuel type, China’s Navy is rapidly expanding its fleet.
-With a 14-year lag looming and the aging Los Angeles-class reaching its limit, the SSN(X) is a high-stakes gamble the U.S. cannot afford to lose against Beijing.
China’s Submarine Surge: Why the Navy’s $8 Billion SSN(X) is Now 14 Years Late
In the Western world, the letter “X” is used to convey a sense of mystery and secrecy.
1990s sci-fi buffs will recall “The X-Files” TV and movie franchise (which appropriately included a supporting character named “X,” played by actor Steven Williams).
Old-school WWE buffs (from back in the day when it was still known as the WWF) will recall the masked wrestler Mr. X (“from parts unknown, weight unknown”), who later turned out to be none other than the villainous referee “Dangerous” Danny Davis (not to be confused with 19FortyFive writer Daniel L. Davis).
In the aviation world, there’ve been the “X-planes,” as in experimental, such as the Bell X-1 (the first aircraft to break the sound barrier), the North American X-15 rocket plane (that attained a mind-blowing airspeed of Mach 6.7) and the Boeing X-32 (one of the great “Coulda, shoulda, woulda” stories of stealth fighter development).
And in U.S. Navy parlance, “X” designates a pending warship project whose exact design is yet to be determined.
Groton, Conn. (July 30, 2004) – The nation’s newest and most advanced nuclear-powered attack submarine and the lead ship of its class, PCU Virginia (SSN 774) returns to the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard following the successful completion of its first voyage in open seas called “alpha” sea trials. Virginia is the Navy’s only major combatant ready to join the fleet that was designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind and embodies the war fighting and operational capabilities required to dominate the littorals while maintaining undersea dominance in the open ocean. Virginia and the rest of the ships of its class are designed specifically to incorporate emergent technologies that will provide new capabilities to meet new threats. Virginia will be delivered to the U.S. Navy this fall. U.S. Navy photo by General Dynamics Electric Boat (RELEASED)
180709-N-KC128-1131 PEARL HARBOR (July 9, 2018) – Multi-national Special Operations Forces (SOF) participate in a submarine insertion exercise with the fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) and combat rubber raiding craft off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, July 9. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships and five submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.` (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton)
Norfolk, VA. (May 7, 2008)-The Virginia-class submarine USS North Carolina (SSN 777) pulls into Naval Station Norfolk’s Pier 3 following a brief underway period. North Carolina was commissioned in Wilmington, N.C. on May 3, 2008. (U.S. Navy Photo By Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Kelvin Edwards) (RELEASED)
Alas, in the case of the prospective of the SSN(X) program—the prospective next generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines—at the rate it’s progressing, so far it looks more worthy of a different type of “X,” that being a schoolteacher’s mark for an incorrect answer on a student’s test paper.
So, What Are the Problems?
Unsurprisingly, the same not-so-dynamic duo that plagues all too many promising military technologies: time and money (as in too much of each being spent).
The USN’s fiscal year 2026 budget request includes $222.8 million in research and development funding for SSN(X), but the anticipated first procurement has now slipped from the mid-2030s to the early 2040s, a prime example of the mind-numbingly arcane and convoluted Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition process that Pete Hegeth has been trying to reform since he assumed the position of Secretary of Defense a year ago.
That amounts to a lag time of at least 14 years, with China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) continuing to expand and modernize its own submarine fleet all the while. According to Indo-Pacific (INDOPACOM) Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo, Beijing produces two submarines a year for every 1.4 made in America.
And Then There’s Congress
For the sake of fairness and balance, we can’t lay all the blame at the feet of the DOD for the SSN(X) program’s woes.
There’s also that whole “power of the purse” problem: the SSN(X) has not yet received clear and unequivocal Congressional backing. A July 9, 2025 report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS; not to be confused with “Can’t Remember S**t”) outlines multiple reasons for the lack of Congressional commitment:
-Whether the Navy has accurately identified the SSN(X)’s required capabilities and analyzed their impact on the SSN(X)’s cost
-Potential future impact of the SSN(X) program on funding for other Navy program priorities, particularly if the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) estimate of the SSN(X)’s procurement cost is more accurate than the USN estimate;
-Potential impact of deferring procurement of the first SSN(X) from FY2035 to FY2040 on the future U.S. ability to maintain undersea superiority and fulfill U.S. Navy missions;
-The Navy’s plan for managing the impact on the submarine design industrial base of deferring procurement of the first SSN(X) to FY2040
-Feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the SSN(X) being powered by a reactor plant using low enriched uranium (LEU), rather than the highly enriched uranium (HEU) used on other Navy nuclear-powered ships (such as the Nimitz-class and Ford-class supercarrier), particularly if procurement of the first SSN(X) is deferred to FY2040, and if so, what impact that would have on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation efforts and SSN(X) costs and capabilities
-Whether each SSN(X) should be built jointly by General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII/Newport News Shipbuilding, or whether individual SSN(X)s should instead be completely built within a given shipyard.
A lot to ponder, to say the least.
So, Why Even Bother?
A fair question there, dear readers.
The short answer is because the USN’s current SSNs are getting long in the tooth:
-The venerable and time-honored Los Angeles-class (SSN 668) fast-attack subs were commissioned between 1976 and 1996.
-The intended successors to the Los Angeles-class boats, the Seawolf-class SSNs, were cancelled in 1995 after only three were built (commissioned between 1997 and 2005).
-The lead boat of the Virginia-class SSNs, USS Virginia (SSN-774), was commissioned in October 2004
And on paper, the SSN(X) will provide the best of both worlds, with the stealth of the Virginia-class and the firepower of the Seawolf-class. For good measure, it’ll feature electric drive propulsion, enhanced sensors, and the ability to counter enemy unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
If it ever actually gets built, that is. And, at last estimate, these subs could cost $8 Billion easy. I guess time will tell.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”
