General Dynamics Gets a Multibillion-Dollar Navy Sub Deal

  • Virginia-class sub deal likely to be for about $20 billion
  • Deal cut to nine subs from 11 because of Navy budget shortfall
A Virginia-class attack submarine before at commissioning ceremony in Groton, Connecticut.Photographer: Dana Jensen/The Day via AP Photo
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The U.S. Navy has reached an agreement with General Dynamics Corp. on a multibillion-dollar deal to buy the next batch of Virginia-class attack submarines, according to the service.

After protracted negotiations, the deal was cut from 11 submarines to 9, with options to buy a 10th and 11th vessel by 2023, because funding was running more than $1 billion short, according to service documents and congressional correspondence. The value of the resulting agreement wasn’t immediately disclosed but it’s expected to be about $20 billion, according to a person familiar with Navy budget documents.