USS Potomac (SSGN-814)
US Navy Virginia-class submarine
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USS Potomac (SSGN-814) will be a nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Block VI attack submarine and 41st overall of her class.
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The lead boat of the Virginia class, USS Virginia (SSN-774) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Potomac |
| Namesake | Potomac River |
| Ordered | TBD |
| Commissioned | 2034–2035 (estimated) |
| Identification | Pennant number: SSGN-814 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Virginia-class submarine |
| Displacement | 10,200 tons |
| Length | 460 ft (140 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft (10.4 m) |
| Draft | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Propulsion | S9G reactor auxiliary diesel engine |
| Speed | 25 knots (46 km/h) |
| Endurance | can remain submerged for more than 3 months |
| Test depth | greater than 800 ft (244 m) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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Construction
The submarine would be the seventh U.S. Navy vessel named for the Potomac River, an important river to Washington DC and the Chesapeake Bay.[1]
Uniquely, Potomac was not ordered prior to her naming due to a dispute between the Navy and builder Huntington Ingalls Industries over the potential cost.[2]
She will be sponsored by Lisa Collis, the wife of US Senator Mark Warner.[3] The FY2026 budget allocated an additional US$1.8 billion, on top of the $4.56 billion from 2023 & 2024, for the construction of Potomac and her sister submarines, USS Norfolk (SSN-815) and USS Brooklyn (SSN-816).[4][5] Potomac is estimated to completed and enter service by 2034–2035.[6]
Design
Like their Block V predecessors, Block VI submarines will incorporate previously introduced modifications to the base design, including the Virginia Payload Module (VPM). The VPM inserts a segment into the middle of the boat's hull behind the conning tower, which adds four Multiple All-up-round Canisters (MAC) with each MAC containing seven vertical launch tubes. Each tube is loaded with a Tomahawk strike missile giving the VPM a total of 28 missiles. Combined with the 12 missiles loaded in the two "six-shooter" Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) on the bow (each VPT has six missiles), first incorporated into Block III boats,[7] this increases her armament to a total of 40 missiles.[8][9][10]
