Navy to reclassify 19 Virginia-class submarines

The Navy said this month it will reclassify 19 planned Virginia-class attack submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) as guided missile submarines (SSGNs). The Virginia-class submarine is expected to deploy the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile and include a variant of the W80-4 warhead, something the National Nuclear Security Administration is already working on. […]