President Trump’s Department of War announced a $29.5 billion contract modification for five Columbia-class submarines and a $42.1 billion multiyear contract for nine Virginia-class submarines. Electric Boat will build the vessels alongside Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding. Electric Boat’s Quonset Point facility currently employs about 8,000 workers and plans to hire approximately 3,500 more over the coming year as submarine production ramps up. The Virginia-class submarines, built jointly by Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding, are among the Navy’s most advanced attack submarines. The announcement follows another major Navy award in March, when Electric Boat secured a $15.38 billion submarine contract, further cementing Rhode Island’s role as a cornerstone of America’s undersea fleet.