Two Virginia-class Submarines are undergoing Sea Trials Simultaneously

In a rare instance, two Virginia-class Nuclear Attack Submarines, the future USS Idaho (SSN-799) and the future USS Massachusetts (SSN-798) are both undergoing sea trials at the same time, with both of the submarines returning to port earlier this week.

Two Virginia-class submarines concurrently conducting sea trials is most often a rarity, with only one newly built boat typically out of port under sea trials at any given time. The last Virginia class-submarine to be out on sea trials, the USS Iowa (SSN-797) was out alone during her testing regime as of late 2024, with her commissioning taking place on April 5th, 2025.

Both the Idaho and the Massachusetts are set to be commissioned with the U.S Navy in 2026, with the USS Massachusetts to be inducted into service in the capital of her namesake, the U.S state of Massachusetts. Currently, the exact dates of commissioning for each boat are still unknown.

Spotters have reportedly seen both submarines coming in from their sea trials, with the Massachusetts spotted on the way into the U.S Navy’s base Norfolk while the Idaho was photographed making her way towards Groton, Connecticut, presumably en route to General Dynamics Electric Boat’s facilities.

Virginia-class Block IV Nuclear Attack Submarines and Beyond

The USS Massachusetts and USS Idaho are both Block IV Virginia-class submarines and are the 25th and 26th boats in the class whilst being the 7th and 8th block IV boats. The block IV boats main offerings over previous Virginias is the reduction in major maintenance periods from 4 to 3, allowing for one more full deployment.

Block IV boats are also able to leverage improvements made to the previous blocks of submarines. In particular, they utilize a redesigned bow first present in Block III boats, utilizing a new sonar and 2 larger VLS tubes containing 6 cells each (a total of 12) for Tomahawk land attack missiles. Currently, there are a total of 10 Block IV Virginias that will serve with the U.S Navy, with the last block IV boat, USS Utah (SSN-801) christened on October 25th.

Naval News previously reported that Block V boats will be the first Virginias to feature the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) among other improvements. VPM raises the VLS count by adding 4 more large missile cells towards the aft of the boat, giving the option to carry 7 Tomahawks per large cell or creating the possibility to launch larger munitions.

These 10 Block V boats will be larger than the Block IVs, with an increased displacement of 10,200 tons (from 7,800 tons) and an increased length of 460ft (from 377ft) to support upgraded sonar alongside the VPM package.

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