other sources believe that production will end with Block V. In addition, data provided in CBO reports tends to vary considerably compared to earlier editions. Block VI submarines include an organic ability to employ seabed warfare equipment. SSN(X)/Improved Virginia Initially dubbed Future Attack Submarine and Improved Virginia class in early Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports, the SSN(X) will instead be a largely new design that initially supplements and eventually replaces the Virginia class submarines. In late 2014, the US Navy began early preparation work on the SSN(X). It was planned that the first submarine would be procured in 2025. However, their introduction (i.e., procurement of the first submarine) has been pushed back to 2033/2034. The long-range shipbuilding plan is for the new SSN to be authorized in 2034, and become operational by 2044 after the last Block VII Virginia is built. Roughly a decade would be spent identifying, designing, and demonstrating new technologies before an analysis of alternatives is issued in 2024. An initial small team has been formed to consult with industry and identify the threat environment and technologies the submarine will need to operate against in the 2050-plus timeframe. In 2019, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the SSN(X) boats could cost up to $5.5 billion per hull. The current Virginia-class boats cost about $2.8 billion per hull, while the Block V boats with the 80-foot Virginia Payload Module will cost about $3.2 billion. "The Navy indicates that the next-generation attack submarine should be faster, stealthier, and able to carry more torpedoes than the Virginia class, similar to the Seawolf-class submarine. CBO therefore assumed that the SSN(X) would be a Seawolf-sized SSN, which displaces about 9,100 tons when submerged, and would have an all-new design in keeping with the Navy's description of it as a fast, lethal next-generation attack submarine", the CBO wrote. Potential exports On 16 September 2021, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia had canceled its contract with French shipbuilder Naval Group for 12 diesel-electric submarines based on the French nuclear submarine. The AUKUS trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States, was announced the same day. Under the pact, the US will share nuclear propulsion technology with Australia the same as it has with the UK since 1958 as will the UK. The Royal Australian Navy will now acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines armed with conventional weapons