The Virginia Class, also known as the SSN-774,
is a class of nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines,
in service with the United States Navy. It is the Navy’s newest undersea warfare platform and
incorporates the latest in stealth, intelligence gathering and weapons systems technology.
Attack submarines are designed to seek and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships,
project power ashore with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Special Operation Forces.
This submarine also carries out Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions,
support battle group operations and engage in mine warfare.
Anyway, before we move further, let’s take a look at the history of this submarine.
This class was developed under the codename Centurion,
later renamed New SSN. The Virginia-class submarine was the first US Navy warship
with its development coordinated using such 3D visualization technology as CATIA, which
comprises computer-aided engineering (CAE), design (CAD), manufacturing (CAM), and product lifecycle
management (PLM). Design problems for Electric Boat and maintenance problems for the Navy.
Moreover, by 2007 approximately 35 million labor hours had been spent to design the Virginia class.
Constructing a single Virginia-class submarine has required around nine million labor hours and
over 4,000 suppliers. Each submarine is projected to make 14 to 15 deployments during its 33-year
service life. This class was intended in part as a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf-class
submarine, whose production run was cancelled after just three boats had been completed.
To reduce costs, the Virginia-class submarines employs many "commercial
off-the-shelf" components, especially in their computers and data networks.
If we take a deep look at its characteristics, the Virginia-class submarine has a length of
114.8 meter and a beam of 10.36 meter. The submarine can reach a top speed of 45 km/h.
It can accommodate a crew of 132 people including 15 officers and 117 enlisted. The Virginia Class
is fitted with twelve Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes and four torpedo tubes starting with SSN 784
North Dakota or the Block II, the 12 VLS tubes are replaced by 2 large-diameter payload tubes.
Considering its weapon systems, the Virginia-Class attack submarine is fitted with 12 vertical
missile launch tubes and four 533mm torpedo tubes. The vertical launching system has the capacity to
launch 16 Tomahawk submarine-launched cruise missiles in a single salvo.
There is a capacity for up to 26 mk48 ADCAP mod 6 heavyweight torpedoes and sub harpoon anti-ship
missiles to be fired from the 21in torpedo tubes. Mk60 CAPTOR mines may also be fitted. An integral
lock-out or lock-in chamber is incorporated into the hull for special operations. The chamber can
host a mini-submarine such as Northrop Grumman’s Oceanic and Naval Systems advanced SEAL delivery
system (ASDS) to deliver special warfare forces such as navy sea air land (SEAL) teams or marine
reconnaissance units for counter-terrorism or localised conflict operations.
For the information, according to a recent update from the Congressional Research Service, the
Virginia-class design has been updated multiple times since Fiscal Year 1998. Most Virginia-class
boats procured in FY 2019 and subsequent years are to be built with the Virginia Payload Module
(VPM), an additional, 84-foot-long, mid-body section equipped with four large-diameter,
vertical launch tubes for storing and launching additional Tomahawk missiles or other payloads.
When procured at a rate of two boats per year, VPM-equipped Virginia-class
SSNs have a prediction procurement cost of approximately $3.6 billion per boat.
Another point to mention is the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2023 of the 30-year from FY 2023 to FY2052
shipbuilding plan released on April 20th, 2022, includes three alternative of 30-year shipbuilding
profiles for the period of FY2028 to FY2052. Under these profiles, SSNs would be procured during
FY2028-FY2052 at a rate of 1.76 to 2.24 boats per year. Based on the three alternative shipbuilding
profiles, the FY2023 30-year shipbuilding plan projects that the SSN force will reach a minimum
of 46 boats in FY2028, return to 50 boats in FY2032, and grow to 60 to 69 SSNs by FY2052.
What is more about this submarine? As the latest
class of advanced capability nuclear powered fast attack sub,
this class of sub helps ensure the future of national security by providing theater commanders
with an affordable and flexible multi-mission stealth platform that replaces the aging fleet of
Los Angeles Class attack submarines. Specifically designed for the post-Cold War threat environment,
the Virginia Class is tailored to excel in a wide range of warfighting missions.
Moreover, the Virginia Class has several innovations that significantly enhance
its warfighting capabilities with an emphasis on littoral operations.
Virginia Class is fitted with a fly-by-wire ship control system that provides improved
shallow-water ship handling. The class has special features to support special operation forces.
Besides, the torpedo room can be reconfigured to house a large number of special operation forces
and all their equipment for prolonged deployments and future off-board payloads.
In Virginia Class SSNs, traditional periscopes have been supplanted by two Photonics Masts that
house color, high-resolution black and white, and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms.
With the removal of the barrel periscopes, the ship’s control room
has been moved down one deck and away from the hull’s curvature, affording it more room and an
improved layout that provides the commanding officer with enhanced situational awareness.
Additionally, through the extensive use of modular construction, open architecture, and
commercial off-the-shelf components, the Virginia Class is designed to remain state of the practice
for its entire operational life through the rapid introduction of new systems and payloads.