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Attack Submarines - SSN |
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Description
Attack submarines are designed to seek and
destroy enemy submarines and surface ships;
project power ashore with Tomahawk cruise
missiles and Special Operation Forces, carry
out Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance missions; support Carrier and
Expeditionary Strike Battle Groups; and
engage in mine warfare.
Background
With the number of foreign Diesel-Electric /
Air-Independent Propulsion submarines
increasing yearly, the United States
submarine force relies on its technological
superiority and the speed, endurance,
mobility, stealth, and payload afforded by
nuclear power to retain its preeminence in
the undersea battlespace.
There are three classes of SSNs now in
service. Los Angeles (SSN 688) class
submarines are the backbone of the submarine
force with 47 now in commission. Thirty-one
Los Angeles class are equipped with 12
Vertical Launch System tubes for firing
Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The Navy also has three Seawolf (SSN 21)
class submarines. Commissioned on 19 July
1997, USS Seawolf is exceptionally quiet,
fast, well armed, and equipped with advanced
sensors. Though lacking Vertical Launch
Systems, the Seawolf class has eight torpedo
tubes, which can also fire Tomahawks, and
can hold up to 50 weapons in its torpedo
room. The third ship of the class, USS Jimmy
Carter (SSN 23), has a 100-foot hull
extension called the multi-mission platform.
This hull section provides for additional
payload to accommodate advanced technology
used to carry out classified research and
development and for enhanced warfighting
capabilities.
The Navy is now building the next-generation
SSN, the Virginia (SSN 774) class. The
Virginia class is tailored to excel in a
wide range of warfighting missions. These
include anti-submarine and surface ship
warfare; special operation forces; strike;
intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance; carrier and expeditionary
strike group support; and mine warfare.
The Virginia class has several innovations
that significantly enhance their warfighting
capabilities with an emphasis on littoral
operations. Virginia class boats have a
fly-by-wire ship control system that
provides improved shallow-water ship
handling. The class has special features to
support special operation forces. 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.
The class also has large lock-in / lock-out
chamber for divers. In Virginia class boats,
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 ships' 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.
General Characteristics, Virginia class
Builder: General Dynamics Electric
Boat Division and Northrop Grumman Newport
News
Date Deployed: Commissioned 23
October 2004
Propulsion: One nuclear reactor, one
shaft
Length: 377 feet (114.8 meters)
Beam: 34 feet (10.4 meters)
Displacement: Approximately 7,800
tons (7,925 metric tons) submerged
Speed: 25+ knots (28+ miles per hour,
46.3+ kph)
Crew: 134: 14 Officers; 120 Enlisted
Armament: Tomahawk missiles, twelve
VLS tubes, MK-48 ADCAP torpedoes, four
torpedo tubes.
Ships:
USS Virginia (SSN 774), Groton, Conn.
USS Texas (SSN 775), Groton, Conn.
USS Hawaii (SSN 776), Groton, Conn.
North Carolina (SSN 777) - Estimated
delivery in December 2007
New Hampshire (SSN 778) - Keel Laid 30 April
2007; estimated delivery in October 2008
New Mexico (SSN 779) - Named 7 December
2004; construction began in January 2004
Unnamed (SSN 780) - Construction began in
December 2004
General Characteristics, Seawolf class
Builder: General Dynamics Electric
Boat Division.
Date Deployed: USS Seawolf
commissioned 19 July 1997;
USS Connecticut commissioned 11 December
1998
USS Jimmy Carter commissioned 19 February
2005
Propulsion: One nuclear reactor, one
shaft
Length: SSNs 21 and 22: 353 feet
(107.6 meters)
SSN 23: 453 feet (138.07 meters)
Beam: 40 feet (12.2 meters)
Displacement: SSNs 21 and 22: 9,138
tons (9,284 metric tons) submerged;
SSN 23 12,158 tons (12,353 metric tons)
submerged
Speed: 25+ knots (28+ miles per hour, 46.3+
kph)
Crew: 140: 14 Officers; 126 Enlisted
Armament: Tomahawk missiles, MK-48
torpedoes, eight torpedo tubes.
Ships:
USS Seawolf (SSN 21), Kitsap-Bremerton,
Wash.
USS Connecticut (SSN 22), Kitsap-Bremerton,
Wash.
USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23), Kitsap-Bremerton,
Wash.
General Characteristics, Los Angeles
class
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding
Co.; General Dynamics Electric Boat
Division.
Date Deployed: November 13, 1976 (USS
Los Angeles)
Propulsion: One nuclear reactor, one
shaft
Length: 360 feet (109.73 meters)
Beam: 33 feet (10.06 meters)
Displacement: Approximately 6,900
tons (7011 metric tons) submerged
Speed: 20+ knots (23+ miles per hour,
36.8 +kph)
Crew: 13 Officers; 121 Enlisted
Armament: Tomahawk missiles, VLS
tubes (SSN 719 and later), MK-48 torpedoes,
four torpedo tubes.
Ships:
USS Los Angeles (SSN 688), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Philadelphia (SSN 690), Groton, CT
USS Memphis (SSN 691), Groton, Conn.
USS Bremerton (SSN 698), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Jacksonville (SSN 699), Norfolk, Va.
USS Dallas (SSN 700), Groton, Conn.
USS La Jolla (SSN 701), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705), Guam
USS Albuquerque (SSN 706), Groton, Conn.
USS Augusta (SSN 710), Groton, Conn.
USS San Francisco (SSN 711), Guam
USS Houston (SSN 713), Guam
USS Norfolk (SSN 714), Norfolk, VA
USS Buffalo (SSN 715), Guam
USS Olympia (SSN 717), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Providence (SSN 719), Groton, CT
USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720), Groton, CT
USS Chicago (SSN 721), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Key West (SSN 722), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723), Norfolk, VA
USS Louisville (SSN 724), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Helena (SSN 725), San Diego, Calif.
USS Newport News (SSN 750), Norfolk, VA
USS San Juan (SSN 751), Groton, CT
USS Pasadena (SSN 752), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Albany (SSN 753), Norfolk, Va.
USS Topeka (SSN 754), San Diego, CA
USS Miami (SSN 755), Groton, Conn.
USS Scranton (SSN 756), Norfolk, Va.
USS Alexandria (SSN 757), Groton, Conn.
USS Asheville (SSN 758), San Diego, Calif.
USS Jefferson City (SSN 759), San Diego,
Calif.
USS Annapolis (SSN 760), Groton, Conn.
USS Springfield (SSN 761), Groton, CT
USS Columbus (SSN 762), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Boise (SSN 764), Norfolk, Va.
USS Montpelier (SSN 765), Norfolk, VA
USS Charlotte (SSN 766), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Hampton (SSN 767), San Diego, Calif.
USS Hartford (SSN 768), Groton, Conn.
USS Toledo (SSN 769), Groton, CT
USS Tucson (SSN 770), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Columbia (SSN 771), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Greeneville (SSN 772), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), Pearl Harbor, HI
(Source: U.S. Navy) |
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