Virginia class submarine

Show all posts · Post time 17-7-2006 02:35 PM

Lepas pertama kali aku tengok dlm "Building the Biggest" kat discovery channel minggu lepas, aku semakin teruja tengok sub ni. So i dedicate this thread to anything that relates to subs and the likes. Do enjoy and I welcome all comments etc.

The Virginia class (or SSN-774 class) of attack submarines are the first U.S. subs to be designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions around the world. They are slated to replace aging Los Angeles-class attack submarines, some of which have already been decommissioned.

Innovations
The Virginias incorporate several innovations. Instead of periscopes, the subs have a pair of two extendable "photonics masts" outside the pressure hull. Each contains several high-resolution cameras with light-intensification and infrared sensors, an infrared laser rangefinder, and an integrated Electronic Support Measures (ESM) array. Signals from the masts' sensors are transmitted through fiber optic data lines through signal processors to the control center. They also make use of pump-jet propulsors for quieter operations.

Construction and Controversy
The Virginias were intended, in part, as a slightly cheaper ($1.8 vs $2 billion) alternative to the Seawolf subs, whose production run was stopped after just three vessels. To reduce costs, the Virginias use many "off-the-shelf" components, especially in their computers and data networks. In practice they actually cost about $2.3 billion (in fiscal year 2005 dollars) each, due in part to the lack of an economy of scale.

In hearings before both House of Representatives and Senate committees, the Congressional Research Service and expert witnesses testified that the current procurement plans of the Virginia class梠ne per year at present, accelerating to two per year beginning in 2012梤esulted in high unit costs and (according to some of the witnesses and some of the committee chairmen[1]) an insufficient number of attack submarines. In a March 10, 2005 statement[2] to the House Armed Services Committee, Ronald O'Rourke of the CRS testified that, assuming the production rate remains as planned, "production economies of scale for submarines would continue to remain limited or poor."

The Virginia class is built through an industrial arrangement designed to keep Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News in the submarine-building business. Under the present arrangement, the ships are built at two shipyards, the General Dynamics Electric Boat facility in Groton, Connecticut and the Newport News site in Virginia, which are the only U.S. shipyards capable of building nuclear vessels. O'Rourke wrote[3] in 2004 that, "Compared to a one-yard strategy, approaches involving two yards may be more expensive but offer potential offsetting benefits." Among the claims of "offsetting benefits" that O'Rourke attributes to supporters of a two-facility construction arrangement is that it "would permit the United States to continue building submarines at one yard even if the other yard is rendered incapable of building submarines permanently or for a sustained period of time by a catastrophic event of some kind", including an attack.

A preliminary Pentagon budget draft circulated in January 2005 indicated that the Virginia-class submarine program may be deeply cut due to the growing Federal budget deficit.

Trivia
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable is mounting a national grassroots campaign to convince Congress and the Navy to name one of the submarines after the ironclad USS Monitor. The Monitor fought the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia to a standstill on March 9, 1862, in the first battle between ironclad warships (see Battle of Hampton Roads). Not only is Virginia the class name, but one of the construction facilities is located in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.
The submarines of the Los Angeles class were named after U.S. cities; with one exception, the vessels of the contemporary Ohio class ballistic missile submarines were named after U.S. states. All of the Virginia class submarines thus far (as well as one of the Seawolf class) have been named after U.S. states; no ballistic missile submarines are presently under construction.

General characteristics
Builders: GD Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News
Length: 377 ft (114.91 m)
Beam: 34 ft (10.36 m)
Displacement: 7,800 tons
Payload: 40 weapons, special operations forces, unmanned undersea vehicles, Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS)
Propulsion: S9G reactor
Max. diving depth: greater than 800 ft (244 m)
Speed: 25+ knots
Planned cost: about US$1.65 billion each (based on FY95 dollars, 30-ship class & 2 ship/year build-rate, which has not yet been authorized)
Actual cost: about $2.3 billion each (as of 2005)
Crew: 120 Enlisted and 14 Officers
Armament: Tomahawk missiles, VLS tubes, Mark 48 torpedoes, four torpedo tubes, advanced mobile mines, and unmanned undersea vehicles.

Class Overview
Class Type Attack Submarine (SSN)
Class Name In honor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Preceded By Seawolf-class
Succeeded By N/A, latest attack submarine class authorized
Ships of the Class: Virginia, Texas, Hawaii, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico

[ Last edited by A380 at 17-7-2006 02:37 PM ]

Show all posts · Post time 17-7-2006 02:41 PM

USS Virginia (SSN-774) is a United States Navy attack submarine, the lead ship of her class and the tenth ship of that Navy to be named for the commonwealth.

The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 30 September 1998 and her keel was laid down on 2 September 1999. She was launched on 16 August 2003 sponsored by Lynda Johnson Robb, the wife of former Virginia governor and senator Charles Robb, and daughter of President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson. On 10 March and 11 March, the prospective submarine shot 12 dummy torpedoes into the Thames River from each of the boat's four tubes.

Virginia was delivered to the Navy on 12 October 2004, the 104th anniversary of the commissioning of Holland, the Navy's second submarine. She was commissioned on 23 October 2004 under the command of David J. Kern. This class of submarine is unique in that it features a Photonics Mast Program (PMP) that freed ship designers to place the ship's control room in a lower, less geometry-constrained space than would be required by a standard, optical tube periscope. It is additionally unique in the U.S. Navy for featuring all-digital ship and ballast control systems that are manned by relatively senior watchstanders.

On 23 November 2005, Virginia completed her first deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. On 12 January 2006, Virginia entered Electric Boat's shipyard for post-shakedown availability, which is expected to last for most of 2006.

General Characteristics
Displacement: 7,800 tons
Length: 114.9 meters (377 feet)
Beam: 10.3 meters (34 feet)
Draft: 9.3 meters (30.5 feet)
Propulsion: S9G reactor
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h) surfaced, 32 knots (59 km/h) submerged (designed)
Armament: 12 VLS tubes, four 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes
Crew: 113 officers and men
Motto: Sic Semper Tyrannis (Thus Always To Tyrants)

[ Last edited by A380 at 17-7-2006 02:42 PM ]