The Virginia Class new attack submarine is an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations.
The Virginia class, also known as the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (hull classification symbol SSN) in service with the United States Navy. They were conceived as a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf-class attack submarines, designed during the Cold War era, and they are planned to replace the older of the Los Angeles-class submarine, twenty-one of which have already been decommissioned (from a total of 62 built). The class was developed under the codename Centurion, renamed to NSSN (New SSN) later on. The "Centurion Study" was initiated in February 1991. Virginia-class submarines will be acquired through 2043, and are expected to remain in service past 2060. Based on recent updates to the designs, some of the Virginia-class submarines are expected to still be in service in 2070.
The Electric Boat division of General Dynamics, Connecticut, is the lead design authority for the Virginia Class. General Dynamics Electric Boat has built the first of the class - Virginia (SSN 774), and Northrop Grumman Newport News the second - Texas (SSN 775).
The subsequent vessels are Hawaii (SSN 776), New Hampshire (SSN 778), Missouri (SSN 780), Mississippi (SSN 782) and John Warner (SSN 785) being built by Electric Boat, with North Carolina (SSN 777), New Mexico (SSN 779), California (SSN 781), Minnesota (SSN 783) and North Dakota (SSN 784) being built by Newport News.
The US Navy's total requirement is for 30 of the class. It placed a bulk-buy contract for the first five ships and, in January 2004, placed a multiyear contract for the following five. In December 2008, the navy signed a $14bn contract with General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman for eight more submarines. A further $17.6bn contract was signed in April 2014 for an additional 10 submarines bringing the total order volume to 28. General Dynamics Electric Boat plans to begin construction on two submarines per year over a five-year period and conclude the deliveries by 2023.
Virginia was laid down in September 1999, launched in August 2003 and commissioned in October 2004. It underwent a three-year operational evaluation before operational deployment. Texas was launched in April 2005, delivered in June 2006 and commissioned in September 2006. The keel for Hawaii was laid in August 2004, it was launched in June 2006 and commissioned in May 2007.
North Carolina was launched in May 2007, delivered in December 2007 and commissioned in May 2008. New Hampshire was launched in February 2008 and commissioned in October 2008. The keel for New Mexico was laid in April 2008. It was launched in December 2008 and commissioned in March 2010.
Missouri (SSN 780) began construction in December 2004. Her keel was laid in September 2008, and the submarine was launched in November 2009 and commissioned in July 2010. The keel for California (SSN-781) was laid in May 2010 and delivery was made in August 2011.
General Dynamics Electric Boat delivered the nuclear-powered attack submarine Mississippi (SSN-782) to the US Navy in May 2012.
The Minnesota (SSN 783) was launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) in November 2012 and delivered in June 2013.
North Dakota (SSN 784) was christened in November 2013 and was commissioned in October 2014. Keel for SSN 785 was laid in March 2013 and the submarine was christened John Warner in September 2014. Delivery is scheduled for 2015.
Construction of SSN 786 began in March 2011 at General Dynamics Electric Boat and was named Illinois in June 2012. The submarine is expected to be commissioned in December 2015. The US Navy then decided to build two Virginia class submarines a year. Accordingly, $1.2bn was released to General Dynamics in April 2011, to construct the 14th Virginia-class submarine USS Washington (SSN-787). Construction began in September 2011 and the keel was laid in November 2014.
Construction of Colorado SSN 788 and Indiana SSN 789 began in March 2012 and September 2012, respectively.
In January 2013, General Dynamics Electric Boat received a $2.5bn contract for the construction of South Dakota (SSN 790) and Delaware (SSN 791) submarines. The next two submarines, SSN 792 and SSN 793 were named as Vermont and Oregon in September and October 2014, respectively.
SSN 795 was christened as Hyman G. Rickover in January 2015.
Innovations
The Virginia class incorporates several innovations not found in previous US submarine classes.
Photonics masts
Instead of a traditional periscope, the class utilizes a pair of AN/BVS-1 telescoping photonics masts located outside the pressure hull. Each mast contains high-resolution cameras, along 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 optical fiber data lines through signal processors to the control center. Visual feeds from the masts are displayed on liquid-crystal display interfaces in the command center.
The Photonics Masts are built by L-3 KEO (previously Kollmorgen)
The design of earlier optical periscopes required them to penetrate the pressure hull (reducing the structural integrity of the pressure hull as well as increasing the risk of flooding) and required the submarine's control room to be located directly below the sail/fin.Implementation of photonics masts (which do not penetrate the pressure hull) enabled the submarine control room to be relocated to a position inside the pressure hull which is not (necessarily) directly below the sail.
Due to their unique visual appearance (which, if detected, distinctly identify the submarine as a U.S. Navy submarine) Photonics Masts will be replaced with Low-Profile Photonics Mast (LPPM) which better resemble traditional submarine periscopes.
In the future a non-rotational Affordable Modular Panoramic Photonics Mast may be fitted enabling the submarine to obtain a simultaneous 360° view of the sea surface.
Photonics Masts are mounted to the Universal Modular Mast (UMM), first installed on USS Memphis, a Los Angeles-class submarine. The UMM is an integrated system for housing, erecting, and supporting submarine mast-mounted antennas and sensors. The UMM on Virginia-class submarines is used to accommodate eight mast-mounted sensors. Apart from two Photonics Masts, the UMM also accommodates:
two (tactical) communication masts
one or two high-data-rate satellite communication (SATCOM) masts, built by Raytheon, enabling communication at Super High Frequency (for downlink) and Extremely High Frequency (for uplink) range
radar mast (carrying AN/BPS-16 surface search and navigation radar)
electronic warfare mast (AN/BLQ-10 Electronic Support Measures) used to detect, analyze, and identify both radar and communication signals from ships, aircraft, submarines, and land-based transmitters
snorkel mast
Propulsor
In contrast to a traditional bladed propellor, the Virginia class uses pump-jet propulsors (built by BAE Systems), originally developed for the Royal Navy's Swiftsure-class submarines. The propulsor significantly reduces the risks of cavitation, and allows quieter operation.
Improved sonar systems
Sonar arrays aboard Virginia-class submarines have an 'Open System Architecture' (OSA) which enables rapid insertion of new hardware and software as they become available. Hardware updates (dubbed Technology Insertions) are usually carried out every four years while software updates (dubbed Advanced Processor Builds) are carried out every two years. Virginia-class submarines feature several types of sonar arrays.
BQQ-10 bow-mounted spherical active/passive sonar array (Large Aperture Bow (LAB) sonar array from SSN-784 onwards).
A wide aperture lightweight fiber optic sonar array (consisting of three flat panels mounted low along either side of the hull).
Two high frequency active sonars mounted in the sail and bow. The chin-mounted (below the bow) and sail mounted high frequency sonars supplement the (spherical/LAB) main sonar array enabling safer operations in coastal waters, enhancing under-ice navigation as well as improving anti-submarine warfare performance.
Low-Cost Conformal Array (LCCA) high frequency sonar. Mounted on both sides of the submarines sail. Provides coverage above and behind the submarine.
Virginia-class submarines are also equipped with a low frequency towed sonar array and a high frequency towed sonar array.
TB-16 or TB-34 fat line tactical towed sonar array
TB-29 or TB-33 thin line long-range search towed sonar array
Other improved equipment
Optical fiber fly-by-wire Ship Control System replaces electro-hydraulic systems for control surface actuation.
Command and control system module (CCSM) built by Lockheed Martin.
Modernized version of the AN/BSY-1 integrated combat systemdesignated AN/BYG-1 (previously designated CCS Mk2) and built by General Dynamics AIS (previously Raytheon) AN/BYG-1 integrates the submarine Tactical Control System (TCS) and Weapon Control System (WCS).
USS California was the first Virginia-class submarine with the advanced electromagnetic signature reduction system built into it, but this system is being retrofitted into the other submarines of the class.
Integral 9-man lock-out chamber.
Rescue equipment
SEIE MK11 suit(s) – enable ascent from a sunken submarine (maximum ascent depth 600 feet).
lithium hydroxide canisters that remove carbon dioxide from the submarine's atmosphere.
Submarine Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (SEPIRB).
Technology barriers
Because of the low rate of Virginia production, the Navy entered into a program with DARPA to overcome technology barriers to lower the cost of attack submarines so that more could be built, to maintain the size of the fleet.
These include:
Propulsion concepts not constrained by a centerline shaft.
Externally stowed and launched weapons (especially torpedoes).
Conformal alternatives to the existing spherical sonar array.
Technologies that eliminate or substantially simplify existing submarine hull, mechanical and electrical systems.
Automation to reduce crew workload for standard tasks.
Virginia Payload Module
The Block III submarines have two multipurpose Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) replacing the dozen single purpose cruise missile launch tubes.
The Block V submarines built from 2019 onward will have an additional Virginia Payload Module (VPM) mid-body section, increasing their overall length. The VPM will add four more VPTs of the same diameter and greater height, located on the centerline, carrying up to seven Tomahawk missiles apiece, that would replace some of the capabilities lost when the SSGN conversion Ohio-class submarines are retired from the fleet. Initially eight payload tubes/silos were planned but this was later rejected in favour of 4 tubes installed in a 70-foot long module between the operations compartment and the propulsion spaces.
The VPM could potentially carry (non-nuclear) medium-range ballistic missiles. Adding the VPM would increase the cost of each submarine by $500 million (2012 prices). This additional cost would be offset by reducing the total submarine force by four ships. More recent reports state that as a cost reduction measure the VPM would carry only Tomahawk SLCM and possibly unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV) with the new price tag now estimated at $360–380 million per boat (in 2010 prices). The VPM launch tubes/silos will reportedly be similar in design to the ones planned for the Ohio class replacement. As of September 2013 the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) was still hoping to field the VPM from 2027, but deployment now seems unlikely since the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) moved the program in February 2013 from the 'Prompt Strike' budget to the main Navy shipbuilding account, which is already under financial pressure.
SSN(X)/Improved Virginia
Initially dubbed Future Attack Submarine[150] and Improved Virginia-class in Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports, the SSN(X) or Improved Virginia-class submarines will be an evolved version of the Virginia-class. 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.
In late 2014, the Navy began early preparation work on the SSN(X), a new nuclear attack submarine class that will eventually replace the Virginia-class. 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 will 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. One area already identified is the need to integrate with off-board systems so future Virginia boats and the SSN(X) can employ networked, extremely long-ranged weapons. A torpedo propulsion system concept from the Pennsylvania State University could allow a torpedo to hit a target 200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km) away and be guided by another asset during the terminal phase. Targeting information might also come from another platform like a patrol aircraft or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from the submarine.
