[JLRC]

GD Delivers Lead Virginia-Class Submarine to U.S. Navy
 
 
(Source: General Dynamics; issued Oct. 13, 2004)
 
 
 GROTON, Conn. --- General Dynamics Electric Boat yesterday delivered the Virginia (SSN-774), the first naval combatant ship designed specifically for post-Cold War missions, to the U.S. Navy. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.  
 
The Virginia will join the Navy’s fleet in a commissioning ceremony to be held Oct. 23 at the Norfolk Naval Base in its namesake state.  
 
As the lead ship of the most capable class of nuclear attack submarines in the world, the Virginia has been designed from the ground up to operate as a key element of a joint naval force. Unobtrusive, non-provocative and connected with land, air, sea and space-based assets, Virginia-class ships are uniquely equipped to wage multi-dimensional warfare in the farthest reaches of the globe, providing the U.S. Navy with continued dominance in coastal waters or the open ocean. These submarines will transit submerged at high speeds, undetected, independent of sea state or logistic support and arrive on station ready for action.  
 
“Virginia and the rest of the ships of its class are designed specifically to incorporate emerging technologies that will provide new capabilities to meet new threats,” said Electric Boat President John Casey. “This enables Virginia to provide a unique and vital contribution to the nation’s defense that will become increasingly important in a new and changing security environment.”  
 
Virginia-class missions will include conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, ensuring that U.S. commanders understand the scope and capability of an enemy’s forces. Submarines of the class also will be able to engage enemy submarines, surface ships and critical targets ashore, both through precision strike and the covert insertion of special operations forces.  
 
With their stealth and unlimited endurance, they will be flexible assets for Joint Force Commanders, able to maneuver with impunity, even in the most contested forward areas. Approved nearly four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Virginia embodies warfighting and operational capabilities required to dominate the littorals while maintaining undersea dominance in the open ocean.  
 
Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News are under contract to build the first 10 submarines of a planned 30-ship Virginia class under a teaming agreement that splits the construction workload between the two shipyards. A revolutionary approach to design and construction processes was employed for the Virginia class.  
 
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[JLRC]

Navy to Commission Submarine Virginia  
 
 
(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 21, 2004)
 
 
 The Navy will commission the USS Virginia, lead ship of the latest class of attack submarines, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2004, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va.  
 
As the Navy's next-generation attack submarine, the Virginia Class is the first submarine class specifically designed to counter post-Cold War threats and provides the Navy with the capabilities it requires to meet the threats of the 21st century.  
 
Virginia has improved stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that enable it to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements. With a modular design, the Virginia class will be able to accommodate technology upgrades throughout the life of the class.  
 
Sen. John Warner of Virginia will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Lynda Johnson Robb, wife of former Sen. Charles Robb of Virginia and daughter of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In the time-honored tradition of commissioning U.S. naval ships, Robb will give the order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”  
 
This is the ninth ship of the Navy to carry the name Virginia since the original Virginia was commissioned in 1777. The last Virginia was a nuclear powered guided missile cruiser, which was decommissioned in 1994.  
 
Virginia can attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters and other sea forces.  
 
Virginia also has superior anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare capabilities, is able to provide special forces delivery and support, and can conduct mine delivery and minefield mapping.  
 
With enhanced communications connectivity, Virginia will also provide important battle group and joint task force support with full integration into carrier strike group operations.  
 
Capt. David Kern, a native of Binghamton, N.Y., and a Naval Academy graduate, will become the first commanding officer of the ship, leading a crew of approximately 134 officers and enlisted sailors. Virginia will be homeported in Groton, Conn., as a unit of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.  
 
Virginia is 377 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 34 feet, a navigational draft of 32 feet, displaces approximately 7,800 tons submerged, can dive to depths greater than 800 feet, and can sustain speeds of more than 25 knots when submerged.  
 
She is also designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship – reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time.  
 
The superior capabilities of the Virginia class will help ensure the Navy maintains undersea dominance well into this century.  
 
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[JLRC]

TO NEW DEPTHS: The SSN-774 Virginia-Class Attack Submarine
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She floats right below the surface, waiting to strike -- lethal near the shore or in the deep ocean, the nuclear-powered Virginia-Class is the quietest and most advanced submarine in the world. Think you're safe in the shallow end? Think again.
 
 
Don't blink. One second of vulnerability and you could miss the stealthy passing of the U.S. Navy's new nuclear-powered multi-mission submarine. The Virginia-class is in a class of its own, setting high standards for smaller attack submarines in the post-Cold War era.

Along with the Seawolf, the Virginia is currently the quietest SSN in the world, using isolated deck structures (the entire control room is mounted on springs) and a sound-absorbent coating. An advanced propeller design makes it even quieter than fourth generation Soviet-built attack submarines. Operations are interfaced through touch-sensitive computer screens in the Virginia's control room, and maneuvering and attitude control are achieved through a four-button, two-axis joystick rather than the traditional "wheel" arrangement, making maneuvering the Virginia as easy as handling the controller on a Playstation 2. But designing Virginia was no game -- she was the first warship designed entirely by computer using state-of-the-art submarine warfare innovations. Instead of paper plans and wooden mock-ups, computerized designs were digitally transmitted to the machinery that cut the Virginia's steel and metal pipes. This made it possible to visualize the capatibility of components -- with the help of three-dimensional walk-thrus -- before they were incorporated into the final design. Construction costs were lower and speed of production was ramped up to two submarines per year. Versatility, survivability and cutting-edge technology make the Virginia one sub to be reckoned with.
Littorally Speaking

The Virginia's design breaks from her predecessors in one very important respect -- she was made for the littorals. The littorals, for those without sea legs, are shallow waters -- making the Virginia very useful in land attacks, mine reconnaissance, and intelligence gathering. While the SSN-774 is also equipped for "blue water" or deep sea mission needs, her wide range of capability includes support for a full range of covert special warfare missions. This includes search and rescue, sabotage and diversionary attacks, and direct strikes against enemy objectives.

Running defense is the WLY-1 acoustic countermeasures system. The WLY-1 provides the Virginia, and other submarine classes such as the Ohio, with automatic response against torpedo attacks. Future innovations of this system could include threat neutralization of small aircraft, helicopters and fast patrol crafts in the form of a Submarine Littoral Warfare Missile (SLWM).

Photon Packs

The Virginia's sonar suite will include several array sensors, mounted on the bow, flank, keel and fin of the submarine. All sonar signals will be processed through a modified AN/BQQ-10 -- more computing power than the entire Los Angeles submarine fleet combined. For surface navigation, the SSN-774 will use a BPS-16 I-band navigation radar, similar to the SSN-21 Seawolf.

For submarines of the future, pericopes are a thing of the past. Instead, the Virginia will have dual Kollmorgen BVS-1 Photonic Masts based on high-resolution digital cameras. Color images will be transmitted to large displays in the control room. The setup includes a low light TV, thermal imager, and laser rangefinder. Mission-specific sensors can also be mounted on the masts.

In the antiquated days of periscopes, the control room had to be built directly below the periscope area. Since the Photonic Masts don't penetrate the hull, there is no limit to how big the control room is, and does not confine it to a specific location.

Extra Features

The Virginia is equipped with the Boeing Long-term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS). This includes two 6m autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles. In additional to fins, the Virginia features an 18m robotic recovery arm. To support Special Operations Command (SOC) and anti-terrorism missions, the SSN-774 is equipped with a lock-out/lock-in chamber, which can host a mini-submarine such as Northrop Grumman's Oceanic and Naval Systems Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS).

The Virginia can carry as many as 26-torpedoes. Twelve Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes are installed for firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, and four 21-foot tubes on the Virginia can fire Mk-48 ADCAP mod 6 torpedoes, sub-launched cruise missiles, and sub-launched harpoon anti-ship missiles. For littoral missions, the Virginia can use lightweight torpedoes for use in shallow water combat situations. Mk 60 CAPTOR anti-ship mines can also be deployed from the SSN-774.

A single General Electric S9G Pressure Water Reactor propels the Virginia's 377 foot-long body, along with two steam turbine engines that provide 29.84Mw of power -- that's enough power to fuel 300,000 standard lightbulbs. A crew of 113 mans the submarine, which can plunge to depths anywhere between 800 feet and a number too classified to mention.

The SSN-774 Virginia has been deemed "America's Next Submarine" by the Federation of American Scientists, and her state-of-the-art technology has no peer. Virginia was designed to fight terrorist threats close to the shore and in the deep sea, and with such defense and strike capacity, she is poised to be the new queen of the littorals -- just when they thought it was safe to go back in the water.



SSN-774 VIRGINIA-CLASS NSSN ATTACK SUBMARINE -- SPECIFICATIONS
Builders General Dynamics Electric Boat Division
Newport News Shipbuilding
Lockheed Martin Federal Systems
Raytheon Electronic Systems
Power Plant One S9G pressurized water reactor
One Transformation Technology Core pressurized water reactor
   
Length, Overall 377 feet
Beam 34 feet
Displacement 7,800 tons, submerged
Speed 25+ knots, submerged
   
Crew 113 officers and men
Armament 38 weapons:
Vertical Launch System Tomahawk Cruise Missiles
Mk 48 ADCAP Heavyweight Torpedoes
Advanced Mobile Mines
Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
   
Sensors  Two Kollmorgen AN/BVS-1 Photonic Masts
Radar AN/BPS-16 I-band
Sonar Spherical active/passive arrays
Lightweight Wide Aperture arrays
TB-16, TB-29 and future towed arrays
High-frequency chin and sail arrays
Countermeasures 1 internal launcher (reloadable 2-barrel)
14 external launchers
AN/WLY-1 acoustic countermeasures system
AN/BLQ-10 electronic support measures system (ESM)