Navy eyes latest version of Virginia-class attack submarine with laser weapon and seabed warfare capability
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy is moving forward on building the most advanced version of the Virginia-class fast attack submarine (SSN 774) -- an undersea warfare weapon expected to bring its reconnaissance and lethality from the ocean's surface to the seabed.
Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington announced a $349.8 million order this month to General Dynamics Corp. Electric Boat segment in Groton, Conn., for long-lead items for the Virginia Class Block VI submarines.
The Virginia Block VI submarines are to feature technology improvements in stealth, propulsion, and weapons, and should be one of the best submarines in the world for interacting with the water column from the surface to the seabed.
Long-lead items either are difficult and time-consuming to obtain, and are funded early in the submarine design process to keep overall production on schedule.
The Virginia Block VI boats will be the second block of Virginia-class attack submarines with the Virginia Payload Module for large-scale land strike missiles.
The Virginia Payload Module places four multiple all-up-round canisters in the middle of the submarine in addition to two in the bow. Each tube can contain seven Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
Not only does the Virginia Block VI add land-attack firepower to the fleet, but it also offers the opportunity for the Navy to design mission-specific submarines.
The Navy is expected to order at least one Virginia Block VI specially designed for seabed warfare for undersea espionage and other special missions. Seabed warfare is defined as operations to, from, and across the ocean floor.
The overall target of seabed warfare is infrastructure in place on the seabed such as power cables, telecommunications cables, or undersea mining systems.
Virginia-class submarines also are to be equipped with a high-energy laser weapon, most likely on the photonics mast, with a power output of 300 to 500 kilowatts, according to budget documents. The Block VI boat also is expected to be quieter than any other version of the Virginia class.
On this order, General Dynamics will do the work in Sunnyvale, Calif.; Minneapolis; York and Pittsburgh, Pa.; Spring Grove and Peoria, Ill.; Windsor Locks, Conn.; Tucson, Ariz.; Monroe, N.C.; and other locations, and should be finished by September 2035.
For more information contact General Dynamics Electric Boat online at www.gdeb.com, or Naval Sea Systems Command at www.navsea.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
