Virginia Class SSN

Virginia Class SSN (Attack Submarine, Nuclear-powered) – 11 units

Block I – 4 units

SSN-774 – Virginia – Commissioned: 2004 – №: 1 – Homeport: Portsmouth

SSN-775 – Texas – Commissioned: 2006 – №: 2 – Homeport: Pearl Harbor

SSN-776 – Hawaii – Commissioned: 2007 – №: 3 – Homeport: Pearl Harbor

SSN-777 – North Carolina – Commissioned: 2008 – №: 4 – Homeport: Pearl Harbor

Displacement: 7,800 tons

Length: 15 m; Beam: 10 m

Propulsion: S9G reactor, 40,000 hp (30 MW)

Speed submerged: official – 25 knots (46 km/h); reported – 35 knots (64 km/h)

Range: Refueling required after 33 years

Endurance: Only limited by food and maintenance requirements

Test depth: official – 240 m; reported – 490 m

Complement: 15 officers, 120 men

Sonar systems:

BQQ-10 bow-mounted spherical active/passive sonar array;

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-mountedand sail mounted high frequency sonars supplement the main sonar array enabling safer operations in coastal waters, enhancing under-ice navigation as well as improving ASW performance;

Low-Cost Conformal Array (LCCA) high-frequency sonar. Mounted on both sides of the submarines sail. Provides coverage above and behind the submarine;

TB-16 or TB-34 fat line tactical towed sonar array;

TB-29 or TB-33 thin line long-range search towed sonar array

Armament:

12× VLS tubes – 16 Tomahawk submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM);

4× 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes – 26 Mark-48 ADCAP mod 6 heavyweight torpedoes & Harpoon anti-ship missiles; Mark-60 CAPTOR mines

Payload: 40 weapons, special operations forces, unmanned undersea vehicles, Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS)

Cost: $2.7 billion per unit (FY2014)

Block II – 6 units

SSN-778 – New Hampshire – Commissioned: 2008 – №: 5 – Homeport: Groton

SSN-779 – New Mexico – Commissioned: 2010 – №: 6 – Homeport: Groton

SSN-780 – Missouri – Commissioned: 2010 – №: 7 – Homeport: Groton

SSN-781 – California – Commissioned: 2011 – №: 8 – Homeport: Groton

SSN-782 – Mississippi – Commissioned: 2012 – №: 9 – Homeport: Pearl Harbor

SSN-783 – Minnesota – Commissioned: 2013 – №: 10 – Homeport: Norfolk

Displacement: 7,925 tons

Length: 15 m; Beam: 10.3 m

Propulsion: S9G reactor, 40,000 hp (30 MW)

Speed submerged: official – 25 knots (46 km/h); reported – 35 knots (64 km/h)

Range: Refueling required after 33 years

Endurance: Only limited by food and maintenance requirements

Test depth: official – 250 m; reported – 490 m

Complement: 15 officers, 120 men

Sonar systems:

BQQ-10 bow-mounted spherical active/passive sonar array;

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-mountedand sail mounted high frequency sonars supplement the main sonar array enabling safer operations in coastal waters, enhancing under-ice navigation as well as improving ASW performance;

Low-Cost Conformal Array (LCCA) high-frequency sonar. Mounted on both sides of the submarines sail. Provides coverage above and behind the submarine;

TB-16 or TB-34 fat line tactical towed sonar array;

TB-29 or TB-33 thin line long-range search towed sonar array

Armament:

12× VLS tubes – 16x Tomahawk submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM);

4× 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes – 26x Mark-48 ADCAP mod 6 heavyweight torpedoes & Harpoon anti-ship missiles; Mark-60 CAPTOR mines

Payload: 40 weapons, special operations forces, unmanned undersea vehicles, Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS)

Cost: $2.7 billion per unit (FY2014)

Block III – 8 units

SSN-784 – North Dakota – Commissioned: 2014 – №: 11 – Homeport: Groton

SSN-785 – John Warner – Commissioned: 2015 – №: 12 – Homeport:

SSN-786 – Illinois – Commissioned: 2016 – №: 13 – Homeport:

SSN-787 – Washington – Commissioned: 2016 – №: 14 – Homeport:

SSN-788 – Colorado – Commissioned: 2017 – №: 15 – Homeport:

SSN-789 – Indiana – Commissioned: 2018 – №: 16 – Homeport:

SSN-790 – South Dakota – Commissioned: 2019 – №: 17 – Homeport:

SSN-791 – Delaware – Commissioned: 2020 – №: 18 – Homeport:

Displacement: 7,925 tons

Length: 15 m; Beam: 10.3 m

Propulsion: S9G reactor, 40,000 hp (30 MW)

Speed submerged: official – 25 knots (46 km/h); reported – 35 knots (64 km/h)

Range: Refueling required after 33 years

Endurance: Only limited by food and maintenance requirements

Test depth: official – 250 m; reported – 490 m

Complement: 15 officers, 120 men

Sonar systems:

Large Aperture Bow (LAB) sonar array;

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 and sail mounted high frequency sonars supplement the main sonar array enabling safer operations in coastal waters, enhancing under-ice navigation as well as improving ASW performance;

Low-Cost Conformal Array (LCCA) high-frequency sonar. Mounted on both sides of the submarines sail. Provides coverage above and behind the submarine;

TB-16 or TB-34 fat line tactical towed sonar array;

TB-29 or TB-33 thin line long-range search towed sonar array

Armament:

2× Virginia Payload Tubes – 12x UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles;

4× 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes – 26x Mark-48 ADCAP mod 6 heavyweight torpedoes & Harpoon anti-ship missiles; Mark-60 CAPTOR mines

Payload: 40 weapons, special operations forces, unmanned undersea vehicles, Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS)

Block IV – 10 units

SSN-792 –

SSN-793 –

SSN-794 –

SSN-795 –

SSN-796 –

SSN-797 –

SSN-798 –

SSN-799 –

SSN-800 –

SSN-801 –

The main improvement over the Block IV is the reduction of major maintenance periods from four to three, increasing each ship's total lifetime deployments by one

Block V – 4 units

SSN-802 –

SSN-803 –

SSN-804 –

SSN-805 –

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 21-meter 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. 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 CNO was still hoping to field the VPM from 2027, but deployment now seems unlikely since JROC moved the program in February 2013 from the Prompt Strike budget to the main Navy shipbuilding account, which is already under financial pressure.

VIRGINIA CLASS

(http://www.dmitryshulgin.com/virginia-class/)