Details of the U.S. Virginia-class nuclear submarine.

Virginia-class nuclear submarines

Background

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union,

and the U.S. Navy’s implementation of forward-deployment from sea to land Strategy, the U.S. Navy believes that the Seawolf (SSN-21) class is expensive, not suitable for mass construction, and is not suitable for offshore operations. Therefore, it hopes to develop a submarine with a smaller displacement than the Seawolf class that is economical, good in performance, and useful. A wide range of multi-purpose attack nuclear submarines that can operate in offshore waters to replace the Los Angeles-class submarines that will be retired in the next century. The new nuclear attack submarine (NSSN) came into being. Its design reflects the principle of optimal cost-effectiveness. It is a high-performance, low-cost submarine that can meet the needs of naval warfare in the new situation. This is the Virginia class (hereinafter referred to as the Virginia class). In 1991, the U.S. Navy began the demonstration and design work of the Florida-class submarine.

Construction plan

The U.S. Navy plans to invest US$64 billion to build 30 Fu class submarines in the next 18 years. In 1997, the Navy was approved to purchase the first four boats of this class. In February 1997, the Navy announced that the General Dynamics Electric Boat Division and Newport News Shipyard would jointly undertake the construction task. Electric Boat will be responsible for building and installing main engine systems, thrusters and hull structures, command and control systems and other components, and will be responsible for the final assembly, testing and delivery of the first and third ships; Newport News will be responsible for Build and install the bow, stern, submarine command enclosure, accommodation module, weapon system, auxiliary engine system and other parts, and undertake the final assembly, testing and delivery of the second and fourth ships. On September 10, 1998, the U.S. Navy announced that the first ship of this class would be named the USS Virginia.

According to plan, the Virginia started construction in 1999 at the Electric Boat Department, was launched in 2003, and entered service in 2004. The USS Texas was commissioned in 2005. The third and fourth ships were commissioned in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The average cost of each ship is US$2.6 billion (divided into development costs), and the Navy estimates that the cost of the fifth ship and subsequent ships will drop to US$1.65 billion.

Design Features

The F-class submarine has an underwater displacement of 7,700 tons; its main dimensions are 114.9×10.4×9.3 (meters); its diving depth is 244 meters; its power plant is a PWRS9G pressurized water reactor , 2 turbines, 24,000 horsepower, single-shaft pump jet propulsion, 1 auxiliary propulsion motor, speed (underwater) 28 knots. Designed to adapt to multi-dimensional warfare, this class of boats has the advantages of good stealth, strong combat capabilities and unlimited endurance. Since 14 of the 18 ships lost by the United States since World War II were destroyed by mines, the F-class submarines will have powerful mine detection capabilities.

While drawing on some features of the Sea Wolf and Los Angeles classes, the design of the F-class submarine has also made certain improvements to adapt to the requirements of operating in coastal waters and providing land fire support in the next century.

This class of boats uses a large number of advanced technologies and systems. The E-class will be equipped with the newly developed AN/BQQ-10 sonar system. The system was successfully tested aboard the USS Augusta (SSN-710) in May 1998. Tests have shown that the system has greatly improved its wide-band detection and tracking range, especially its ability to detect a single passing submarine. In order to conduct surface reconnaissance in shallow waters and cooperate with surface ship operations, the Fu-class replaces the traditional periscope with an advanced photoelectric mast periscope that does not penetrate the pressure-resistant hull. The signals observed by the periscope will be transmitted to the equipment inside the boat through optical fibers.

The shipboard data synthesis system will integrate data from various detection sources, and its connection with underwater, surface, air-based and space-based facilities outside the ship will give it powerful communication capabilities . To meet the needs of the U.S. Navy's network-centric warfare concept, the class of boats will be equipped with advanced electronic support measures capable of detecting, identifying and locating radar and other radio signals. The Submarine Integrated Antenna System (SIAS) specially designed for the F-class enables the boat to communicate with the outside world through a wide-coverage military communication network and high-speed data transmission system.

Another innovation of the Fu class is its reactor, which is not only compact in structure and simple in design, but also has a higher energy density than the reactors of other submarines.

This is the first reactor core designed according to the service life of a submarine. It has a lifespan of 33 years and does not need to be replaced during the entire service period. Therefore, it not only reduces the cost of the submarine's entire life by hundreds of millions of dollars, but also greatly reduces the possible harm to the environment.

In order to ensure that the most advanced technologies and systems are applied on the Fernando class to achieve a higher cost-effectiveness, the U.S. Navy has also taken new measures in the design of the submarine enclosure, periscope and antenna. The design concept of the enclosure has been updated, allowing it to be easily installed with autonomous antennas and periscopes that do not penetrate the pressure-resistant enclosure. This move will help maintain equipment, reduce life-cycle costs, and flexibly deploy special equipment according to combat needs.

The cabin-isolated deck structure not only simplifies the construction and testing of the hull, facilitates the use of existing commercial electronics and other equipment, but also facilitates the adoption of new technologies and equipment at any time.

In order to prevent being attacked by enemy mines while operating in shallow waters, the boat is equipped with a degaussing system that can degauss at any time to reduce magnetic flux. The boat is also equipped with a lightning protection system, which can detect and avoid enemy mines in time. This class of boats is equipped with attached anechoic tiles, is equipped with an ultra-quiet and low-noise nuclear reactor, and has a hull stealth design, which greatly reduces the possibility of being detected by radar.