Page 32: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2024)

SUBSEA VEHICLES DEFENSE

USS Baltimore (SSN 704) served for just 15 and a half years in 2004, and the newest, USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795) of active service. joining the ? eet in October of 2023. Newer versions will be

Los Angeles-class submarines carried MK-48 heavyweight ? tted with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) within a 70- torpedoes, submarine launched mines, and both Tomahawk foot hull section to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles and the and Harpoon missiles. Later ships in the class had vertical Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missile. launch missile tubes located forward of the pressure hull to Like the 688s, the Virginia-class boats are built in both Hun- extend their weapons-carrying capacity. tington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding and

Both Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia and General General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard.

Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut built the 688s. They Three additional Virginia-class boats will be built for Aus- are the only two shipyards that build nuclear powered ships tralia as part of the trilateral Australian-British-American se- in the U.S. Newport News was also building Nimitz-class curity pact known as AUKUS. Eventually Australia will build nuclear powered aircraft carriers. while and EB was building the future SSN-AUKUS class submarines in Australia.

the Ohio-class of ballistic missile submarines during this time. To test and re? ne the designs for the Seawolf and Virginia

The SSN-21 Seawolf class was intended to follow the 688s class submarines, the Navy built Large Scale Vehicles (LSVs), as the next generation of attack boats for the 21st century, and operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Di- designed for the Soviet Navy threat. vision’s Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD) on Lake Pend

Originally 29 were to be built, but only three were completed, Oreille in Bayview, Idaho. Kokanee (LSV 1) is an unmanned, with the third, USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) was built with fa- powered one-quarter scale model of the Seawolf (SSN-21). cilities for carrying special operations vehicles and unmanned Cutthroat (LSV 2) is one-quarter-scale model of the Virginia- systems, as well as the ability to operate near the bottom to class boats, and is the world’s largest underwater autonomous conduct special tasks. submarine vehicle. They are used as demonstrator vehicles for

As the Cold War ended, the need for the capability have way testing the hydrodynamic and acoustic properties of the hull to the less capable and expensive USS Virginia class (SSN design and other advanced technologies. Following the end of 774) class. The current program of record is for 66 boats, with t he Cold War and the establishment of treaty limitations of 23 now active in the ? eet. The lead ship was commissioned submarine launched ballistic missile warheads, the Navy took

The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Annapolis (SSN 760) departs Guam, March 3.

U.S. photo by Lt. Eric Uhden 32 January/February 2024

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