Seawolf-class submarine

The Seawolf class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy. The class was the intended successor to the Los Angeles class, and design work began in 1983.[5] A fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, but that was reduced to 12 submarines. The end of the Cold War and budget constraints led to the cancellation of any further additions to the fleet in 1995, leaving the Seawolf class limited to just three boats. This, in turn, led to the design of the smaller Virginia class. The Seawolf class cost about $3 billion per unit ($3.5 billion for USS Jimmy Carter), making it the most expensive SSN submarine and second most expensive submarine ever, after the French SSBN Triomphant class.

Seawolf class
Class overview
Builders: General Dynamics Electric Boat
Operators:  United States Navy
Preceded by: Los Angeles class
Succeeded by: Virginia class
Cost: $3 billion per unit (equivalent to $5 billion in 2018)[1]
Built: 1989–2005
In commission: 1997–present
Planned: 29
Completed: 3
Cancelled: 26
Active: 3
General characteristics
Type: Nuclear attack submarine
Displacement:

Surfaced: 8,600 tons

Submerged: 9,138 tons, 12,139 tons full, USS Jimmy Carter[2]
Length: 353 ft (108 m)
Beam: 40 ft (12 m)
Propulsion:
  • 1 S6W PWR 45,000 hp (34 MW)
  • 1 secondary propulsion submerged motor
  • 1 shaft
  • 1 pump-jet propeller
Speed:
  • 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) (silent)[3]
  • 35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h) (maximum)[3]
Range: unlimited
Endurance: Only limited by food supplies
Test depth: 1,600 ft (490 m)[4]
Complement: 140
Crew: 14 officers; 126 enlisted
Armament: 8 × 660 mm torpedo tubes (50 Tomahawk land attack missile/Harpoon anti-ship missile/Mk 48 guided torpedo)

Design

The Seawolf design was intended to combat the threat of advanced Soviet ballistic missile submarines such as the Typhoon class, and attack submarines such as the Akula class in a deep-ocean environment. Seawolf-class hulls are constructed from HY-100 steel, which is stronger than the HY-80 steel employed in previous classes, in order to withstand water pressure at greater depths.[6][7]

Seawolf submarines are larger, faster, and significantly quieter than previous Los Angeles-class submarines; they also carry more weapons and have twice as many torpedo tubes. The boats are able to carry up to 50 UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for attacking land and sea surface targets. The boats also have extensive equipment to allow shallow water operations. The class uses the more advanced ARCI Modified AN/BSY-2 combat system, which includes a larger spherical sonar array, a wide aperture array (WAA), and a new towed-array sonar.[8] Each boat is powered by a single S6W nuclear reactor, delivering 45,000 hp (34 MW) to a low-noise pump-jet.

Seawolf-class SSN Profile

As a result of their advanced design, however, Seawolf submarines were much more expensive. The projected cost for 12 submarines of this class was $33.6 billion, but construction was stopped at three boats when the Cold War ended.[9]

Variants

USS Jimmy Carter is roughly 100 feet (30 m) longer than the other two boats of her class, due to the insertion of a section known as the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP) which allows launch and recovery of Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and Navy SEALs.[10] The MMP may also be used as an underwater splicing chamber for tapping of undersea fiber optic cables. This role was formerly filled by the decommissioned USS Parche. Jimmy Carter was modified for this role by General Dynamics Electric Boat at the cost of $887 million.[11]

Boats
Name Hull No. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Seawolf subgroup
Seawolf SSN-21 General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton 25 October 1989 24 June 1995 19 July 1997 Active in service
Connecticut SSN-22 14 September 1992 1 September 1997 11 December 1998 Active in service
Jimmy Carter subgroup
Jimmy Carter SSN-23 General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton 5 December 1998 13 May 2004 19 February 2005 Active in service

See also

References
  1. Trevithick, Joseph (22 October 2018). "Navy Wants New 'Seawolf-Like' Attack Submarines To Challenge Russian And Chinese Threats". Drive Media Inc. Retrieved 9 September 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. "The US Navy – Fact File". US Navy. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  3. SSN Seawolf Class, United States of America Naval Technology
  4. Federation of American Scientists (8 December 1998). "Run Silent, Run Deep". Military Analysis Network. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  5. "Submarine Centennial Chronology". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  6. Polmar, Norman (2004). The Naval Institute guide to the ships and aircraft of the U.S. fleet (18 ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-1-59114-685-8. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  7. Zimmerman, Stan (2000). Submarine Technology for the 21st Century. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-55212-330-0. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  8. "AN/BSY-2 sonar". www.harpoondatabases.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  9. "SSN-21 Seawolf Class". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  10. "USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)". Submarinehistory.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  11. "Seawolf Class". General Dynamics Electric Boat. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
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