U.S. Navy’s undersea supremacy led by Super stealthy Virginia class Attack submarines, with Nuclear weapons capability

US Navy  plans to add as many as 32 attack submarines in just the next 15 years. Overall, the addition of attack submarines represents the largest overall platform increase within the Navy’s ambitious plan to grow the fleet to 355 ships. “Battle force inventory reaches 301 in 2020 and 355 in 2034,” Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Chambers, told Warrior Maven. New Navy submarines are hosting an array of breakthrough technologies designed to carve a path into future maritime war; these include more firepower such as Tomahawk missiles and torpedoes, added electrical power for emerging systems such as drones and AI-enabled sensors, navigation and ship defenses.

 

There are many reasons why attack submarines are increasingly in demand; undersea vehicles are often able to conduct reconnaissance missions closer to targets than large-draft surface ships can. Forward positioning enables them to be “stealthier” in coastal areas, inlets or islands. By leveraging an ability to operate closer to enemy shorelines and threat areas than most surface ships, attack submarines can quietly patrol shallow waters near enemy coastline – scanning for enemy submarines, surface ships and coastal threats.As part of this, they can also move substantial firepower, in the form of Tomahawk missiles, closer to inland targets.

 

The Virginia class is the U.S Navy’s next-generation attack submarines that provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation’s undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. They have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable them to meet the Navy’s multi-mission requirements.  The submarine is designed to dive to to depths of 240 meters–800 feet–and beyond. Nearly 28 Virginia-class submarines have been either delivered, are authorised for construction, or are under contract for the US Navy. Overall, the service is planning to acquire 48 Virginia-class subs. The U.S. Navy commissioned, the USS Colorado, on March 17, 2018, the Navy’s 15th Virginia-class attack submarine.

 

Pacific Commander Harry Harris told Congress that he would like to see more submarines in his area of operations. “The Pacific is the principle space where submarines are the most important warfighting capability we have. As far as Virginia-Class submarines, it is the best thing we have,” Harris told lawmakers. “As I mentioned before, we have a shortage in submarines. My submarine requirement is not met in PACOM (Pacific Command).”Virginia-Class attack submarines are necessary for the U.S. to maintain its technological superiority over rivals or potential adversaries such as China, Harris added.

 

Virginia-class underwater vessels have now been upgraded  to  fire nuclear-armed cruise missiles, shifting into a nuclear deterrence role. “While Virginia-class submarines can use conventional deterrence to keep adversaries in check, a sub-launched cruise missile with a nuclear warhead would be incorporated into Virginias and give national command authority additional escalation control,” US navy director of undersea warfare Rear Admiral John Tammen said. Currently only larger ballistic missile submarines are equipped to fire nuclear weapons.

 

He said a sea-launched cruise missile option was needed to combat the rapid technological progress of adversary air-defence systems. “To drop a gravity bomb that is low-yield means a bomber would have to penetrate air defences. Air defences are very different than they were 20 years ago,” he said. Admiral Tammen said adding nuclear weapons capability would give combatant commanders new options to access high-risk areas and coastal regions previously unreachable by surface ships.

 

In addition to added nuclear capabilities, future Virginia-class submarines will be engineered to bring greatly improved coastal water warfare, surveillance and open ocean capabilities. Part of this will be removing the need to manually control each small manoeuvre, with ships to be driven primarily through software code and electronics.

 

The Naval Sea Systems Command awarded a nine-ship — eight with Virginia Payload Module (VPM) — Block V contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) in Dec. 2019. The contract includes an option for one additional submarine with VPM. The Block V contract is a $22.2-billion fixed-price incentive fee, multi-year procurement contract for fiscal years 2019 through 2023. Navy has taken delivery of 18 Virginia-class submarines, and all 10 Block IV submarines are under construction. Contract delivery of the first Block V submarine is FY 2025.

 

“Block V Virginias and Virginia Payload Module are a generational leap in submarine capability for the Navy,” said Program Executive Officer for Submarines Rear Adm. David Goggins. “These design changes will enable the fleet to maintain our nation’s undersea dominance.”