The
Secretary of Defense in his October 1993 bottom-up review
determined that production of the Seawolf class submarine
would cease with the third submarine, and that the Navy
should develop and build a new attack submarine as a more
cost-effective follow-on to the Seawolf class, with
construction beginning in fiscal year 1998 or 1999 at
Electric Boat. The New Attack Submarine is the first U.S.
submarine to be designed for battlespace dominance across a
broad spectrum of regional and littoral missions as well as
open-ocean, "blue water" missions. The program
design goal is to produce a submarine flexible enough to
carry out seven very different missions:
- Covert
Strike by launching land-attack missiles from vertical
launchers and torpedo tubes;
- Anti-Submarine
Warfare with an advanced combat system and a flexible
payload of torpedoes;
- Anti-Ship
Warfare, again, using the advanced combat system and
torpedoes;
- Battle
Group Support with advanced electronic sensors and
communications equipment;
- Covert
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, using
sensors to collect critical intelligence and locate
radar sites, missile batteries and command sites as well
as to monitor communications and track ship movements;
- Covert
Minelaying against enemy shipping; and
- Special
Operations, including search and rescue, reconnaissance,
sabotage, diversionary attacks, and direction of fire
support and strikes.
The
New Attack Submarine is designed for multi-mission
operations and enhanced operational flexibility. SEAWOLF
(SSN-21)-Class quieting has been incorporated in a smaller
hull while military performance has been maintained or
improved. Compared with the Seawolf, the NSSN is slower,
carries fewer weapons, and is less capable in diving depth
and arctic operations. On the other hand, the NSSN is
expected to be as quiet as the Seawolf, will incorporate a
vertical launch system and have improved surveillance as
well as special operations characteristics to enhance
littoral warfare capability. While the 688-I submarines are
noisier than the improved Russian Akula class, the Seawolf
is quieter than Akula and the upcoming Russian SSN-P-IX
class. The primary design driver for the NSSN is acoustic
quietness equal to that of the Seawolf, even at the cost of
reducing maximum top speed. With a focus on the littoral
battlespace, the New Attack Submarine has improved magnetic
stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities, and
Special Warfare enhancements.
The
VIRGINIA Class submarine program has been designed with
long-term technological innovation in mind. The built-in
flexibility of VIRGINIA, including incorporation of modular
design techniques, open architecture, and COTS components,
allows for technological insertion and innovation. As an
example of the flexibility inherent in the design of
VIRGINIA, the Navy anticipates placing an advanced sail on
hulls 5-6 of the VIRGINIA Class. The new sail shape and size
might well provide the required volume for advanced future
payloads.
The
new attack submarine is armed with a variety of weapons. It
carries the most advanced heavyweight torpedoes, mines,
Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs)
for horizontal launch. In addition, Tomahawk missiles are
carried in vertical launch tubes. The New Attack Submarine
also features an integral Lock-Out/Lock-In chamber for
special operations and can host Special Operations Forces'
underwater delivery vehicles.
In
December 1996, Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding
proposed to construct New Attack Submarines as a team,
rather than as competitors. This wase consistent with the
Congressional direction to involve both nuclear submarine
shipbuilders; to foster cooperation between the shipbuilders
on both construction and design improvements; and to
facilitate the cross pollination of knowledge and the
insertion of advanced technology. Both shipbuilders would
use Electric Boat's digital design database to construct New
Attack Submarines and each shipbuilder would specialize in
certain assemblies, thereby approaching single learning
curve efficiencies. Both would initially deliver alternating
ships with Electric Boat delivering the lead fiscal year
1998 submarine.
The
Senate Armed Services committee recommended in July 2000 a
provision that would authorize the Secretary of the Navy to
enter into a contract for up to a total of five Virginia -class
submarines between fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2006.
The provision would authorize the Secretary to continue the
shipbuilder teaming arrangement authorized in the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law
105 85). The Committedd required the Secretary of Defense to
submit a report to the congressional defense committees with
submission of the fiscal year 2002 President's budget to
include a plan for maintaining at least 55 attack submarines
through 2015, and a plan for achieving a force of 18
Virginia -class submarines by 2015; and assessments of
savings to the program of production rates of two submarines
per year, if that rate were to begin in fiscal year 2004 and
construction were to continue at that rate in fiscal year
2006 and thereafter. |
