The Virginia class is the latest representative of the United States' successful nuclear attack
submarine tradition.
After the U.S. Navy, the Royal Australian Navy will soon be its operator.
As the Weapon Detectives, we are now investigating the Virginia-class submarines, the silent
underwater system that plays crucial roles in this game of global naval dominance.
The Virginia class is currently one of the best nuclear attack submarines.
It is effective in both oceans and littorals.
And also, depending on the variant, the Virginia class can carry 12 to 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles,
which makes it more than a nuclear attack submarine.
It is designed to replace the older Los Angeles class, which has been the backbone of the
U.S. attack submarine fleet since the 1970s.
Yet, it was not initially the first choice.
When the Soviet Navy changed the balance with highly capable Alfa, Akula, and Sierra class
submarines, the U.S.A. developed the Seawolf class, in 1983, as the successor of the Los
Angeles class.
Initially, Washington had planned to build at least 29 boats over ten years, but the
number was reduced to 12 due to their high prices.
The end of the First Cold War caused further reduction, and only three Seawolves were ever
built.
Yet, the U.S. Navy needed to replace the ageing Los Angeles class.
So, in 1991, Washington approved the development of a new nuclear attack submarine under the
Centurion Study Programme.
As the fruit of this programme, the Virginia class is designed a less expensive alternative
to the Seawolf class.
It was the first U.S. Navy warship designed with the help of computer-aided design and
visualization technology.
The first of its class, USS Virginia, was laid down on September 2, 1999, launched on
August 16, 2003, and commissioned on October 23, 2004.
The first four boats, defined as Block I, were built in 10 modules with each submarine.
Six Block II Virginia-class submarines were constructed in four sections rather than ten
to reduce costs.
The first of this block, USS New Hampshire, was laid down on April 30, 2007, launched
on February 21, 2008, and commissioned on October 25, 2008.
Unlike their predecessors, the Block III submarines have two multipurpose Virginia Payload Tubes.
These tubes replaced the dozen single-purpose cruise missile launch tubes of Block I and
II.
The other difference of the Block III variant is its horseshoe-shaped Large Aperture Bow
sonar array.
This sonar replaced the spherical main sonar array, a shared feature on all U.S. submarines
since 1960.
The spherical main sonar array was air-backed.
The Large Aperture Bow sonar array, which consists of a passive array and a medium-frequency
active array, is water-backed.
The first of this block, USS North Dakota, was laid down on May 11, 2012, launched on
September 15, 2013, and commissioned on October 25, 2014.
In 2014, the U.S. Navy ordered 10 Block IV Virginia-class boats.
This new variant has a longer deployment time between major maintenance periods.
The first of this block, USS Vermont, was laid down in February 2017, launched on March
29, 2019, and commissioned on April 18, 2020.
The Block V is the latest version of the Virginia class.
The first boat of this version, USS Oklahoma, was authorized for construction on December
2, 2019.
She is still under construction.
The Block V submarines will have an additional Virginia Payload Module mid-body section.
So, they will be 25 metres longer and 2,400 tons heavier than their predecessors.
They will be able to carry 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles instead of 12.
The U.S. Navy plans to have 10 Block V Virginia-class boats to replace four Ohio-class nuclear cruise
missile submarines, which will be decommissioned in the next ten years.
Some sources claim that the U.S.A. may also build ten additional Block Vs besides five
Block VIs and five Block VIIs.
The U.S.A. intends to sell at least three Virginia-class submarines to Australia.
The Congressional approval is still pending.
These three boats will fulfil the gap between when the Royal Australian Navy retired its
Collins-class diesel-electric submarines and the introduction of new nuclear-powered SSN-AUKUS
submarines.
Also, Australia may acquire two additional Virginia class boats if the SSN-AUKUS may
experience a possible delay.
According to Jane's Fighting Ships, the complement of the Virginia class is 134 people.
The submarine has a length of 114.9 metres and a beam of 10.4 metres.
Its surfaced displacement is 6,390 tons, while its submerged displacement is 7,800 tons.
One 280,000-horsepower General Electric PWR S9G nuclear reactor and two 40,000-horsepower
steam turbines provide 25-knot surfaced speed and 34-knot submerged speed.
The Virginia class has a diving depth of 490 metres.
It can launch Mk 48 torpedoes and UGM-84 Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles from its four 533mm torpedo
tubes.
There are many innovative technologies in the Virginia class.
First, instead of a traditional periscope, it has a photonic mast with high-resolution
cameras, light-intensification and infrared sensors, an infrared laser rangefinder, and
an integrated electronic support measures array.
This design does not require penetrating the pressure hull.
So, while the structural integrity of the pressure hull is increased, the risk of flooding
is reduced.
The control room of a submarine with a traditional periscope has to be below the sail/fin.
The photonic mast also allows the control room to be located anywhere in the pressure
hull.
Yet, since the visual appearance of their photonics masts is so different from the ordinary
periscopes, it also brings a disadvantage.
The mast is the only visually exposed part of a submerged submarine.
So, an observer could detect the boat's class by the shape of its masts.
For the Virginia-class boats, this is much easier because the visual appearance of their
photonics masts is so different from the ordinary periscopes.
To prevent this handicap, the U.S. Navy is replacing current photonic masts with Low-Profile
Photonics Masts, which resemble traditional submarine periscopes more closely.
They are also considering equipping the Virginia-class submarines with a mast, which does not require
rotating for a 360-degree view.
As another innovative design feature, the Virginia class has a pump-jet propulsor, which
gives the submarine better performance in both oceans and the littoral.
It also makes the boats more silent.
The conventional blade propulsors produce steam bubbles because of frictional heat when
they rotate at high speed.
When these bubbles pop, they make noise.
It is called cavitation.
The pump jet significantly reduces the risks of cavitation.
The pressured hull and the sail/fin of the Virginia-class submarines are coated with
special materials to reduce acoustic signature.
Due to rapid progress in technology, the hardware and software of electronic systems almost
instantly become outdated.
That's why, people change their smartphones with advanced models in a couple of years
and update applications constantly.
Likewise, the U.S. Navy generally upgrades the hardware of its submarines' electronics
every four years.
This period is two years for the software updates.
The designer of the Virginia class preferred Open System Architecture for Sonar arrays
aboard the boat.
Thus, new hardware and software can be inserted rapidly and effortlessly as they become available.
The U.S. Navy plans to replace the current electro-hydraulic systems of the boat for
control surface actuation with a fibre optic fly-by-wire Ship Control System.
One of the other planned innovative upgrades for the Virginia class is to install a high-energy
laser weapon on the boat.
Some surface ships of the U.S. Navy are already equipped with this kind of weapon for test
purposes.
Fitting the Virginia-class submarines with a laser weapon can change the future of anti-submarine
warfare.
Modern submarines are fearful opponents against surface combatants.
They are hard to detect while they have sophisticated sensors, long-range torpedoes and missiles.
Since the Second World War, submarines have never lost against warships.
PNS Hangor sunk INS Khukri on December 9, 1971.
HMS Conqueror sunk ARA General Belgrano on May 2, 1982.
In the 1982 Falklands War, ARA San Luis could not sink any British ship.
But, the Royal Navy could not also hunt down her either.
In 2001, the German Type 206-class diesel-electric submarine U-24 won a mock-up victory against
the carrier USS Enterprise.
In 2015 and 2016, HMS Gotland managed to penetrate the defensive measures of a U.S. carrier strike
group and snap several pictures of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
So, we may say destroyers and frigates are not the primary submarine hunters anymore.
But, their helicopters have taken over this role.
The current submarines do not have any effective weapon system against air targets.
However, a submarine with a laser weapon on its mast could shoot down a helicopter while
submerged.
At least it would force the air target to cut its dipping sonar and flee.
A high-energy laser weapon needs a powerful energy source.
The Virginia-class submarines' 30-Megawatt S9G nuclear reactors can provide this energy.
Currently, over 20 Virginia-class submarines are in the U.S. Navy service.
Two are launched, and eleven are under construction.
Also, Washington approved four additional Virginia-class boats, which means the acquisition
of these submarines will continue through 2043, and they will serve until the 2070s.
So, we will see them for the next 50 years.
The Virginia class will be the essential element in the underwater front of this new era, which
we define as the Second Cold War.
And it might change whole anti-submarine warfare concepts.
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