They have more in common with the Ohio class guided missile submarines, or SSGNs-a high-demand, utilitarian source of guided missile firepower, unmanned platforms and commandos-than with the average attack sub. To be frank, the Block V Virginia subs should be a class of their own. technology is advancing in a way that “variants” do not. There is something of a prestige factor in developing new vessel or submarine classes-even if there is not an enormous amount of difference, new classes imply to both domestic and international audiences that U.S. Put bluntly, the Pentagon’s pathological fear of a “new start” may encourage the development of sub-optimal solutions to avoid testing and trials requirements inherent in a “new” platform. While variants have worked well for the Virginia class, the time-consuming and expensive bureaucratic requirements that face new programs may discourage innovation and incentivize the Navy to keep older platforms in service longer than is prudent. New programs breed new bureaucracies, with each new class needing their own training schemes, supply-bases and other redundancies. If the Virginia class production run had been split into two or even three new classes, the subs would be forced to work through rigorous and expensive testing and validation programs that naval “variants” often do not need to complete. The problem the Virginia class has had with hull coatings has been a decade-long technical irritant and the technical fixes have been far too slow in coming.Īnother reason why the Virginia class has not been differentiated into separate classes is that new sub or ship classes, as new “programs of record”, can become expensive endeavors. That said, the constant focus on design has, potentially, allowed pesky engineering challenges to persist. But by integrating constant improvements and forcing significant design changes into follow-on block buys, the Navy-in conjunction with General Dynamics-has done an admirable job of keeping America’s fragile submarine design community intact and relatively healthy. The last thing conventional shipyard bosses want to do is to make big design changes. So, while the shipyard is happily churning out ships or subs, designers can easily become redundant, and can be the first to be fired when a shipyard runs into a cost overrun or managers want to tighten operational margins. But in a block buy, the primary effort shifts from the design to production, so designers are often relegated to making small changes that largely only enhance production efficiency. Every shipbuilder wants a big block buy that offers stable, steady production work. Navy and America’s submarine industrial base has kept America’s fragile cadre of sub designers active and gainfully employed. By quietly changing the overall Virginia class design, the U.S. prepare for the Columbia class ballistic missile submarine. Navyįirst, the continuous variation in Virginia class submarine design has helped the U.S. But the Virginia class has managed to absorb the change, evolving from a cheap attack submarine to something of a mini guided-missile boat, or maybe a thinner, less robust version of the USS Jimmy Carter (a specialized final variant of the Seawolf).Ī somewhat tattered USS Hawaii returns from deployment U.S. Few navies-at least in modern history-have the capability to change over forty percent of an original design and still characterize it as a single class. In essence, the Block I and II, the Flight III and IV and the Block V boats could, conceivably be treated as three separate classes. When the Block V boats enter the fleet, almost half of the Virginia class submarine will have been re-crafted. But the new Block V boats, by adding the payload tubes and making other changes, induced another 20 percent change in the overall Virginia class design. The next ten “Block IV” boats, under construction today, made changes that reduced fabrication and operating expenses. ![]() The last Block III, the USS Delaware (SSN 791) will be commissioned into the fleet in early 2020. With a new sonar array and large diameter vertical payload tubes, over twenty percent of the sub was redesigned. The next eight “Block III” boats, however, had a redesigned bow. The first ten Block I and II submarines are basically the same design. As a smaller boat, with a smaller crew, fewer weapons and other reduced capabilities, the Virginia Class has been upgraded and tweaked ever since. The Virginia class was meant to be the more economical, low-cost alternative.
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