Seawolf-class submarine
Top: USS Seawolf (SSN-21) underway
Middle: Seawolf subgroup (boats 1 and 2) profile Bottom: USS Jimmy Carter (boat 3) profile | |
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 $6 billion in 2023)[1] |
Built | 1989–2005 |
In commission | 1997–present |
Planned | 29 |
Completed | 3 |
Cancelled | 26 |
Active | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Nuclear attack submarine |
Displacement |
|
Length |
|
Beam | 40 ft (12 m) |
Propulsion | |
Speed | |
Range | Unlimited |
Endurance | Only limited by food supplies |
Test depth | 1,600 ft (490 m)[6] |
Complement | 140 |
Crew | 14 officers; 126 enlisted |
Armament | 8 × 26.5-inch torpedo tubes, sleeved for 21-inch weapons[7] (up to 50 Tomahawk land attack missile/Harpoon anti-ship missile/Mk 48 guided torpedo carried in torpedo room)[8] |
The Seawolf class is a class of
Design
The Seawolf design was intended to combat the threat of advanced Soviet ballistic missile submarines such as the
Seawolf-class 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
As a result of their advanced design, however, Seawolf-class 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.[14]
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.[15] 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 now decommissioned USS Parche. Jimmy Carter was modified for this role by General Dynamics Electric Boat at a cost of $887 million.[16]
Boats in class
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
- List of submarine classes of the United States Navy
- List of submarines of the United States Navy
- List of submarine classes in service
- Submarines in the United States Navy
- Cruise missile submarine
- Attack submarine
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The US Navy – Fact File". US Navy. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ^ Alan Kuperman; Frank von Hippel (10 April 2020). "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". IPFM Blog.
- ^ a b "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. June 2015. p. 32. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "S6W Advanced Fleet Reactor". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ Federation of American Scientists (8 December 1998). "Run Silent, Run Deep". Military Analysis Network. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ Schank, John F.; Cesse, Cameron; Ip, Frank W.; Lacroix, Robert; Murphy, Mark V.; Arena, Kristy N.; Kamarck; Lee, Gordon T. (2011). "Learning from Experience: Volume II: Lessons from the U.S. Navy's Ohio, Seawolf, and Virginia Submarine Programs". rand.org.
- ^ "Attack Submarines - SSN". United States Navy Fact Files. United States Navy. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ a b "SSN Seawolf Class". naval-technology.com.
- ^ "Submarine Centennial Chronology". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-685-8.
- ]
- ^ "AN/BSY-2 sonar". www.harpoondatabases.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "SSN-21 Seawolf Class". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ "USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)". Submarinehistory.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
- ^ "Seawolf Class". General Dynamics Electric Boat. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.