Navy New Virginia Block VI Virginia Attack Boat Will 信息rm SSN(X) (Re: USNI News)
新闻报道
The submarine community is nearing a plan for its Block VI Virginia-class submarine, which will be an improvement in stealth 和 capability compared to the boats under construction today 和 will be a bridge to the upcoming SSN(X) program.
The Block V Virginia submarines – the first three of which have already begun construction – represent the first time the Navy has made a major investment in increasing the capability of this class of ship. Whereas past blocks have focused on construction 和 maintenance efficiencies, 并且通过定期的软件更新增加了增量功能, the Block V design adds 28 more missile tubes to greatly enhance the strike capability of these SSNs, 潜艇项目执行官员. David Goggins said this week at the Naval Submarine League annual symposium.
Block VI will continue that trend of adding new capability 和 lethality to the boats, which will be procured in a multiyear contract from Fiscal Years 2024 through 2028.
“Block VI will focus on building upon the acoustic superiority” technology that’s being built into 和 tested on the future 南达科塔州 (ssn - 790), 以及“真正实现海底有机, 海底作战装备首次发布.”
具体地说, 他说 the Navy 和 industry are working on improved stealth to operate in a contested environment; enhanced sonar performance through a new bow conformal array; 和 the ability to sense 和 interact with more of the water column, 包括海床.
Goggins said those ideas have been chosen as priorities for Block VI for two reasons: first, 他们将在短期内提高弗吉尼亚级的能力, 和第二, they’ll help prove out technologies that could influence the next-generation SSN(X) design.
“We’ll spend the next year evaluating the maturity 和 feasibility of these capabilities [on the slide he presented], 明年也会被淘汰. 这将使我们的技术更加成熟。.
戈金斯的幻灯片也强调了推进器, 改进有效载荷和车辆承载, improved situational awareness 和 additional payloads as features of the Block VI design.
在次级联赛的其他地方, it was clear that the rest of the submarine force is eagerly eyeing the SSN(X) program 和 what kinds of improvements are within the realm of the possible for that program.
副Adm. Daryl粥汤, 海军潜艇部队和大西洋潜艇部队指挥官, said during his presentation that SSN(X) could be based on the Virginia design, could be based on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN-826) design, 或者可以是一个全新的设计.
“We’re going to get alternatives 和 make decisions on how to make this new SSN match what we need to stay ahead of our peers. This is definitely going to be increased speed: there’s no question that speed is basically important to improve every single joint warfare function. 速度太重要了——它在我们所有的战争游戏中都发挥得很好, 所以它有助于弥补错误的决定, it also helps us get to the fight faster 和 helps us in all-domain maneuver warfare,他说.
“We can never get enough payload capacity, so we do want submarines with large payload capacity. And what’s that going to look like in the future 和 how’s it going to be modular 和 customizable is going to be important. 当然,隐身很重要,但不仅仅是声音隐身. 它在所有领域都是隐形的. 当这个新的SSN推出时, we are going to have peer competitors that are going to be able to detect us not just acoustically but through algorithms that are going to break the water interface. 所以这些能力, 我们认为, 来了, 和 we have to build 和 basically remain cl和estine with those types of capabilities in play.”
Adm. 弗兰克·考德威尔, the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program 和 a senior submarine officer in the Navy, echoed in his remarks the three design options 和 said that “key in all of this will be our focus on speed, 作战能力, 更大的能源, 致命性和传感器, 和, 是的, 下一个隐形级别. I want you to know that we are working on this very actively as an enterprise.”
USNI News此前曾报道 the Navy may be leaning towards a Columbia-like hull for its next attack submarine. With the much wider diameter comes the ability to achieve greater speed 和 stealth. An SSN(X) design like this would be reminiscent of the Seawolf design – which was used for just three submarines as the Cold War was winding down but is considered the Navy’s most capable attack sub.
在活动期间的单独演讲中, Congressional Research Service naval affairs specialist Ron O’Rourke said, “I remember one person in public describing the Seawolf-class as a boat that was designed to go up into the Soviets’ backyard 和 do a lot of damage before it had to come home to be rearmed – 和 so it was designed to be a fairly fast submarine 和 heavily armed, 尤其是与当时的洛杉矶级设计相比. So in light of the Navy now talking about this next-generation attack boat being fast 和 heavily armed, 这并不奇怪, 正如一些人猜测的那样, if that submarine were to have a diameter similar to that of the Seawolf or the Columbia-class design, 大概在40到43英尺之间.”
如果是这样的话, 他说, SSN(X) might have a similar diameter to Seawolf but a greater displacement, due to modernization in engineering such as the SSN(X) likely having a larger electric drive system instead of a mechanical one.
作者:梅根·埃克斯坦