Virginia class

   The US Navy's Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine is as a successor to the Los Angeles class. It was designed as a smaller, cheaper and more versatile alternative to the Seawolf class. It is worth mentioning that the Seawolf class showed itself to be too costly and insufficiently versatile at a time after the dissolution of the USSR info the CIS had removed the grand strategic  threat of the Soviet forces and ushered in a new world order demanding cheaper solutions for a whole range of lower threat operational tasks. The US Navy therefore wanted a new generation of SSNs. Production run of the Seawolf was stopped with only three vessels built.

   The Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine, was conceived as an advanced 'stealthy' type with multi-mission capability for the completion of deep-ocean service in the anti-submarine role and also for shallow-water service in a whole range of littoral tasks. A total of 30 of these submarines are planned. Currently five boats of Virginia class are commissioned and are in active service. These are USS Virginia, USS Texas, USS Hawaii, USS North Carolina and USS New Hampshire. The USS New Hampshire is a Block II submarine and has a number of improvements. The Virginia class submarines are built by the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation and Northrop Grumman Newport News. The building programme is in fact collaborative, with Electric Boat making the cylindrical central section of the hull, and Newport News the bow and stern sections as well as three modules to be inserted in the central hull, each of the companies makes the reactor plant module foe the submarine it completes.

   The Virginia class submarines are fitted with 12 vertical launch system (VLS) tubes and four 533-mm torpedo tubes. The VLS can launch 16 submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missile. Torpedo tubes are used to fire a total of 26 Mk.48 heavyweight torpedoes and Sub Harpoon anti-ship missiles. These boats can be also used for special operations. It is the first US submarine to employ a built-in Navy SEAL staging area allowing a team of 9 men to enter and leave the submarine.

   The Virginia class submarines incorporate newly designed anechoic coating, isolated deck structures and new design of propulsor to achieve low acoustic signature. It is claimed that noise level of the Virginia is equal to that of the Seawolf class.

   These submarines are powered by the S9G pressurized water reactor, two turbine engines with one shaft and pumpjet propulsor. It is worth mentioning that nuclear reactor was designed to last as long as the submarine. It will run for 33 years without refueling. Submarines of this class are fitted with with multi-band satellite communication system.