Virginia-class submarine

Virginia-class SSN profile
USS Virginia underway in July 2004
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Preceded bySeawolf class
Succeeded bySSN(X) class[3]
Cost$2.8 billion per unit (2019);[1] $4.3 billion per unit w/VPM (2023)[2]
Built2000–present
In commission2004–present
Planned66[2]
On order4
Building10
Completed24
Active22
General characteristics
TypeNuclear attack submarine
Displacement
  • Submerged:
  • Block I–IV: 7,900 t (8,700 short tons)
  • Block V: 10,200 t (11,200 short tons)[4]
Length
  • 377 ft (115 m)
  • 460 ft (140 m) for Block V[4]
Beam34 ft (10 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × S9G nuclear reactor[5] 280,000 hp (210 MW)
  • 2 × steam turbines 40,000 shp (30 MW)
  • 1 × single shaft pump-jet propulsor[5]
  • 1 × secondary propulsion motor[5]
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) or over[9]
RangeUnlimited
EnduranceOnly limited by food and maintenance requirements.
Test depthOver 800 ft (240 m)[6]
Complement135 (15 officers; 120 enlisted)
Armament

The Virginia class, or the SSN-774 class, is the latest class of nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack submarines in service with the United States Navy. Designed by General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries, the Virginia class incorporates the latest in stealth, intelligence gathering, and weapons systems.[10][11]

Virginia-class submarines are designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions, including anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering operations. They are scheduled to replace older Los Angeles-class submarines, many of which have already been decommissioned. Virginia-class submarines will be acquired through 2043, and are expected to remain in service until at least 2060, with later submarines expected to operate into the 2070s.[12][13]

On 14 March 2023, the trilateral Australian-British-American security pact known as AUKUS announced that the Royal Australian Navy would purchase three Virginia-class submarines as a stopgap measure between the retirement of their conventionally powered Collins-class submarines and the acquisition of the future SSN-AUKUS class submarines. If the SSN-AUKUS fell behind schedule, Australia would have the option of purchasing two additional Virginia-class submarines.[14][15]

  1. ^ O'Rourke, Ronald (16 April 2019). Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congres (Report). CRS Report for Congress, RL32418. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b O'Rourke, Ronald (6 July 2023). Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congres (Report). CRS Report for Congress, RL32418. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  3. ^ Larson, Caleb (14 December 2021). "Why the US Navy's New SSN(X) Submarine Could Change Everything". Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference blockVa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Ragheb, Magdi (9 September 2011). Tsvetkov, Pavel (ed.). Nuclear Naval Propulsion. ISBN 978-953-307-474-0.
  6. ^ "How deep can a submarine dive?". navalpost.com. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  7. ^ "An Analysis of the Navy's Fiscal Year 2013 Shipbuilding Plan" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office. July 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  8. ^ O'Rouke, Ronald (17 May 2017). "Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017 – via Federation of American Scientists.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NavyFactFile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "History of Ships Named for the State of North Carolina - Battleships NC". Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Submarine surge: Why the Navy plans 32 new attack subs by 2034". Warrior Maven. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  12. ^ Osborn, Kris (12 February 2014). "Navy Considers Future After Virginia-class Subs". Defensetech.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  13. ^ Thompson, Loren (6 May 2014). "Five Reasons Virginia-Class Subs Are the Face of Future Warfare". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  14. ^ Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak; President of the United States of America Joseph R. Biden (14 March 2023). "Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS". Prime Minister of Australia (Press release). Retrieved 14 March 2023. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
  15. ^ Stewart, Cameron (14 March 2023). "Big gamble, but even bigger benefits in AUKUS subs". The Australian. Retrieved 17 March 2023.