december
05-05-2007, 10:34 PM
05/ 05/ 2007
http://www.mnc.com/images/Virginia%20Class%20Sub/VirginiaClassSub.jpg
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 4 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest nuclear-powered attack submarine at Groton, Conn., Saturday.
Admiral Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, arrived for a ceremony to officially commission the 7,800-ton, 117-m Virginia class SSN 776 Hawaii just released from General Dynamics' Electric Boat shipyard.
The Pentagon touts Virginia class submarines, three (including Hawaii) already operational and another seven contracted for Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News, as the first major combatant ships approved since the end of the Cold War.
Powered by non-rechargeable nuclear reactors, they can operate globally, combining warfighting and intelligence/reconnaissance missions onshore, in the littoral areas, and at open seas thanks to long endurance, advanced connectivity options, a weapons load including Mk 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk land attack missiles, and an advanced SEAL delivery system.
Donald C. Winter, the Secretary of the Navy, described these submarines as the weapon that will enable the United States to effectively respond to new threats and challenges, and will give its forces the required flexibility, as Virginia class submarines can be assigned individual missions and are also fully integratable with carrier strike groups.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070505/64959939.html
The Virginia class (or SSN-774 class) of attack submarines are the first U.S. subs to be designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions around the world. They were designed as a cheaper alternative to the Cold War era Seawolf-class attack submarines, and are slated to replace aging Los Angeles class subs, thirteen of which have already been decommissioned.
The Virginias incorporate several innovations. Instead of periscopes, the subs have a pair of two extendable "photonics masts" outside the pressure hull. Each contains several high-resolution cameras with light-intensification and infrared sensors, an infrared laser rangefinder, and an integrated Electronic Support Measures (ESM) array. Signals from the masts' sensors are transmitted through fiber optic data lines through signal processors to the control center. They also make use of pump-jet propulsors for quieter operations.
Virginia class submarine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Virginia (SSN 774) Christened August 16, 2003
http://www.nn.northropgrumman.com/news/2003/030819_va_christening
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/GrotonCTseal.jpg
Groton is the home of the Electric Boat Corporation, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy, and the Navy's SUBASE New London. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer is also a major employer. The Avery Point section of Groton is home to a regional campus of the University of Connecticut.
http://www.mnc.com/images/Virginia%20Class%20Sub/VirginiaClassSub.jpg
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 4 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest nuclear-powered attack submarine at Groton, Conn., Saturday.
Admiral Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, arrived for a ceremony to officially commission the 7,800-ton, 117-m Virginia class SSN 776 Hawaii just released from General Dynamics' Electric Boat shipyard.
The Pentagon touts Virginia class submarines, three (including Hawaii) already operational and another seven contracted for Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News, as the first major combatant ships approved since the end of the Cold War.
Powered by non-rechargeable nuclear reactors, they can operate globally, combining warfighting and intelligence/reconnaissance missions onshore, in the littoral areas, and at open seas thanks to long endurance, advanced connectivity options, a weapons load including Mk 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk land attack missiles, and an advanced SEAL delivery system.
Donald C. Winter, the Secretary of the Navy, described these submarines as the weapon that will enable the United States to effectively respond to new threats and challenges, and will give its forces the required flexibility, as Virginia class submarines can be assigned individual missions and are also fully integratable with carrier strike groups.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070505/64959939.html
The Virginia class (or SSN-774 class) of attack submarines are the first U.S. subs to be designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions around the world. They were designed as a cheaper alternative to the Cold War era Seawolf-class attack submarines, and are slated to replace aging Los Angeles class subs, thirteen of which have already been decommissioned.
The Virginias incorporate several innovations. Instead of periscopes, the subs have a pair of two extendable "photonics masts" outside the pressure hull. Each contains several high-resolution cameras with light-intensification and infrared sensors, an infrared laser rangefinder, and an integrated Electronic Support Measures (ESM) array. Signals from the masts' sensors are transmitted through fiber optic data lines through signal processors to the control center. They also make use of pump-jet propulsors for quieter operations.
Virginia class submarine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Virginia (SSN 774) Christened August 16, 2003
http://www.nn.northropgrumman.com/news/2003/030819_va_christening
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/GrotonCTseal.jpg
Groton is the home of the Electric Boat Corporation, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy, and the Navy's SUBASE New London. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer is also a major employer. The Avery Point section of Groton is home to a regional campus of the University of Connecticut.