MORE TOMAHAWKS, PLEASE, and no new BOOMERS til 2031 VIRGINIA-class (SSN) submarines are engineered to replace the 1980s-era LOS ANGELES-class attack submarines and are being built in block increments. Blocks I and II, totaling 10 ships, have already been delivered to the Navy. Block III boats are currently under construction. The first Block III boat, the USS NORTH DAKOTA, was christened this past November and is slated for delivery this coming April. Navy engineers are now working on requirements and early designs for a new, 70-foot module for Virginia-class submarines engineered to house an additional 28 Tomahawk missiles. The Virginia Payload Modules, or VPM, are slated to enter production in fiscal year 2019 as part of a Virginia-class Block V contract. With the VPM, Block V Virginia-class submarines will increase the vertical launch missile capability from 12 to 40 The Navy plans to build two Virginia-class submarines per year for less than $2.5 billion each and build the OHIO REPLACEMENT PROGRAM submarine, a next-generation nuclear-armed submarine, for less than $5 billion. Read more: DefenseTech ow.ly/uuFty
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 04:47:48 +0000