Photo Album - Seawolf-class submarine

Characteristics

Country:United States of America
Function:Nuclear Attack Submarine
Builder:General Dynamics Electric Boat
Release Year:1995
Class:'Seawolf'
Standard displacement:7.568t
Maximum Displacement:9.1420t
Length:107,5m
Width:12m
Draft:11m
Garrison:116 men
Depth:610m
Maximum speed:Submerged: 35 knots; Surface: 18 knots
Propulsion:
- 1 S6W PWR 45,000 hp
- 1 secondary propulsion submerged engine
Nr. Axes:1
Autonomy:Unlimited except for restocking supplies to the crew
Missiles
- 50 UGM-109 Tomahawk (Range: 2500 km)
- 50 UGM-84 Sub Harpoon (Anti-ship) (Range: 130km)
Torpedoes
- 8 tubes 660 mm
- 100 Mines
- 50 MK-48 ADCAP torpedoes (Range: 50 km in active mode and 38 km in passive mode)
Sonares
- BQQ 5D sonar suite, BQS 24
Radars
- BPS I-band navigation radar
Other Systems
- Combat System Lockheed Martin BSY-2
- WLY-1 anti-torpedo countermeasures
- Central Combat System (CCS) MK2
- Link 11 Tactical data link
- OTCIXS Tactical data link

• SSN-21 'USS Seawolf'
• SSN-22 'USS Connecticut'
• SSN-23 'USS Jimmy Carter'

The submarine USS Seawolf, of the United States Navy, can be considered as the last descendant of the cold war period. It was designed to destroy strategic submarines of the Soviet navy that threatened North American territory and its allies.

To achieve this goal, Seawolf was designed to have the most advanced naval warfare systems ever built into a submarine, as well as being the quietest submarine in the world. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the cold war was 'won' by the West, and with the change in the international scenario, the high costs of Seawolf began to cause discomfort in the United States Congress and in the Department of Defense. Thanks to this problem, the seawolf program was completed after the delivery of the third submarine of this class, which was initially to replace the already tired fleet of Los Angeles class submarines. However, the need to replace the large Los Angeles fleet still existed. The solution was to develop an advanced submarine, but much less sophisticated, and therefore cheaper than the expensive Seawolf. That submarine, the Virginia class, already described in this blog, was the definitive solution for the force of attack submarines of the United States Navy for the beginning of the 21st century.

After that, let's return to the focus of this work, which is to describe what can be considered the most advanced nuclear attack submarine ever built. Nuclear Submarine SSN-21 USS Seawolf The Seawolf incorporates an advanced electronic intelligence capability that allows the investigation and recording of the entire communication network of the enemy, while he is navigating the coast of hostile territory.

The combat control system is the AN / BYG-1 produced by Raytheon which is also responsible for the MK-2 shot control system. The sonar suite of the Seawolf is formed by the BQQ-5D hull-mounted sonar with active and passive broadband scanning in addition to a towed sonar TB-19 A developed by Lockheed Martin. A short range sonar BQS-24 also equips this submarine.

Currently Seawolf is undergoing an update in which an AN / BQQ-10 (V-4) sonar processing system developed by Lockheed Martin under the program Acoustic-Rapid Commercial-Off-The- Shelf Insertion (A-RCI) which aims to standardize sonar systems on American ships. A BPS-16 navigation radar is also installed on Seawolf.