Washington. December 11. INTERFAX - The US Navy has received $98 million to continue research and development work on the creation of a new generation nuclear submarine with the conditional name SSN(X), follows from the report of the Congressional Research Service.
It will have to gradually replace the current Virginia-type nuclear attack submarines in the early 2030s. The SSN(X) submarines being developed will be more optimized to deal with future threats of a potential enemy, including having greater speed, noiselessness and invisibility, as well as carrying more weapons for anti-submarine warfare.
It is assumed that the first new-generation SSN(X) submarine will be purchased in fiscal year 2031 along with the next Virginia-class submarine. Then, in fiscal years 2032 and 2033, the last four Virginia-class boats will be purchased, and in 2034, two SSN(X) submarines.
According to the 30-year plan, it is planned to purchase two or three SSN(X) submarines annually. As a result, by 2048, the number of new-generation submarines should reach at least 66 units. The cost of one such submarine is estimated at $5.8-6.2 billion.
Currently, the US Navy has 19 fourth-generation multipurpose submarines of the Virginia type, the first of which was introduced into the US Navy in 2004, three fourth-generation multi-purpose submarines of the Seawolf type and 28 obsolete multi-purpose submarines of the Los Angeles type (accepted into the fleet in 1985-96).
