Image source: topwar.ru
Currently, the U.S. Navy consist of nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles (SSBN), submarines with cruise missiles and special operations forces (SOF) and nuclear attack submarines (SSN) of the Virginia class. In the 2013-14 year, the Pentagon began to discuss the issue on deep modernization of existing submarines, but later in the military decided to build a submarine of the new generation SSN (X) from scratch. All work and funding for the creation of new submarines are conducted under control of the U.S. Congress. Excerpts from the open part of the next report to Congress publishes departmental portal USNI News.
In last year's report to Congress, the Pentagon announced that the first submarine of the new generation is planned to launch in 2031 at the same time with the last submarine Virginia. Judging by the present report, the term of receipt of the SSN (X) into service of the Navy shifted roughly until the mid 30-ies of the present century. The report noted that the exact design of the boat has not yet been determined. The Virginia class submarines operated by the naval forces of the United States since 1998, each year the water is lowered two such submarines.
Nuclear submarine of the new generation, according to the plans of the developers, will have a much greater displacement than the "Virginia". The possibility of the creation and implementation of the new nuclear power plant reactor to low-enriched uranium would be an improved energy and economic parameters. In the Arsenal of the SSN (X) will be presented to all available types of weapons — the mine and torpedo, mine installation missiles of different types. The new submarines will be equipped with a set of unmanned underwater vehicles for different purposes.
The proposed budget of the Navy in 2023 to Fund research and development program for the SSN (X) will be of 237 million dollars. What is the cost of the entire project development and construction of the vessel is still unknown. Submarine of the Virginia class cost US about $ 3.6 billion per submarine. They are built at two shipyards unit of electric submarines, General Dynamics (GD / EB) in Groton, CT, and Quonset point, Michigan, and Newport News Shipbuilding (HII / NNS), of Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport news, Virginia.
The Pentagon report notes that the class submarine SSN (X) will be multi-purpose. In fact, the new submarines will combine all the capabilities of the submarines, which now are in service with the U.S. Navy. Submarine of the new generation will be able to perform various tasks in peacetime and wartime. Earlier, the Pentagon stressed that the development of class submarines SSN (X) needed in the framework of the confrontation of the growing naval power of China and strengthen the military presence of China in the East and South China seas. The American military said that "the SSN (X) can change the situation, if Taiwan will still have to deal with mainland China for their independence in ten years."
Earlier, another us based online publication 19fortyfive, talking about the prospects of the project SSN (X), called a "modest" amount of funding the development of the submarine of the new generation, which in 2022 has allocated a total of $ 30 million from 98 million requested for research and design of the appearance of the submarine.
Interested in allocating resources in the Pentagon and the U.S. Congress — in the "black hole" of the Ukrainian conflict, pour billions of dollars, and strategic projects of re sorry the tens of millions. Perhaps only for the reason that in the Ukrainian version to check the traffic of spending will not work nor any of the expert Committee...
