TSAMTO, December 12. The command of the US Navy announced the ceremony of laying the keel of the SSN-803 Arizona multipurpose submarine of the Virginia class, which took place on December 7 at the General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) shipyard.
SSN-803 "Arizona" is the 30th submarine of the "Virginia" class and the second to be built in the "Block.5". Construction of the submarine began in March 2020. "Arizona" will be the first submarine of the series equipped with the VPM payload Module (Virginia Payload Module), which will significantly expand its combat capabilities. The first submarine version of the "Block.5", SSN-802, will not be equipped with this module.
The Virginia-class submarines that have been built to date have been equipped with 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles in two VLT (Virginia Payload Tubes) vertical launch systems. The addition of an 84-foot section of VPM payload modules in the aft section will allow each submarine to "Block.5" additionally carry 28 Tomahawk missiles (seven in each module), or other payload (UAVs and UAVs for various purposes, sonar systems). With the development of hypersonic missile technologies, a larger Virginia submarine launcher will allow the launch of these munitions.
The length of the Arizona submarine will be 140 m (460 ft), width – 10.4 m (34 ft), displacement – 10200 tons. The submarine will be able to reach a speed of 25 knots underwater.
As reported by TSAMTO, Virginia–class submarines are multi-purpose submarines designed for operations at great and shallow depths, projecting military force, anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare, delivering small groups of SSOs to the site of operations, striking ground targets using sea-based cruise missiles (CRMB) Tomahawk, asymmetric warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, installation of naval mines.
The Virginia-class submarines are being built in accordance with a cooperation agreement signed by General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII Newport News Shipbuilding. In total, for the US Navy, consistently improving combat capabilities, it is planned to build more than 30 submarines of the Virginia series (currently 38 submarines of the series have been ordered). In addition to 18 submarines built in the variants "Block.1", "Block.2" and "Block.3", it is planned to build 10 submarines in the "Block.4", 10 in the variant "Block.5", five boats in the "Block" variant.6" and five in the "Block.7".
To date, 21 submarines have been transferred to the US Navy: Virginia (SSN-774), Hawaii (SSN-776), New Hampshire (SSN-778), Missouri (SSN-780), Mississippi (SSN-782), North Dakota (SSN-784), "Illinois" (SSN-786), "Colorado" (SSN-788), "South Dakota" (SSN-790), "Vermont" (SSN-792), "Oregon" (SSN-793), built by General Dynamics Electric Boat, and "Texas" (SSN-775), "North Carolina" (SSN-777), "New Mexico" (SSN-779), "California" (SSN-781), "Minnesota" (SSN-783), "John Warner" (SSN-785), "Washington" (SSN-787), "Indiana" (SSN-789), "Delaware" (SSN-791) and "Montana" (SSN-794), built at the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard.
