Class frigate - Maestrale

The Maestrale class is a class of frigate in the Marina Militare (Italian Navy). The class is composed of eight vessels, all of which were built by Fincantieri S.p. A, Riva Trigoso, except for Grecale, which was built by Fincantieri S.p.A. - Muggiano, La Spezia.
The Maestrale class frigates were primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare, however the ships are highly flexible so they are also capable of anti-air and anti-surface operations. Ships of this class have been widely used in various international missions, either under NATO or ONU flag, and during normal operations of the Italian Navy.
The first of these ships entered in service in early 1982. The rest of the fleet was launched over the next three years. The ships of the Maestrale class are scheduled to be replaced by the Rinascimento class starting in 2011.

Design

These ships were built with the experience and the technology already developed for the previous Lupo class. The Maestrale were quite bigger and heavier, so they were slower, but still capable of around 32 knots. The ships have a large superstructure, with one large turret and only one funnel. There are two trees, one of which is quite low, the other much taller. The superstructure continues without interruption until the hangar, and is made, as usual, with light allowys.
The propulsion system is based on two gas-turbine LM-2500 and two diesel engines, in a Combined diesel and gas configuration, that make use of diesel for cruising and turbines for high speed. The only problem with this configuration, which is highly economical, is to make the diesel engines powerful enough to achieve sufficient cruising speed without overloading them, or assist them with a continuous use (at low, uneconomical power) of the turbines. In this case, the solution, already developed for the Lupo class ships, was successful. The ships have a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h).

Armament

The Maestrale class ships are armed with an array of systems. Mounted on the foredeck is an Otobreda 127 mm gun, capable of shooting 40 rounds per minute. Despite its large size, it was possible to fit it in the relatively small hull, since the Lupo class ships were fitted with the same weapon. It has 66 shells on three ready-fire carousels. It also had low reaction times and high elevation, with a 32 kg shells and 23 km range.
The ships also carry the Albatross missile system, with an octuple cell capable of firing Sea Sparrow or Aspide missiles. This modern weapon contains a monopulse guide and a powerful rocket-engine, and advanced flight controls. The ships carry a supply of 16 missiles, and the system is reloaded by a Riva-Calzoni system, which is capable of loading up to four missiles at once, making virtually all the missiles in the magazine ready to be launched.
After the turret there are two CIWS DARDO, with 2x40mm L70 Bofors guns. They have very rapid mechanical systems, and depots with over 700 shells, and can fire around 600 rounds per minute. The proximity fuses and the fire control systems help this unmanned turret to react quickly to incoming missiles.
Also on deck are four Otomat anti-ship missiles, capable of striking a target 160 km or more away, with a 210 kg warhead. They are fitted over the hangar, where there are two AB-212 helicopters ASW multirole machines.
Finally, there are four torpedo-launchers, two triple ILAS-3 (similar to Mk 32) with 324 mm caliber, with 12 torpedoes available (not known if they are shared also with helicopters), and the most particular weapon, the A.184, a modern wired torpedo with two launch tubes and six to eight torpedoes. This is the main weapon for ASW tasks, but it also be used as an anti-ship weapon, even though its propulsion system (electric) does not allow great speed and range. Compared to ASROC, this weapon has many advantages, and does not require a bulky launcher, but needs several minutes, even at 35 knots (65 km/h), to reach nine kilometers, while Asroc can do this in much less time.

Electronic warfare outfit

These ships have also have several electronic systems: one radar air and surface search RAN10S (160 km) is placed over the smaller tree, a radar of navigation and surface search SPN703 is fitted on the main tree, where a navigation radar is present as well, and finally, three radars: one RTN-10X for gun and Aspide control, and two smaller RTN-20X for the DARDO systems, all fitted in the forward superstructure, separated from the aft by the funnel and the heat dissipaters. As two submarine search, there is a VDS DE 1164 sonar, and DE1160B hull mounted. As ECMs, there are two SCLAR rocket-launchers that are capable of launching chaff, flare, and HE rockets up to ten kilometers.

Several electronic and communication systems are fitted as well, and an IPN20 command and control system is present to integrate all the tactical information and use the weapons on board.

Comparison of Maestrale and Lupo Classes

The Lupo class entered in service in 1977. The Maestrale class is an upgraded version of its predecessor. Maestrale shares the same, extremely slim hull (with a length/width of 10:1) but this was enlarged to accommodate many more systems. The Lupos is three knots faster, and has eight OTOMAT. Maestrale had much of Lupo's equipment, but arranged differently. Endurance was increased with the Maestrale class from 5,000 to 6,000 miles (9,700 km).

Maestrale has half the OTOMATs but twice as many torpedo launchers (with the introduction of the new heavy torpedoes), twice the helicopters, and twice the sonars, having also a VDS. This, coupled with heavy torpedoes and two helicopters, improved dramatically the ASW capabilities. The use of more modern equipment and an Albatross missile system improved in some aspects the air defense.
Maestrale has some shortcomings. The most prominent is the air-defense layout: while Lupos has the four weapons distributed across the entire hull length, Maestrale, because of the double hangar, lacked this ability, resulting in all of the weapons systems being placed on the foredeck and midships. This arrangement leaves dangerous blind spots in the ships' defenses.
After their entry in service, Maestrales were modernized with some minor programs, but as many other Italian ships, no major improvements were made. The equipment present on the Maestrale class ships is almost equal to what it was in 1982, except for a pair of 20 mm guns installed as 'anti-fast vessels close defense', in 2005.

Class destroyer - Durand de la Penne

The Durand de la Penne class destroyers are two guided missile destroyers operated by the Marina Militare, the Italian navy. The design is an updated version of the Audace class destroyers but these ships are larger, have CODOG machinery and modern sensors. Initially four ships were planned but the second pair were cancelled as Italy had decided to join the Horizon project.

General project

The Durand de Le Penne is an escort and combat class ships, able to operate in every combat condition, and especially devised to survive to heavy missile and aircraft attacks. Its construction is made almost totally with steel; the structure is a continuous deck with a stern low and large, to accommodate the helicopter's force. The fore hull is very pointed, with a sea-cutter structure very pronounced. The superstructure blocks are two, relatively low and wide, both with a high, triangular-section, tree for all the electronic. The engines exhausts are on two groups, one for every superstructure: the aft has two exhaust flank to flank, slightly inclined. Then there is the Standard missile system and finally the helicopter's facilities.
The ship itself is built to be much more difficult to sink by enemy action than the previous types, with many bulkheads and anti-fire systems. Many of the main communication lines and computers are duplicated, and there is a NBC system for the crew. Stealthness is partially applied, with reduction of RCS, heat, noise and magnetic signatures.
The speed, given by a CODAG system, is high (31knots) but not so high like previous Audace, also because the modern ships seldom needs of speeds over 25 knots (46 km/h). The endurance, automatization and economy are more important, as well the compact design of this power-plant. The powerplant is based on 2 gas turbine General Electric LM-2500, one of the most successful naval turbines, and 2 diesels. One of each are linked with one shaft fitted with a propeller with 5 blades. The entire propulsion system is controlled remotely; no crew is needed in normal situations inside the powerplant section.
As for vulnerability and general characteristics, these ships, while prestigious, were meant a bit smaller than it was needed. In fact, the weapon (and explosives) concentration is very high. In the foredeck, in less than 20 m there are 3 medium caliber guns, with over 200 shells just behind the deck ready for use, surrounding the Aspide system, that has 16 or 24x230 kg missiles just below the deck. The aft superstructure is equally armed, with a gun, 2 helicopters and 40 SM-1/2 missiles (24 tonnes these latter, with over 1 T high-explosive), plus the ASW torpedo stores (several torpedo as Mk 46 or A244), in less than 25 m. Also because of this, the crew, 380, is not so few as in other modern ships: a large crew is absolutely required to control damage or fire.
Although the class is criticized for the small displacement related to their equipment, the previous Audace were even more critical in this side: they were 900t lighter, quite smaller, with a bulky powerplant; however, in the latest update they had the same armament, plus a Super-Rapido gun (4 instead of 3).
A criticism also levied to these ships is the lack of vertical launchers, not purchased by Marina Militare because of financial constraints, choosing instead to modernize the Impavido's launchers for de la Penne new destroyers. So de la Penne are the last and maybe the more powerful of the "conventional missile destroyers". this had a cost, however, not trascurable: 1500mld. Lire for both these ships (1981-1993 program), partially because a large production run could not be afforded by Marina Militare for such big ships (so not economies of scale were obtained).

Weaponry

These ships have an overall shape quite large, low, and aggressive. This is directly related on what they had on board, and the special features of sloped surfaces (as stealth principles).
Weapon systems include a guns battery scattered over all the ship, which helps to make its profile well recognizable. As anti-aircraft equipment, there are 6 weapons, of four different types: Standard SM-1 launcher Mk13, Albatross-Aspide, 1 gun Compatto 127/54 mm, 3 guns Super-Rapid of 76 mm caliber. All these weapons covers all the horizon, giving an air defence able to stop quite heavy attacks, especially from the front, because the majority of these is placed on foredeck.
If the Standard missiles, with their 2 SPG radar are dedicated to the air defence at longer ranges, the rest is a medium-short range weaponry. Having Aspide/Sea Sparrow launchers, these ships are one of the fews that possessed both these systems (standard and Sparrow class missiles). Aspide are very advanced missiles (with monopulse guide from the start of service, 1977), but they are almost identical to Sea Sparrow. In fact, these latter were mass-produced by Alenia before the start of the Aspide, so this experience was a cleary advantage to project such new missiles, but all the systems inside (warhead, guide, engine) were new and much improved respect to the old Sparrow-E, and roughly equal to Sparrow-M, not yet available in 1977. 16 missiles are in the magazines, but a Riva-Calzoni system can load quickly 4 at once in the 8 cell launcher, so these missiles are quickly reloadable (the Sparrow launchers have manual reloading).
The Compatto 127 mm gun is that dismount by Audaces DDG's when Aspide was fitted. It was modernized before its re-utilization on de la Penne.
The OTO Super-Rapido are powerful weapons for its caliber, and despite CIWS defence is normally delegated to smaller calibers, they have mainly this task. They can shoot 120 RPM, 6.3 kg (14 lb) shells with sophisticated fuses, and engage at 6 km (4 mi) even anti-ship missiles. It is claimed by OTO that these guns can engage until 4 missiles before they reaches the ship. In every case, they have whipped the contenders like Dardo 40 mm guns and the new Myriad, 25 mm gatling CIWS (that had not awarded any commercial success), despite its 10.000 rpm. Four RTN-30 radar-optical system controls such weapons, 2 fore and 2 aft, so no all the weapons can shot simultaneously at different targets.
As anti-ship weapons, there are Otomat, missiles with a very long range (180 km or more), with mid-course guide by AB-212s, sea skimmer capability and a 210 kg (463 lb) warhead. They born as Franco-Italian program, but only Italians ordered them (and a dozen other navies as well) while French navy ordered only the national Exocet, despite a much shorter range. The main characteristic of OTOMAT, the long range, ironically, is achieved thanks to Microturbo engine, the main French effort for this missile. The MILAS version, an ASW missile with a light torpedo, was developed for ranges until 40 km (25 mi), but still not acquired by French navy despite the needing to replace the MALAFON missile. 8 missiles are placed at mid-ship, between the two main superstructures.
The aft superstructure has a very concentrated set of weapons (just like foredeck). In the hangar superstructure there are 2 AB-212ASW, 1 Super-Rapido gun, and the 40 missiles of the Mk 13 launcher, probably now utilizing SM-2MR missiles, an eventual big improvement over the original in almost every respect. Standard missiles are capable to attack also naval vessels.
As electronic systems there is a complete suite with dedicated systems for all the tasks. As radar, there 11 different system. There are:

• SPS-40 tridimensional radar over one of the 2 triangular trees, the aft one (US built, 300 km (186 mi) range, S band)
• the other main radar is an SPS-768 bi-dimensional (Alenia built, roughly the same range, D band), that is placed over the turrion, then, there is a radar dedicated to look about low-flying aircraft and ships, 160 km (99 mi) range (S), in the forward tree. Perhaps this unusual accommodation was due to the excessive weight in high, if the two main radars were both placed on the trees. It is linked with Dardo FCS. The forward tree has a quantity of small electronic antennas, as communications, datalinks, ECMs.
• There are also a surface radar SPS-702, X band, last version of a type quite successful and with all-solid electronics. Finally there is a navigation radar, with X band, forward tree.
• 6 FCS radars are totally presents, with two Standard missile radars AN/SPG-51 D (G/I band) with a FCS Mk 74 Mod.6. 4 DARDO-E are used for artillery and Aspide use, K-band (plus TV, IL, laser and IR sensors)
• a DE 1164/1167 sonar with (differently by Audaces) an immersion (VDS) DE 1167 element
• an ECM set Nettuno, one ESM, 2 rocket launchers DAGAIE (of French construction, replacing the previous SCLAR systems of Breda, 10 tubes with 330 mm (13 in) caliber and 10 km (6 mi) range, IR-radar decoys)
• a complete set of communications and controls, included the combat system called IPN-20 by the manufacter Alenia, and SADOC-2 by Marina Militare. It's a computerized elaboration system, that take cares of all the tactical information and the communications with others platforms. It had 10 consoles with one operator each (Garibaldi carrier had a SADOC with only one console more than de la Pennes).

Service

Durand de la Penne was in service with Marina Militare Italiana starting from 1993, followed one year later by Mimbelli. These two ships, together with the two old Audace, were the bulk of Italian navy's air defence, especially before that AV-8 Harrier, armed with AMRAAM, began fully operational. But even so, these were available only in Garibaldi task force. These missile destroyers have performed well as command ship in several deployment even over Mediterranean sea, and the last of their missions was related to the Italian peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
At the time the best non-AEGIS air-defence ships, de la Penne have important roles in Italian navy. Now that Audace are decommissioned, de la Penne will remain the only missile destroyers (and the only ship with area defence-missiles) for some time, until the new Horizon will be operative. Despite they are still quite young ships, it does not seem that they will be updated significatively with new air defence systems. As almost all Italian ships, they were born with a modern and effective armament, but retained the same for all their operative life.
Minor changes are or will are made: the compatibility with one EH101 heavy helicopter or 2 NH90 (enhancing the helicopters capabilities, now still on AB-212s) equipped with new sensors, ASW torpedoes A.290 IMPACT and the Marte Mk 2 anti-ship missile, over the new ASW missiles MILAS, and quite obviously, continuous updates on the computers and electronic systems, that brings much improved performances even if externally there is almost no difference to notice.
Another important improvement will be the adoption of guided ammunition for the guns: Vulcano projectile for 127 mm (5 in), with an extended range of 70–100 km, meant as coastal bombing, is a quantum leap respect the traditional artillery rounds (similar to a new models developed in USA), while DAVIDE (guided) or DART (sabot projectile) will enhance further the already very powerful anti-missile defence of these ships. But there are no plans, currently, to equip them with EMPAR/ASTER missile systems.

Submarine type 212

The German Type 212 class, also Italian Todaro class,^[5] is a highly advanced design of non-nuclear submarine (U-boat) developed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) and Fincantieri S.p.a. for the German and Italian Navy. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using Siemens proton exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells. The submarine can operate at high speed on diesel power or switch to the AIP system for silent slow cruising, staying submerged for up to three weeks without surfacing and with no exhaust heat. The system is also said to be vibration-free, extremely quiet and virtually undetectable.
Type 212 is the first of the only two fuel cell propulsion system equipped submarines ready for series production by 2007, the other being the Project 677 Lada class submarine designed by Russian Rubin Design Bureau.

Development

At the beginning of the 1990s the German Navy was seeking a replacement for the Type 206 submarines. Initial study started on a Type 209 improved design, with AIP capability, called Type 212.
The final programme started in 1994 as the two navies of Germany and Italy began working together to design a new conventional submarine, respectively to operate in the shallow and confined waters of the Baltic sea and in the deeper waters of the Mediterranean sea. The two different requirements were mixed into a common one and, because of significant updates to the design, the designation was changed to Type 212A since then.
In 1996 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) gave the start to the cooperation. Its main aim was the construction of identical boats and the start of a collaboration in logistic and life-cycle support for the two navies.
The German government placed an initial order of four Type 212A submarines in 1998. The German Submarine Consortium built them at the shipyards of HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH (TNSW) of Emden. Different sections of the submarines were constructed at both sites at the same time and then half of them were shipped to the respective other yard so that both HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke assembled two complete submarines each.
In the same year the Italian government placed an order of two U212A submarines built by Fincantieri for the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) at Muggiano shipyard, designated as the Todaro class.
The German Navy ordered two additional, improved submarines in 2006, to be delivered from 2012 on. They will be 1.2 meters longer to give additional space for a new reconnaissance mast.
On 21 April 2008 the Italian Navy ordered a second batch of submarine in the same configuration of the original ones. Some upgrading should involve materials and components of commercial derivation, as well as the software package of the CMS. The intention is to keep the same configuration of the first series and reduce maintenance costs.
The export-oriented Type 214 submarine succeeds the Type 209 submarine and shares certain features with the Type 212A, such as the AIP fuel cell propulsion.

Design

Partly owing to the "X" arrangement of the stern planes, the Type 212 is capable of operating in as little as 17 metres of water, allowing it to come much closer to shore than most contemporary submarines. This gives it an advantage in covert operations, as SCUBA-equipped commandos operating from the boat can surface close to the beach and execute their mission more quickly and with less effort.
A notable design feature is the prismatic hull cross-section and smoothly faired transitions from the hull to the sail, improving the boat's stealth characteristics. The ship and internal fixtures are constructed of nonmagnetic materials, significantly reducing the chances of it being detected by magnetometers or setting off magnetic naval mines.
The low emission profile allowed the submarines in exercises to intrude even into well protected opposing forces such as carrier formations with their screen.

Weapons

Currently, the Type 212A is capable of launching the fiber optic-guided DM2A4 Seehecht ("Seahake") heavyweight torpedoes, the WASS A184 Mod.3 torpedoes, the WASS BlackShark torpedoes and short-range missiles from its six torpedo tubes, which use a water ram expulsion system. Future capability may include tube-launched cruise missiles.
The short-range missile IDAS (based on the IRIS-T missile), primarily intended for use against air threats as well as small or medium-sized sea- or near land targets, is currently being developed by Diehl BGT Defence to be fired from Type 212's torpedo tubes. IDAS is fiber-optic guided and has a range of approx. 20 km. Four missiles fit in one torpedo tube, stored in a magazine. First deliveries of IDAS for the German Navy are scheduled from 2014 on.
A 30 mm auto-cannon called Muräne (moray) to support diver operations or to give warning shots is being considered too. The cannon, probably a version of the RMK30 built by Rheinmetall, will be stored in a retractable mast and can be fired without the boat emerging. The mast will also be designed to contain three Aladin UAVs for reconnaissance missions. This mast is likely to be mounted on the 2nd batch of Type 212 submarines for the German Navy.

Сlass frigate - Floréal

The Floréal class is a type of light "surveillance frigates" designed for the needs of the French Navy after the end of the Cold War, ordered in 1989. They use construction standards of commercial ships. The ships are named after months of the Republican Calendar.

Definition of the requirements

 

After the end of the Cold War, it was felt that the risks of a large-scale military confrontation had all but disappeared. The Marine Nationale had to face new missions, while its escort avisos from the 80s were ageing, and also badly adapted to low-risk zones.
The concept of "sentry frigate" emerged from the will of the French government to protect its Exclusive Economic Zone (12 million km²), as defined in the Montego Bay treaties. Another need was to address matters of humanitarian aid, diplomacy, or naval law enforcement. To address these missions, an onboard helicopter is clearly the optimal solution, provide versatile, swift and long-range capabilities to deliver support, ferry or rescue.
These constraints defined the need for a ship which would be small; extremely stable to allow use of a heavy helicopter in all weather; small crew, while retaining capacities to accommodate navy commandos; light armament; economic and long-range propulsion system.

Construction

To make the ship more economical, civilian construction methods were used at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint Nazaire. The ships use the SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations, which require the hull to have eleven watertight compartments. The rules of the classification society Det Norske Veritas are used for energy production and safety. The ships were built in series, each with six pre-fabricated parts weighing up to 570 tonnes that were assembled and welded in a dry dock. (The construction method was later used for the La Fayette class). The first trials at sea were carried out in 1991 with an entirely civilian crew, while the Marine Nationale was only present as an observer.

Equipment

The armament was ordered from the DCN Lorient, a traditional naval provider for the French Navy. The Floréal class, though designed to operate in low-risk areas, carry their own armament (they are not dependent on their helicopter).
The most visible piece of armament is the standard 100 mm multipurpose gun turret, which is a feature of most modern French warships. It is installed in one block, with the magazine shelter and the targeting computer. All Floreal frigates are fitted with two Exocet missile launchers, a Dagaie decoy launcher system, two 20 mm Mod F2 cannons, as well as a complete range of detection and counter-measure electronics.
The helicopter is a naval Panther, carrying no armament itself.

Class frigate - La Fayette

The La Fayette class units (FL-3000 for "Frégate Légère de 3,000 tonnes", "3,000-tonnes light frigates", or "FLF" or Frégate Légère Furtive", "Light Stealth Frigate") are light multi-mission frigates built by DCN and operated by French Marine Nationale. Derivatives of the type are in service in Saudi Arabia (Royal Saudi Navy), Singapore (Republic of Singapore Navy) and Taiwan (Republic of China Navy).
These frigates were referred to as "stealth" frigates. Their reduced radar cross section is achieved by a very clean superstructure compared to conventional designs, angled sides and radar absorbent material, a composite material of wood and glass fiber as hard as steel, light, and resistant to fire. Most modern fighting ships built around the world since the introduction of the La Fayette have followed the same principles of stealth.
All information gathered by the onboard sensors is managed by the Information Processing System, the electronic brain of the operation centre of the ship. It is completed by an electronic command aid system.
The La Fayette has space available for the future installation of the Aster 15 air-defence missile, however they will not be installed due to recent cost issues. The ships are designed to accommodate a 10 tonne helicopter in the Panther or NH90 range (though they are also capable of operating the Super Frelon and similar heavy helicopters). These helicopters can carry anti-ship AM39 or AS15 missiles, and can be launched during sea state 5 or 6 due to the Samahé helicopter handling system. France ordered five ships of the La Fayette class in 1988, the last of which entered service in 2002.

Background

n the late 1980s, the Marine Nationale started the studies for frigates adapted to low-intensity conflicts in the post–Cold War era. The ships were to serve in the large French EEZ , be adapted to humanitarian operations or low-intensity operations in support of land troops, and replace the aging A69 avisos, which tended to prove too focused on naval operations and were ill-suited for joint operations. Conventional warships used in low-intensity or humanitarian relief operations proved costly, with their heavy equipment and large crew. Hence came the requirement for lightly armed frigates with economical engines and small crew. In Italy, the same requirements led to the development of the Cassiopea and Minerva type corvettes, built according to both civilian and military standards. These ships were limited to 1300 tonnes because the limited size and depth of the Mediterranean and the proximity of the homeland. The French Navy, on the other hand, had to be present in overseas territories, bases and EEZ. To be enduring enough, the ships had to reach 3000 tonnes, the size of a missile frigate. The larger displacement allows combining strong firepower (like the Minerva class) and a capacity for a medium helicopter (like the Cassiopea), along with a good autonomy and seaworthiness.
The first type of ships built on these principles were the Floréal class frigates, built on civilian standards, with a limited armament, and carrying a medium helicopter. These ships are high endurance units designed to be operated in overseas possessions (Caribbean, Polynesia and New Caledonia) and the EEZ, where the likelihood of a naval threat is low. The speed is limited to 20 knots because of the low power engine which emphasises autonomy and reliability. To fight pirates in fast rigid-hulled inflatable boats, the Floréals rely on their onboard helicopter and naval fusilier company.
The niche for more hostile environments is covered by the La Fayette type, designed to operate in complex zones like the Indian Ocean or Djibouti. These ships were to be able to secure the EEZ, but also to operate in naval groups or intelligence gathering missions. The intended role for the ships was in fact very varied, because the experience of the C.70 class, with an intended 20 ship cut down to only 9 (the 7 Georges Leygues class frigate and 2 Cassard class frigates) had taught that project downsizing and reorganisations could lead to badly balanced naval capabilities. The new ships were to benefit from breakthrough on stealth ("furtivité") achieved by the DCN in the 1980s.
It took several years to materialise the concept, and the first ship was eventually launched in 1992, two years after the final design was completed. The weapon system testing took place in 1994, and particularly extensive trials were undertaken to prove the structure of the ship under a wide range of conditions. The La Fayette was eventually commissioned in March 1996.

Stealth

At the time of their commissioning, the units of the La Fayette class were the state of the art in stealth for warships. The shape of the hull and the superstructures is devised for the optimal reduction of the radar signature, which has been reduced by 60%: a 3000-tonne La Fayette unit has the typical radar signature of a 1200 tonne ship. Stealth is achieved with inclined flanks, as few vertical lines as possible, and very clean lines and superstructures: stairs and mooring equipment are internal, and prominent structures are covered by clear surfaces. The superstructures are built using radar-absorbent synthetic materials.
The radar cross section is equivalent to that of a large fishing boat, which can make camouflage amidst civilian ships possible; or that of a much less capable corvette, which could lead an enemy to underestimate the capabilities of the ship. In case of a direct attack, the small radar signature helps evade enemy missiles and fire control systems. The La Fayette are also equipped with jammers that can generate false radar images, as well as decoy launchers. Further point missile defence will be provided when the ships are equipped with the Aster 15 anti-missile missiles.

Thanks to the adoption of low-power diesel motors and a special heat dissipation system, the La Fayette ships have a low thermal signature. The usual funnel is replaced with a small sets of pipes, aft of the mast, which cool the exit gas before it is released. The ships usually operate in warm areas, which further decreases the thermal contrast with the environment.
The magnetic signature is reduced by the presence of a demagnetisation belt.
The acoustic signature is minimized by mounting the engines on elastic supports, as to transmit as little vibrations to the hull as possible, and by rubber coating on the propellers. The La Fayette are equipped with the Prairie Masker active acoustic camouflage system, which generate small bubbles from underneath the hull to confuse sonars.

Construction

The superstructure is made of light alloy and glass-reinforced plastic, which allow a reduction in top weight. This provides adequate but sub-optimal resistance to fire. Vital zones are armoured in Kevlar , and important systems are redundant. The crew is protected against biological, chemical and nuclear environments.
The ships were built with a modular inner structure from 11 prefabricated modules which were completed at the factory, delivered to the shipyard and assembled there. This technique results in a construction time of less than 2 years.
The hull has a pronounced angle at the stem, with a short forecastle that integrates directly into the superstructure. The ship's sides have a negative inclination of 10 degrees. The single anchor is located exactly on the stem, into which it is completely recessed. The deck where the seamanship equipment and capstans are installed is internal in order to hide it from radar.
The superstructure is built in one piece and directly integrates into the hull, with only a change in inclination. A platform is located between the main gun and the bridge. The superstructure runs continuously down to the helicopter hangar, on top of which short-range anti-air Crotale missiles are installed.
The ships feature two masts. The main mast has a pyramidal structure which integrates funnels and supports the antenna of the Syracuse military communications satellite system, while the second supports the main radar.

Class frigate - Horizon

The Horizon Common New Generation Frigate (CNGF) is a multi-national collaboration to produce a new generation of anti-air warfare frigates. Originally an alliance of Britain, France and Italy, the project is now a French/Italian effort following the withdrawal of Britain due to differing requirements. It is named Orizzonte in Italian and Horizon in French and English.

History

France, Italy and the UK issued a joint requirement in 1992 after the failure of the NATO Frigate Replacement (NFR-90) project. The resulting CNGF program consisted of the Horizon frigate and its Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS).
Problems emerged almost immediately: the primary problem was that of differing requirements: France wanted Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) escorts for its aircraft carriers, but only a limited range was necessary due to the self-defence capability of the Charles De Gaulle. Italy too required only close range capabilities, as in its home waters of the Mediterranean Sea the ships would operate under Italian Air Force cover or escorts for its aircraft carrier Cavour. The Royal Navy, however, required more capable ships which could throw a large defensive "bubble" over a fleet operating in hostile areas. The compromise which largely solved this problem was the adoption of a standard radar interface which allowed France and Italy to install the EMPAR multi-function radar and the UK to install the more capable SAMPSON radar - the SAMPSON radar has a higher data rate and adaptive beam forming allows a greater multi-tracking capability, long-range detection of low-RCS targets, a lower false-alarm rate, and overall higher tracking accuracy.
1995 saw the establishment of an International Joint Venture Company (IJVC) comprising the national prime contractors, DCN (France,) GEC-Marconi (UK) and Orizzonte (Italy). In the period 1995-1996 significant arguments, changing requirements and technological problems led to the slippage of the in-service-date of the frigates to around 2006.
In early 1997 a disagreement emerged as to the choice of Vertical Launch System (VLS) for the PAAMS' MBDA Aster missiles. France and Italy favoured their own SYLVER launcher, while the UK was leaning toward the American Mk 41 - capable of firing the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. This issue was eventually resolved when the SYLVER launcher was selected by the PAAMS development team.

UK withdrawal

 

On 26 April 1999 the UK announced that it was withdrawing from the CNGF project to pursue its own national design. The Financial Times summarised the main disagreements between the partner countries; the UK wanted a large destroyer which could patrol large areas such as the Atlantic, compared to France's desire for smaller aircraft carrier escorts and Italy's intention to use them in the Mediterranean; Secondly the UK wanted the ships with a wide-area defence capability, able to protect large numbers of ships rather than just protection from missiles targeted in the frigate's general direction; Finally the UK's desire to see Marconi appointed as prime contractor was accepted by France, but only in return for DCN being given the role as prime contractor for the combat management system. The UK, which wished to see a BAE-led consortium given this role, would not accept this.
Summing up the changes from the original specification the UK's Chief of Defence Procurement is reported to have said "it's not common and it's not a frigate!". The resulting Type 45 destroyer is armed with the PAAMS missile system and has benefited from investment in the Horizon project.

Franco-Italian project

 

France and Italy have continued their collaboration under the Horizon project, ordering two ships each which also deploy the PAAMS missile system.
The Marina Militare ordered two units, Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio, to replace the Audace-class destroyers. The French Navy has ordered two units, the Forbin and the Chevalier Paul.
Andrea Doria was accepted on 22 December 2007 and received the flag of the Navy. Full operation capability (FOC) was achieved in the summer of 2008.
France and Italy have launched a new generation of multimission ships, the FREMM multipurpose frigates, using the same company structure as the Horizon project.

 

Wasp class amphibious assault ship

The Wasp class is a class of Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy. Based on the Tarawa class, with modifications to operate more advanced aircraft and landing craft, the Wasp class is capable of transporting almost the full strength of a United States Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and landing them in hostile territory via landing craft or helicopters. All Wasp-class ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, at Pascagoula, Mississippi, with lead ship USS Wasp commissioned on 29 July 1989. Eight Wasp-class ships were built, and as of 2011, all eight are active.

Design

The Wasp class is based on the preceding Tarawa-class design. The design was modified to allow for the operation of AV-8B Harrier II aircraft and Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft, making the Wasp class the first ships specifically designed to operate these. The main physical changes between the two designs are the lower placement of the ship's bridge aboard the Wasps, the relocation of the command and control facilities to inside the hull, the removal of the 5-inch Mk 45 naval guns and their sponsons on the forward edge of the flight deck, and a lengthening of 24 feet (7.3 m) to carry the LCACs.

Each Wasp class ship has a displacement of 41,150 metric tons (40,500 long tons; 45,360 short tons) at full load, is 253.2 metres (831 ft) long, has a beam of 31.8 metres (104 ft), and a draft of 8.1 metres (27 ft). For propulsion, most of the ships are fitted with two steam boilers connected to geared turbines, which deliver 70,000 shaft horsepower (33,849 kW) to the two propeller shafts. This allows the LHDs to reach speeds of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph), with a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The last ship of the class, USS Makin Island, was instead fitted with two General Electric LM2500 geared gas turbines. The ship's company consists of 1,208 personnel. The ships are the largest amphibious warfare vessels in the world.

Amphibious operations

The LHDs can support amphibious landings in two forms: by landing craft, or by helicopter. In the 81-by-15.2-metre (266 by 49.9 ft) well deck, the LHDs can carry three Landing Craft Air Cushion, twelve Landing Craft Mechanised, or 40 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs), with another 21 AAVs in the vehicle deck. The flight deck has nine helicopter landing spots, and can operate helicopters as large as the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion and Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight.^[5] The size of the air group varies depending on the operation: a standard air group consists of six Harriers and four Bell AH-1W SuperCobras for attack and support, twelve Sea Knights and four Sea Stallions for transport, and three to four Bell UH-1N Iroquois utility helicopters. For a full assault, the air group can be maxed out at 42 Sea Knights, while a Wasp operating in the sea control or 'harrier carrier' configuration carries 20 Harriers (though some ships of the class have operated as many as 24), supported by six Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters for anti-submarine warfare. The CH-46 is being replaced by the MV-22 Osprey on a squadron-by-squadron basis, with expected full conversion within all aviation combat elements by 2019. Two aircraft elevators move aircraft between the flight deck and the hangar; in order to transit the Panama Canal, these elevators need to be folded in.
    Each ship is capable of hosting 1,894 personnel of the United States Marine Corps; almost the full strength of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). A Wasp-class vessel can transport up to 2,860 square metres (30,800 sq ft) of cargo, and another 1,858 square metres (20,000 sq ft) is allocated for the MEU's vehicles, which typically consists of 5 M1 Abrams battle tanks, up to 25 AAVs, eight M198 howitzers, 68 trucks, and up to 12 other support vehicles. An internal monorail is used to shift cargo from the cargo holds to the well deck.
Each Wasp-class ship has a hospital with 600 patient beds and six operating rooms.

Armament and sensors

The armament of the first four Wasp class consists of two Mark 29 octuple launchers for RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles, two Mark 49 launchers for RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles, three 20 mm Phalanx CIWS systems, four 25 mm Mark 38 chain guns, and four .50 BMG machine guns. The next three ships, Bataan, Bonhomme Richard, and Iwo Jima, have a slightly reduced weapons outfit to their preceding sister ships, with one Phalanx and one Mark 38 gun removed. Countermeasures fitted to the ships include four to six Mark 36 SRBOC launchers, an AN/SLQ-25 torpedo decoy, AN/SLQ-49 chaff buoys, a Sea Gnat missile decoy, and an AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite.

The sensor suite fitted to each ship is made up of an AN/SPS-48 or AN/SPS-52 air-search radar backed up by an AN/SPS-49 air-search radar, an SPS-67 surface search radar, an AN/URN-25 TACAN system, along with several other radars for navigation and fire control.

Astute class submarine

The Astute-class is the latest class of nuclear-powered Fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class sets a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at Barrow-in-Furness.
Seven boats will be constructed. The first of class, Astute, was launched in 2007 and commissioned in 2010, and the second, Ambush, was launched on 6 January 2011, and successfully completed its initial dive test on 30 September 2011.

History

 

Background

 

The Royal Navy has changed its submarine-employment strategy from the Cold War emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to the concept of "Maritime Contributions to Joint Operations."
Approval for studies to define the "Batch 2 Trafalgar class" (what would become the Astute class) was given in June 1991. In July 1994 risk reduction studies were authorised in parallel with the formal bid phase of the project.
On 17 March 1997, the Ministry of Defence announced that it would place a £2 billion order for three submarines and that they would be called the Astute class. On 26 March 1997 the contract was signed with GEC-Marconi for the first three boats: Astute, Ambush and Artful. These names were last given to Amphion-class submarines that entered service towards the end of World War II. GEC would build the submarines at its VSEL subsidiary (now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions).
Original plans were for seven boats of the Astute class to replace five Swiftsure-class submarines (Sovereign, Superb, Sceptre, Spartan, and Splendid) and the two oldest Trafalgar-class boats (Trafalgar and Turbulent). The Swiftsure class entered service between 1973 and 1977 and were entirely decommissioned by 2010, when only the first of the Astute class was coming into service. Trafalgar was decommissioned in December 2009, to be followed by Turbulent in 2011.
An estimated 5,900 people are employed directly as a result of the project; 3,500 BAE Systems staff at Barrow and 2,400 other people around the UK.

Batch 2

 

As of August 2006 BAE Systems was negotiating for a contract to build another four Astute-class submarines (hulls four to seven). The fourth boat was ordered on 21 May 2007, to be called Audacious, and the names of the other hulls have been agreed as Agamemnon, Anson, and Ajax. On 15 September 2011 it was announced that hull 5 would now be named Anson.
Upon the beginning of sea trials of Astute in November 2009, it was reported that long-lead items for hulls five and six have been ordered, including their nuclear reactor cores, and that the stated intention of the MoD was for a total of seven Astute-class submarines.
On 25 March 2010, BAE Systems were given the go-ahead by the government to begin construction on hulls 5 and 6, being given a £300 million contract for the "initial build" of hull five and "long lead procurement activities" for boat six.^[14] In the same week the government re-affirmed their commitment to the construction of seven Astute-class submarines.
The order of seven Astute-class boats was confirmed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review of October 2010. In December that year it was confirmed by the MoD that "early work" was under way on boats five and six.
On 13 October 2011, the fifth boat "Anson", was laid down at Devonshire Dock Hall and is now under construction like boats three and four.

Construction and delays

 

BAE Systems issued a profit warning on 11 December 2002 as a result of the cost overruns and delays it was experiencing with the Astute class and also the Nimrod MRA4 maritime reconnaissance/attack aircraft. The delay was caused primarily by the problems of using 3D CAD; Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said in 2006 that "due to the complexity of the programme, the benefits that CAD was envisaged to provide were more difficult to realise than either MoD or the contractor had assumed." Other issues were the insufficient capabilities within GEC-Marconi which became evident after contract-award and poor programme management. BAE and the Ministry of Defence reached an agreement in February 2003 whereby they would invest £250 million and £430 million respectively to address the programme's difficulties.
A major element of this was the enlisting of advice and expertise from General Dynamics Electric Boat. The MoD also signed a design and production drawing work contract through the U.S. Navy which ran from 2004 to 2007.
Work on the second and third submarines, Ambush and Artful, proceeded well with major milestones such as the closure of Ambush's reactor compartment, demonstrating significant schedule advance compared with Astute. BAE Systems and the MoD have made efforts to reduce costs and achieved significant cost-cutting and productivity gains. A £580 million cost increase was agreed in 2007 due to maturing of the design requiring more materials, inflationary costs, and "some programme throughput assumptions at the Barrow site not being borne out."
First-of-class HMS Astute was launched by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall on 8 June 2007.
As of March 2008 the programme was 48 per cent (or £1.2 billion) over-budget and 47 months late. Further delays due to a range of technical and programme issues brought the programme to a position of 57 months late and 53 per cent (or £1.35 billion) over-budget by November 2009, with a forecast cost of £3.9 billion for the first three Astute boats.

Virginia class submarine

The Virginia class (or SSN-774 class) is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy. The submarines are designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions. They were conceived as a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf class attack submarines, designed during the Cold War era, and they are planned to replace the older of the Los Angeles-class submarines, nineteen of which have already been decommissioned (from a total of 62 built).

Innovations

The Virginia class incorporates several innovations not previously incorporated into other submarine classes.

Photonics Masts

Instead of a traditional periscope, the class utilizes a pair of AN/BVS-1 telescoping photonics masts located outside the pressure hull. Each mast contains high-resolution cameras, along with light-intensification and infrared sensors, an infrared laser rangefinder, and an integrated Electronic Support Measures (ESM) array. Signals from the masts' sensors are transmitted through fiber optic data lines through signal processors to the control center. Visual feeds from the masts are displayed on LCD interfaces in the command center.

Propulsor

The class also makes use of pump-jet propulsors, which significantly reduces the risks of cavitation, allowing for quieter operations.

Improved sonar systems

The Virginia class submarines are equipped with a bow-mounted spherical active/passive sonar array, a wide aperture lightweight fiber optic sonar array (three flat panels mounted low along either side of the hull), as well as two high frequency active sonars mounted in the sail and keel (under the bow). The submarines are also equipped with a low frequency towed sonar array and a high frequency towed sonar array.
The USS California will be the first Virginia-class submarine with the advanced electromagnetic signature reduction system built into it, but this system will be retrofitted into the other submarines of the class.

Other Improved Equipment

• The high speed, turbocharged Caterpillar 3512B V-12 replaced the venerable medium speed Fairbanks-Morse 38D81/8 Opposed Piston engines used since the pre-World War II Tambor class submarine in the Virginia class diesel generator.

• Fiber-optic fly-by-wire Ship Control System replaces electro-hydraulic systems for control surface actuation.

Construction and controversy

The Virginias were intended, in part, as a cheaper ($1.8 billion vs, $2.8 billion) alternative to the Seawolf class submarines, whose production run was stopped after just three boats had been completed. To reduce costs, the Virginia-class submarines use many "commercial off-the-shelf" (or COTS) components, especially in their computers and data networks. In practice, they actually cost less than $1.8 billion (in fiscal year 2009 dollars) each, due to improvements in shipbuilding technology.
In hearings before both House of Representatives and Senate committees, the Congressional Research Service and expert witnesses testified that the current procurement plans of the Virginia class — one per year at present, accelerating to two per year beginning in 2012 — would result in high unit costs and (according to some of the witnesses and to some of the committee chairmen) an insufficient number of attack submarines. In a March 10, 2005 statement to the House Armed Services Committee, Ronald O'Rourke of the CRS testified that, assuming the production rate remains as planned, "production economies of scale for submarines would continue to remain limited or poor."
The Virginia class is built through an industrial arrangement designed to keep both GD Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (the only two U.S. shipyards capable of building nuclear-powered vessels) in the submarine-building business. Under the present arrangement, the Newport News facility builds the stern, habitability and machinery spaces, torpedo room, sail and bow, while Electric Boat builds the engine room and control room. The facilities alternate work on the reactor plant as well as the final assembly, test, outfit and delivery.
O’Rourke wrote in 2004 that, "Compared to a one-yard strategy, approaches involving two yards may be more expensive but offer potential offsetting benefits." Among the claims of "offsetting benefits" that O'Rourke attributes to supporters of a two-facility construction arrangement is that it "would permit the United States to continue building submarines at one yard even if the other yard is rendered incapable of building submarines permanently or for a sustained period of time by a catastrophic event of some kind", including an enemy attack.
In order to get the submarine's price down to $2 billion per submarine in FY-05 dollars, the Navy instituted a cost-reduction program to shave off approximately $400 million in costs off each submarine's price tag. The project was dubbed "2 for 4 in 12," referring to the Navy's desire to buy two boats for $4 billion in FY-12. Under pressure from Congress, the Navy opted to start buying two boats a year earlier, in FY-11, meaning that officials would not be able to get the $2 billion price tag before the service started buying two submarines per year. However, program manager Dave Johnson said at a conference on March 19, 2008, that the program was only $30 million away from achieving the $2 billion price goal, and would reach that target on schedule.
In December 2008, the Navy signed a $14 billion contract with General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman to supply eight submarines. The contractors will deliver one submarine in each of fiscal 2009 and 2010, and two submarines on each of fiscal 2011, 2012 and 2013. This contract will bring the Navy's Virginia-class fleet to 18 submarines. And in December 2010, the United States Congress passed a defense authorization bill that expanded production to two subs per year. Two submarine-per-year production resumed on September 2, 2011 with commencement of SSN-787 construction.
On 21 June 2008, the Navy christened the New Hampshire (SSN-778), the first Block II submarine. This boat was delivered eight months ahead of schedule and $54 million under budget. Block II boats are built in four sections, compared to the ten sections of the Block I boats. This enables a cost saving of about $300 million per boat, reducing the overall cost to $2 billion per boat and the construction of two new boats per year. Beginning in 2010, new submarines of this class will include a software system that can monitor and reduce their electromagnetic signatures when needed.
In September 2010, it was found that urethane tiles, applied to the hull to dampen internal sound and absorb rather than reflect sonar pulses, were falling off while the subs were at sea.
Professor Ross Babbage of the Australian National University has called on Australia to buy or lease a dozen Virginia class submarines from the United States.

 Tango Bravo

Because of the slow rate of Virginia production, the Navy entered into a program with DARPA to overcome Technology Barriers (TB or Tango Bravo) to lower the cost of attack submarines so that more could be built to keep up the size of the fleet.
These include:

• Propulsion concepts not constrained by a centerline shaft.
• Externally stowed and launched weapons (especially torpedoes).
• Conformal alternatives to the existing spherical sonar array.
• Technologies that eliminate or substantially simplify existing submarine hull, mechanical and electrical systems.
• Automation to reduce crew workload for standard tasks

Specifications

• Builders: GD Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News
• Length: 377 ft (114.91 m)
• Beam: 34 ft (10.36 m)
• Displacement: 7,800 long tons (7,900 t)
• Payload: 40 weapons, special operations forces, unmanned undersea vehicles, Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS)
• Propulsion: The S9G nuclear reactor
• Maximum diving depth: greater than 800 ft (240 m)
• Speed: 25+ knots
• Planned cost: about US$1.65 billion each (based on FY95 dollars, 30-ship class and two ship/year build-rate)
• Actual cost: about $1.8 billion each (as of 2009)
• Crew: 120 enlisted and 14 officers
• Armament: 12 VLS & four torpedo tubes, capable of launching Mark 48 torpedoes, UGM-109 Tactical Tomahawks, Harpoon missiles and the new advanced mobile mine when it comes available.

Boats

 

Block I

• USS Virginia (SSN-774), commissioned and in service.
• USS Texas (SSN-775), commissioned and in service.
• USS Hawaii (SSN-776), commissioned and in service.
• USS North Carolina (SSN-777), commissioned and in service.

Block II

Block II boats are built in four sections rather than ten sections, saving about $300 million per boat.

• USS New Hampshire (SSN-778), commissioned and in service.
• USS New Mexico (SSN-779) commissioned and in service.
• USS Missouri (SSN-780), commissioned and in service.
• USS California (SSN-781), commissioned and in service.
• Mississippi (SSN-782), keel laid down June 9, 2010, and expected to be delivered in April 2012.
• Minnesota (SSN-783), named July 15, 2008, keel laid down May 20, 2011 and expected to be delivered in April 2013.

Block III

 

SSN-784 through approximately SSN-791 are planned to make up the Third Block or "Flight" and began construction in 2009. Block III subs will feature a revised bow, including some technology from Ohio class SSGNs.

• North Dakota (SSN-784), named July 15, 2008 and is contracted for delivery in August 2014.
• John Warner (SSN-785), named January 8, 2009 and is contracted for delivery in August 2015.

• SSN-786, construction begun March 2011.
• SSN-787, construction begun Sep 2, 2011.
• SSN-788
• SSN-789
• SSN-790
• SSN-791

Block IV

No block IV submarines are yet under contract. The first block IV submarine is not scheduled to be procured until FY14. Based on the planned split between block IV and block V boats, the following hull numbers will comprise block IV procurement.

• SSN-792
• SSN-793
• SSN-794
• SSN-795
• SSN-796

 

Seawolf class submarine

The Seawolf class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy. The class was the intended successor to the Los Angeles class, ordered at the end of the Cold War in 1989. At one time, an intended fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, later reduced to twelve submarines. The end of the Cold War and budget constraints led to the cancellation in 1995 of any further additions to the fleet, leaving the Seawolf class limited to just three boats. This, in turn, led to the design of the smaller Virginia class.

Design

Compared to previous Los Angeles class submarines, Seawolf submarines are larger, faster, and significantly quieter; they also carry more weapons and have twice as many torpedo tubes, for a total of 8. As a result of their advanced design, however, Seawolf submarines were much more expensive. They were intended to combat the then-threat of large numbers of advanced Soviet ballistic missile submarines such as the Typhoon class and attack submarines such as the Akula class in a deep ocean environment.
Seawolf class hulls are constructed from HY-100 steel, which is stronger than the HY-80 steel employed in previous classes, in order to withstand water pressure at greater dephts . The boats also have extensive equipment to allow for "littoral", or "shallow-water" operations. The exact diving depth of this class of boats is classified; most reputable sources vary from 1600-2000 feet as a likely test depth, and from 2400-3200 feet for collapse depth. These figures are consistent with their original design parameters and not unlikely. The boats are able carry up to 50 UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for attacking land and sea surface targets. As in all nuclear submarines, the load out of equipment, weapons and crew affects available excess buoyancy and thus operational parameters.
The projected cost for twelve submarines of this class was $33.6 billion, but after the Cold War, construction was stopped at three boats.
The class uses the more advanced ARCI Modified AN/BSY-2 combat system, which includes a new, larger spherical sonar array, a wide aperture array (WAA), and a new towed-array sonar. Each boat is powered by a single S6W nuclear reactor , delivering 52,000 hp (39 MW) to a low-noise pump-jet.

Variants

The USS Jimmy Carter is roughly 100 feet (30 m) longer than the other two boats of her class due to the insertion of a section known as the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP), which allows launch and recovery of ROVs and Navy SEAL forces. The MMP may also be used as an underwater splicing chamber for tapping of undersea fiber optic cables. This role was formerly filled by the decommissioned USS Parche (SSN-683). The Jimmy Carter was modified for this role by Electric Boat at the cost of $887 million.
Jimmy Carter is currently homeported at Naval Base Kitsap. In 2006, the Navy announced that it would homeport all three of its Seawolf submarines in Bangor.

Boats

• USS Seawolf (SSN-21) – commissioned and in service
• USS Connecticut (SSN-22) – commissioned and in service
• USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) – commissioned and in service

Los Angeles class submarine

The Los Angeles class, sometimes called the LA class or the 688 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet . With 43 submarines on active duty and 19 retired, the Los Angeles class is the most numerous nuclear powered submarine class in the world. The class was preceded by the Sturgeon class and followed by the Seawolf and Virginia classes. Except for USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709) , submarines of this class are named after U.S. cities, breaking a long-standing Navy tradition of naming attack submarines after sea creatures.
The final 23 boats in the series, referred to as "688i" boats, are quieter than their predecessors and incorporate a more advanced combat system. These 688i boats are also designed for under-ice operations: their diving planes are on the bow rather than on the sail, and they have reinforced sails.

Characteristics

Capabilities

According to the U.S. government, the top speed of Los Angeles-class submarines is over 25 knots (46 km/h, 29 mph), although the precise maximum is classified. Some estimates put the top speed at 30–33 knots. Tom Clancy, in his book Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship, puts the top speed of a Los Angeles class submarine at 37 knots.
Government sources give the maximum operating depth as 650 feet (200 m), while Patrick Tyler, in his book Running Critical, suggests a maximum operating depth of 950 feet (290 m). Although Tyler cites the 688-class design committee for this figure, the government has not commented on it. The maximum diving depth is 1,475 feet (450 m) according to Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-2005 Edition, edited by Commodore Stephen Saunders of Royal Navy.

Weapons and fire control systems

Los Angeles class submarines carry about 25 torpedo-tube-launched weapons and all boats of the class are capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles horizontally (from the torpedo tubes). The last 31 boats of this class also have 12 dedicated vertical launching system (VLS) tubes for launching Tomahawks.

Engineering and auxiliary systems

There are two watertight compartments in the Los Angeles class of submarines. The forward compartment contains crew living spaces, weapons handling spaces and control spaces not critical to recovering propulsion. The aft compartment contains the bulk of the submarine's engineering systems, power generation turbines and water making equipment. Some submarines in the class are capable of delivering SEALs through either the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) system or the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). A variety of atmospheric control devices are used to remain submerged for long periods of time without ventilating, including an Electrolytic Oxygen Generator (EOG) nicknamed "the bomb".While on the surface or at snorkel depth the submarine may use the submarine's auxiliary or emergency diesel generator for power or ventilation (e.g., following a fire). The diesel engine in a 688 class can be quickly started by compressed air during emergencies or to evacuate noxious (non-volatile) gases from the boat, although 'ventilation' requires raising of a snorkel mast. During non-emergency situations, design constraints require operators to allow the engine to reach normal operating temperatures before it is capable of producing full power, a process that may take from 20 to 30 minutes. However, the diesel generator can be immediately loaded to 100% power output, despite design criteria cautions, at the discretion of the submarine commander via the recommendation of the submarine's Engineer, if necessity dictates such actions to a) restore electrical power to the submarine, b) prevent a reactor incident from occurring or escalating, or c) to protect the lives of the crew or others as determined necessary by the commanding officer.
Normally, steam power is generated by the submarine's nuclear reactor delivering pressurized hot water to the steam generator, which generates steam to drive the steam driven turbines and generators. While the emergency diesel generator is starting up, power can be provided from the submarine's battery through the Ship Service Motor Generators (SSMGs). Likewise, propulsion is normally delivered through the submarine's steam driven main turbines that drive the submarine's propeller through a reduction gear system. The submarine has no main drive shaft, unlike conventional diesel electric submarines.

In the media

• Los Angeles-class submarines have also been featured prominently in numerous Tom Clancy novels and film adaptations, most notably the USS Dallas (SSN-700) in The Hunt for Red October.
• In the film Terminator Salvation, Resistance Headquarters is located aboard a Los Angeles-class submarine, called the USS Wilmington according to the novelization and several behind-the-scenes books.
• The class has also been the subject of video games and simulations, such as Electronic Arts' 1997 release, 688(I) Hunter/Killer.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) features the USS Chicago (SSN-721) as the launching platform for TF 141's operations. Another Los Angeles class, the USS Dallas (SSN-700), can also be seen in game, specifically in the level "The only easy day... was yesterday".