![]() The lack of VLS tubes notwithstanding, they have a capacity for up to 50 UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles for attacking sea surface and inland targets. Though they lack the Vertical Launching System (VLS) cruise missile-firing tubes of the Los Angeles class, the Seawolfs have double the number of torpedo tubes as their predecessors – eight versus four – and are larger, quieter, and faster. Given those mind-numbing expenditures, it’s easy to forget that the Seawolf-class subs are some truly impressive warships. ![]() Seawolf-Class: Capabilities and Specifications Meanwhile, 22 out of the 66 planned Virginia-class SSNs have been completed so far, at a unit cost of $2.8B. To put those numbers in perspective, 62 of the Los Angeles-class subs were built at a unit cost of $1.6 billion in 2020 dollars. The Seawolf class cost about $3 billion per unit ($3.5 billion for USS Jimmy Carter), making it the most expensive SSN submarine and second most expensive submarine ever, after the French SSBN Triomphant class … The projected cost for 12 submarines of this class was $33.6 billion.” (Emphasis added.) This, in turn, led to the design of the smaller Virginia class. The end of the Cold War and budget constraints led to the cancellation of any further additions to the fleet in 1995, leaving the Seawolf class limited to just three boats. “A fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, but that was reduced to 12 submarines. As the Seaforces-online website explains : However, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting “peace dividend” threw a proverbial wrench into the works and cast some serious doubts on the future viability of the Seawolf project. Design work on the Seawolf class at the General Dynamics Electric Boat company began at the height of the Cold War in 1983, with the notional intention of going toe-to-toe with the Soviet ballistic missiles submarines (SSBNs) such as the Typhoon class and attack subs such as the Akula-class boats. Navy’s venerable Los Angeles-class SSNs, which were commissioned between 19. The Seawolfs (or would that be Seawolves?) were conceived as the intended successor to the U.S. However, the Seawolf subs would also probably qualify for the Endangered Species List due to the fact that so few were built, especially in relation to how many were planned. They are deadly predators to would-be seagoing adversaries. ![]() Navy’s Seawolf-class submarines, can also survive extremely cold waters. The animal’s namesake in the world of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines (SSNs), the U.S. It preys upon hardshell crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms. Why are there so few Seawolf-Class submarines?: In Mother Nature, “seawolf” is another name for the Atlantic Wolffish ( Anarhichas lupus ), a rather gruesome-looking sea creature that survives in waters with temperatures as low -1 to 11☌.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |