АНУ-ын Тэнгисийн цэргийн хүчин Virginia Payload Module (VPM) төхөөрөмжөөр тоноглох Виржиниа ангиллын цөмийн шумбагч онгоцуудыг албан ёсоор удирдан чиглүүлэх пуужингийн шумбагч онгоц (SSGN) ангилалд шилжүүлэхээр болжээ.
АНУ-ын Тэнгисийн цэргийн хүчин Virginia Payload Module буюу пуужин тээвэрлэх тусгай модулиар тоноглогдох Виржиниа ангиллын цөмийн шумбагч онгоцуудыг SSGN ангилалд хамааруулахаар шийдвэрлэлээ. Энэхүү 70 футын урттай их биеийн өргөтгөл нь Tomahawk далавчит пуужин, Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) дунд тусгалын дуวย пуужин болон бусад зэвсэглэл, тээвэрлэх боломжийг бүрдүүлж байгаа аж. Тус хүчин 2029 оны эцэс гэхэд Ohio ангиллын бүх дөрвөн SSGN шумбагч онгоцыг зэвсэглэлээс гаргахаар төлөвлөж байгаатай холбогдуулан уг өөрчлөлтийг хийж байна. Одоогийн байдлаар Тэнгисийн цэргийн хүчин VPM төхөөрөмжтэй 19 ширхэг Виржиниа ангиллын шумбагч онгоц худалдаж авахаар төлөвлөж байгаа бөгөөд эхнийх нь USS Arizona байх аж.
Шинэчилсэн ангилал нь зэвсэглэлийн хүчин чадал, далайн доорх байлдааны ажиллагааны цар хүрээг мэдэгдэхүйц өргөжүүлж буйг албаны хүмүүс онцоллоо. VPM-ийн тусламжтайгаар тус шумбагч онгоцууд нь өмнөх хувилбаруудаасаа илүү олон буюу нийт 40 ширхэг Tomahawk пуужин тээвэрлэх чадвартай болох юм. Мөн тусгай зориулалтын төхөөрөмж ашиглан пуужингаас хамгаалах систем, жолоочгүй усан доорх аппарат болон тусгай зориулалтын хүчнийхнийг дэмжих хэрэгслүүдийг байрлуулах боломжтой аж.
Гэсэн хэдий ч шинээр үйлдвэрлэж буй шумбагч онгоцууд нь хуучин Ohio ангиллын онгоцуудын пуужин тээвэрлэх болон тагнуулын нэгдсэн төвийн үүргийг шууд нэг бүрчлэн орлож чадахгүй юм. Учир нь хуучин нэг шумбагч онгоц 154 хүртэлх пуужин тээвэрлэдэг байсан бол шинэ Виржиниа ангиллын онгоцууд үүнээс бага хүчин чадалтай тул алдагдсан нөөцийг нөхөхийн тулд илүү олон хөлөг онгоц шаардлагатай болно. Түүнчлэн AUKUS гэрээний хүрээнд Австрали улсад зарим шумбагч онгоцыг нийлүүлэхээр төлөвлөсөн нь үйлдвэрлэлийн хурдад тодорхой шахалт үзүүлж байна.
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Future subvariants of the U.S. Navy Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) fitted with Virginia Payload Modules (VPM) will now be categorized as guided missile types (SSGN) instead. The VPM is a 70-foot hull extension that contains four additional large vertical tubes designed to launch Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles, and other payloads. The recategorization decision comes as the service is moving to retire all four of its Ohio class SSGNs by the end of 2029. The Ohio SSGNs are some of the most capable and heavily-in-demand submarines in the Navy’s inventory today.
The Navy currently plans to acquire 19 VPM-equipped Virginia class SSGNs, according to a press release the service put out today. The first boat in this class to feature the VPM will be the future USS Arizona, which is actually the second Block V subvariant being built. The first Block V version, the future USSOklahoma, will lack a VPM, but the other 10 boats in this batch are expected to have this feature.
Block VI Virginia class submarines are also expected to have VPMs, as well as other upgraded capabilities. However, last week, the Navy announced a new monster $76.6 billion contract award for nine Block VI boats, as well as five additional Columbia class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, or SSBNs. This creates a discrepancy of one submarine (11 Block Vs together with nine Block VIs, for a total of 20, not 19) when it comes to the stated SSGN plans. One possible explanation might be that the outlier is a planned one-of-a-kind seabed espionage subvariant. TWZ has reached out to the Navy for clarification.
Regardless, the decision to formally recategorize Virginia class submarines with VPMs as SSGNs is significant.
“This reclassification is a clear acknowledgment of the increased lethality VPM brings to the undersea fight,” Navy Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, Director or Submarine Programs, said in a statement. “These VPM-equipped SSGNs will ensure the Navy continues to dominate the undersea domain for decades to come. By integrating this additional payload capacity, we will have the ability to surge strike power to assure our allies, deter aggression, outmatch any adversary, and give our Fleet commanders an incredibly versatile, hard-hitting instrument of national power.”
“Reclassifying Virginia Payload Module-equipped submarines as SSGNs accurately reflects the extraordinary strike capacity, operational flexibility, and global reach these platforms bring to the Fleet,” Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), the service’s top office, also said in his own statement. “These submarines will provide our Nation with a powerful and persistent deterrent, expand options for our combatant commanders, and ensure the Navy remains ready to fight and win whenever and wherever called upon.”
Virginia class submarines with VPMs do have significantly greater magazine depth than their predecessor. Block I and II boats had vertical launch system (VLS) arrays capable of firing a dozen Tomahawks. Block III and IV versions have a pair of Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) in place of the earlier VLS configuration, but with the same number of tubes (12) for Tomahawks.
VPM-equipped types will be able to carry 28 more Tomahawks for a total load of 40. Using different inserts, future Virginia class SSGNs will be able to carry other munitions in those tubes. This includes the aforementioned IRCPS hypersonic missiles. The Navy is also now looking to acquire a surface-to-air missile designed to be fired vertically from these submarines, which you can read more about here.
It should be noted here that all Virginia class submarines have four 21-inch torpedo tubes, which also offer another option for launching Tomahawks. They can also be used to fire Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles, as well as launch and recover uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV). It’s also possible, if not highly probable, that the VPMs will be capable of launching (and potentially recovering) other payloads, including additional uncrewed platforms.
Some existing Virginia class submarines can be fitted with Dry Deck Shelters (DDS) on top of their hulls for deploying special operations forces, swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs), and other assets, as well. That is a capability that could be carried over to the enlarged SSGNs.
All of this brings us to the matter of the Ohio SSGNs. These boats are best known for being able to carry up to 154 Tomahawks at once, though they more typically deploy with loads of around 100 of those missiles. However, these submarines, which were converted from Ohio class SSBNs, are really multi-mission platforms. Beyond their ability to launch barrages of dozens of Tomahawks, they can act as motherships for special operations forces and uncrewed platforms, as well as serve as underwater intelligence fusion nodes and command centers. You can read more about their capabilities in this past War Zone feature.
“This transition [in categorization from SSN to SSGN] comes at an important moment as USS Georgia, one of the Navy’s four Ohio class guided-missile submarines, begins the inactivation process after more than four decades of exceptional service,” CNO Caudle also said in his statement today. “Georgia and her sister ships proved the enduring value of combining undersea stealth with unmatched clandestine strike capability. The next generation of Virginia class SSGNs builds on that legacy with greater survivability, adaptability, and sustained combat power.”
USS Georgia returned home from its final scheduled operational patrol last month. It is now scheduled to be formally inactivated next year.
At the same time, as TWZ has noted for years, the VPM-equipped Virginia class boats will not be a one-for-one replacement for the Ohio class SSGNs, at least based on what is publicly known about the former’s expected capabilities. Just in terms of missile launch capacity, each one of the converted Ohios is equal to roughly four Block V/VI Virginias. This means the Navy will need to field 16 new Virginia SSGNs before it fills the gap left by the retirement of USS Georgia and its three sisters, and can then start adding capacity with three additional boats. The Navy is facing a broader deficit in VLS capacity across its surface and subsurface fleets in the coming years, due also in part to the impending retirement of the last of its Ticonderoga class cruisers.
It is unclear what other capabilities the Block V and VI Virginia class submarines might have that will help make up for the loss of the specialized intelligence gathering and command and control tasks currently performed by the Ohio class SSGNs. As noted, some existing Virginia class submarines also perform the special operations support mission, but on a more limited level.
“By putting high-volume, long-range precision strike capabilities directly into the hands of the Fleet, these SSGNs will serve as a vital cornerstone for Distributed Maritime Operations and high-end warfighting,” the Navy’s press release today says. “Once operational, these highly survivable platforms will be dynamically employed across crucial global theaters – providing persistent forward presence, reinforcing robust alliance deterrence, and standing ready to project decisive combat power at a moment’s notice.”
On top of all this, the Navy does not expect the full fleet of 19 Virginia SSGNs to be in service until Fiscal Year 2038, at the earliest. This will be nearly a decade after the last Ohio SSGNs sail into mothballs. Concerns are regularly voiced now about the ability of General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding (a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries) to keep up with demand for submarines in this class. There is even more pressure on the program with the addition of plans to sell some of those boats to Australia as part of the trilateral Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) defense pact. The Navy is hoping to see the Virginia class production rate eventually rise to two per year, but is not expecting that to come until sometime in the 2030s.
If nothing else, the Navy has at least outlined more of a formal plan to supplant the Ohio class SSGNs with what it has now dubbed Virginia class SSGNs.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
