Will The US Navy's Next Attack Submarine Could Really Be A Game-Changer

Navy Virginia-class attack sub USS North Dakota during bravo sea trials. US Navy photo  

Caleb Larson , 19fortyfive: Why the US Navy's next attack submarine could really be a game-changer 

 * The Navy is still building and fielding its advanced Virginia-class attack submarines. 

 * But the Navy is already planning for their eventual replacement by the SSN(X), or the Improved Virginia-class. 

The United States Navy's Virginia-class fast-attack submarines are among the youngest in the Navy. 

They're nuclear powered and armed to the teeth with four torpedo tubes as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. 

The Virginias incorporate a number of new technologies and are among the stealthiest submarines in the world. 

The Navy designed the Virginias from the outset with a number of features not previously seen in other submarines, such as a fiber optic fly-by-wire control system which replaced the mechanical control system seen in previous submarines, as well as a secretive electromagnetic signature reduction system that helps keep the submarine undetected.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Here is a report to Congress on the US Navy's SSN(X) Next-Generation Attack Submarine .... Report to Congress on Navy SSN(X) Next-Generation Attack Submarine (USNI News).  

Update: these subs are not going to be cheap .... The U.S. Navy Could Spend Half Its Shipbuilding Budget On Submarines (Forbes).