Structural features of the Virginia-class attack nuclear submarine

The "Virginia" class hull is smaller than the "Seawolf" class, and its diameter is similar to the "Los Angeles" class nuclear submarine. Compared with the Cold War mentality of the "Seawolf" class, which is designed to effectively suppress and hunt any Soviet nuclear submarines in the ocean to gain underwater control of the sea, the "Virginia" class focuses on the endless regional conflicts that have emerged since the 1990s. , so it places great emphasis on the flexibility of multiple missions, including near-shore combat capabilities, ground attack capabilities, special operations and intelligence collection (in addition to launching special operations forces ashore for reconnaissance, the ability of the submarine itself to collect electronic intelligence in enemy waters is also extremely important. )etc. The situations that may be encountered in the near-shore environment - complex hydrology and seabed conditions, severe underwater background noise interference, enemy mine deployment, and even a new generation of Russian-made conventionally powered submarines, etc., are all related to the U.S. Navy. The oceanic anti-submarine warfare we were familiar with in the past is very different. Therefore, the U.S. Navy added many elements to the design of the "Virginia" class that were not available in previous U.S. submarines, such as sonar systems (especially high-frequency active sonar) that can effectively operate in noisy shallow waters, mine detection/countermeasures equipment and the operational capabilities of a variety of unmanned remote-controlled vehicles, as well as complete special operations force-related facilities, which will have a huge impact and change on the current way the U.S. Navy uses submarines.

The "Virginia" class still uses a cylindrical teardrop streamline hull. Although its size is similar to the Los Angeles class, it uses many of the research and development results of the "Sea Wolf" class and has many appearance features such as a curved front hull. The angular sail cover, retractable horizontal wings of the bow, three wide-aperture passive array sonar (WAA) listening arrays on each side, six-piece tail and tail water jet thrusters are all exactly the same as the Seawolf class , so it looks like a smaller version of the "Sea Wolf" class from the outside.

The weapon load capacity, speed and submersible depth of the "Virginia" class are not as good as those of the "Sea Wolf" class, but its silent capabilities will maintain the ultra-high level of the "Sea Wolf" class. This class of boats has the same latest silent technologies as the "Sea Wolf" class, such as carefully designed engine/pipeline settings, silencer tiles on the outside of the hull, hull exterior design to reduce water flow noise, and elastic reduction of the main engine. Vibration bases and water jet propellers, etc.; there are a total of 600 noise/vibration detectors throughout the ship (only 26 on the Sea Wolf class) to monitor the vibration conditions everywhere on the ship at any time. Abnormalities will be dealt with immediately to minimize the overall noise; in addition, in order to reduce the probability of detonating induction mines, this class of ships will also use degaussing technology.

Due to its later design, the "Virginia" class was able to adopt more advanced technology and equipment than the "Seawolf" class. This class of ship is equipped with the Chin high-frequency active sonar system, including two high-frequency active sonar units located under the bow and on the sail cover, which can accurately map the seabed and minefields, greatly enhancing nearshore operations and mine countermeasures capabilities. This is something that American submarines did not have in the past. The "Virginia" class has an advanced mast group, including an electronic mast containing GPS, a high data exchange rate mast that can transmit target data required for ground weapons at high speed from satellites, a radio transceiver mast, and an AN/BVS-1 with adjustable missions. Optoelectronic search/attack periscope group, etc.

AN/BVS-1 photoelectric periscope was developed by Kollmorge, a major American periscope manufacturer. It integrates low light TV (LLTV), infrared thermal imaging camera and laser The calibration device is not only much more powerful than the traditional optical periscope, but its image is directly transmitted to the flat display of the control center via optical fiber. The eyepiece under the traditional periscope is no longer needed. Therefore, the control center is moved to the second deck and does not have to be used as before. It needs to be located under the sail cover. The mast part of AN/BVS-1 is a Universal Modular Mast produced by Kollmorgen in cooperation with its Italian subcontractor, Calzoni.

There are a large number of large-scale advanced flat-panel displays and large-scale open configuration diagrams in the bridge to provide the commander with sufficient information and help him make judgments and decisions. The ship also uses advanced touch-control displays as the main operating interface. . In addition, the Eavesdropper transceiver system of this class of boats can detect signals that cannot be intercepted by satellites several miles away, and can be used for satellite communications or weapons control. These systems give the "Virginia" class extremely strong electronic signal/intelligence collection capabilities. The Virginia-class C3I system is developed by Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics and NE&SS Undersea Systems. It will use a digital navigation control system. The helmsman uses a double pole similar to an electric toy. A four-button joystick system controls the submarine's navigational movements.

In addition, the hull of the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine adopts a modular design supported by computer technology, and each sub-cabin can be built separately according to cabin modules with different functions. The main cabin of this class of nuclear submarines adopts a floating raft shock-absorbing overall module design, which greatly reduces the noise on the boat. In addition, the number of power cables, valves, circuit breakers, pumps, etc. used in the propulsion equipment of the "Virginia" class nuclear submarines are only about 50%, 40% and 30% respectively of those of the "Los Angeles" class attack nuclear submarines.

Moreover, due to the adoption of modular design technology supported by computer technology, in the 21st century, the U.S. Navy can use advanced modular technology to build new "Virginia" class boats based on environmental needs and the development of future new technologies. During the process or by taking advantage of the opportunity of the overhaul of the "Virginia" class in-service submarines, cabin modules with different functions can be quickly and conveniently replaced, so that the "Virginia" class attack nuclear submarines can be derived from different types or features on the basis of the standard type. Nuclear submarines with different special purposes.

For example, in the torpedo compartment of the standard "Virginia" class nuclear submarine, behind the torpedo launch tube is a spare torpedo stand. If this part of the cabin module is slightly modified, it can be installed in the spare torpedo A living cabin that can accommodate 40 special forces personnel and their equipment is added to the location of the torpedo rack. At this time, the "Virginia" class attack nuclear submarine was easily changed into a dedicated nuclear submarine for transporting special forces personnel.

The command podium enclosure of the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine is an independent module structure equipped with a non-penetrating periscope, 8 antennas and mast interfaces. If the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine needs to be used mainly for collecting intelligence or reconnaissance in the future, the contents of the antenna and mast interface within the command platform enclosure can be appropriately changed to make it more flexible, mobile and efficient in performing reconnaissance and intelligence collection. Task. As early as when the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine was in the program demonstration stage, the U.S. Navy was already demonstrating the feasibility of using modular technology to quickly convert the "Virginia" class attack nuclear submarine into a ballistic missile nuclear submarine. Judging from the current design of the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine, this can be achieved by using functional cabin modules. The U.S. Navy once planned to use modular technology when the "Ohio" class ballistic missile nuclear submarines were gradually retired in the 21st century, based on the standard "Virginia" class attack nuclear submarines, to convert them into ballistic missile nuclear submarines in order to attack the United States. The number of Navy ballistic missile submarines has been supplemented. Compared with redesigning and building a new type of ballistic missile nuclear submarine, the method of adding functional compartment modules to make the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine a ballistic missile nuclear submarine can not only save a lot of development costs, but also shorten the construction cycle of the new ballistic missile nuclear submarine. .

From the internal design of the "Virginia" class attack nuclear submarine, the sonar system at the front end of the class nuclear submarine, the combat command system in the command and control cabin, and the important devices and equipment on the boat such as weapons and equipment are all The design principle of functional modules is adopted. With the development of the times and technology, all the important equipment on these boats can be installed with the latest functional modules in a timely manner by replacing modules, so that this class of nuclear submarines can maximize its potential and always maintain Advanced performance that is in sync with the high technology of the times. In this sense, the "Virginia" class nuclear submarine is not only a multi-purpose attack nuclear submarine in the 21st century, but also an underwater combat platform with great potential in strategic deterrence and various special purposes. Objectively speaking, the main force of the U.S. Navy's underwater battlefield in the 21st century should be none other than the "Virginia". This is why this class of nuclear submarines has attracted special attention from navies of various countries while it is still in the design stage.