Posted on 08/05/2015 2:44:42 PM PDT by george76
It's 7,800 tons, 337 feet and $2 billion worth of steel and stealth, with war-fighting controls that look like a big arcade video game.
That new-boat smell may have worn off a bit during sea trials, but the man in charge was pumped with pride as the U.S. Navy's newest submarine joined the fleet in a commissioning ceremony at Norfolk Naval Station on Saturday.
The shiniest and coolest thing I've ever seen in my military career," Cmdr. Daniel Caldwell, a 22-year Navy veteran and the first captain of the USS John Warner, told CNN. "It's going to make whatever I do next anti-climactic."
Remember those old war movies with a captain looking through a periscope and calling out coordinates for a torpedo attack? Well, this ain't that sub.
For one, it doesn't even have a periscope. Instead, the John Warner will go about its business using a photonic mast, a piece of electronic wizardry that includes high-definition and infrared video to enable the Warner, the 12th in the Virginia class of attack submarines, to see and to not been seen like nothing else under the seas.
...
In front of that is where two sailors drive the sub, like a pilot and co-pilot seated before a curved wall of video screens. Driving a sub used to take a crew of four, Caldwell said, but technology has cut that number in half.
The John Warner is armed with 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles that are launched from two huge bays at the front of the boat, sort of like the chambers in a revolver, as well as MK48 torpedoes that are fired from four tubes, two on each side of the ship.
...
The Navy has won praise for keeping the Virginia class on budget while delivering two subs a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
BFL bubblehead comments...:)
Nice, if we ever have the will to use it when needed.
From the F-35 to the POS LCS.
But the Virginia Class Subs are the real deal.
They are pretty Bad Ass and we have a lot of them and I do believe we would know how to use them.
what is the reasoning behind the door opening to the side?
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/uss-john-warner-shows-off-jumbo-missile-tube-during-com-1722122511
Well Allah (PBUH) did promise the faithful Virgin...ians ;)
are they nukes ?
NAH.. why would they do that?...
Tomahawk missiles come in a variety of flavors, the exact nature of their specific load out and capabilities is classified.
The boat can have some minimal headway to keep stability and still launch. Opening to the side offers less water resistance due to a smaller cross section than if the hatch opened fore and aft.
If you are amongst the best of the best and not claustrophobic I hear the chow can’t be beat.
“...are they nukes?...”
-
Are you asking about the sub itself? (yes)
Or are you asking about the missiles? (they can be)
It sure looks slick. Saving this for a retired submariner I know.
I’m an ex navy nuke submariner, so how ‘bout them ruskies?
and yes, I still glow in the dark.
7,800 tons of diplomacy ....
Hard to believe that we are still using the MK48. Oldie but a goodie I guess? I guess not too odd as we were still using the MK16 along with the MK48 when I was in. Glad there is no more talk of the MK45. LOL
But it isn't a "boomer" - nukes aren't it's first (or second) priority.
I think the term would be "hunter-killer"?
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