Free Republic

The delivery of Columbia’s stern section is a milestone for the first ballistic missile submarine built for the Navy since the 1990s. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ he first Columbia class submarine stern section has been delivered to General Dynamics Electric Boat. The massive component will serve as the propulsion section of the inaugural Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine, the USS District of Columbia. The vessel is the first of a planned 12 boat fleet designed to replace the existing 14 Ohio-class boomers in what the Navy says is its top-priority acquisition program. Images of the first stern section were released on Wednesday by...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is deploying nuclear-armed submarines "dangerously close" to the United States and European allies, a Senate Democrat said following a trip to the Arctic Circle. "No one is suggesting that Putin is contemplating a nuclear launch against a NATO country, but it's not clear how tethered to reality Putin is," Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told reporters Monday. "And it should make us nervous that many of his submarines are starting to get dangerously close to the U.S. and our allies." Murphy made the comments while arguing that the U.S. Navy needs to pursue an aggressive plan to...

(Groton-WTNH, Mar. 24, 2005 7:42 AM ) _ Groton police responded to a medical emergency call around 5:00 a.m. this morning for a gunshot wound at the Electric Boat facility in Groton. Police say that a 22-year-old sailor on duty aboard a submarine at Electric Boat has died from an apparent gunshot wound. Due to federal jurisdiction, the investigation has been taken over by the local office of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service. The name of the victim nor the circumstances of the shooting have not been released.

HARTFORD, Conn. — A new, Spanish-designed submarine has a weighty problem: The vessel is more than 70 tons too heavy, and officials fear if it goes out to sea, it will not be able to surface. And a former Spanish official says the problem can be traced to a miscalculation — someone apparently put a decimal point in the wrong place. “It was a fatal mistake,” said Rafael Bardaji, who until recently was director of the Office of Strategic Assessment at Spain’s Defense Ministry. The Isaac Peral, the first in a new class of diesel-electric submarines, was nearly completed when...

EB: Submarines can be ''stretched'' to boost firepower By Jennifer McDermott Publication: The Day Electric Boat says it can add more missile tubes to Virginia-class submarines without compromising speed or stealth. EB has been working on a concept for a "stretch Virginia" to boost firepower. The task was to figure out whether the subs could be lengthened by about 90 feet to accommodate triple the number of Tomahawk missiles they now carry, and to launch the weapons of the future, including unmanned undersea vehicles. Preliminary estimates say the modification could cost up to $500 million per ship, adding roughly 20...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... . U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. . . Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their...

USS Jimmy Carter To Be Christened In CT Jimmy Carter Library Mar 28, 2004 1:32 pm US/Eastern (1010 WINS) (GROTON, Conn.) The third and final Seawolf-class submarine, the USS Jimmy Carter, will be christened June 5. The ceremony is conducted by Electric Boat, and kicks off the process for delivering the submarine to the Navy later this year. "The christening of the ship is a shipyard affair," said Navy spokesman Lt. Phil Rosi. "We participate, certainly, but they have the lead on it."