USS Delaware (SSN-791)

History of USS Delaware (SSN-791)

The modern United States Navy (USN) uses two types of active submarines - the general "attack" configuration and the strategically oriented submarine with "ballistic missiles"" .The two consist of different classes, both new and new. The attack arm consists of the older Los Angeles class and is now carried more and more by the newer Virginia class.

As planned, the Virginia class will be a group of 66 ships, 22 of which were completed by April 2022 - 19 are still in use at the time of writing (2022).

The

Virginia class is a direct descendant of the Los Angeles class design and will be procured through 2043 with planned service into the 2060s.

The newest member of the class is USS Delaware (SSN-791), who represents the last ship in the group's "Block III" program to receive an improved bow with a Large Aperture Bow (LAB) sonar system. Block I consisted of four ships and was the original product, including the lead ship USS Virginia (SSN-774) herself, while the six hulls of Block II had improved hull construction for faster assembly. Block IV ships (focused on reduced maintenance) begin at USS Vermont (SSN-792) and end at USS Utah (SSN-801).

Block V (with missile capability) will start with USS Oklahoma (SSN-802) and continue from there.

Loaned to Newport News Shipyard April 2008, USS Delaware saw her hull laid on April 30, 2016 and launched on October 20, 2018. Due to surface COVID-19 restrictions, the ship was commissioned underwater in April 2020a historic first for the U.S.

Navy (however, she was officially launched in April 2022) put into use). Her home port is in Groton, Connecticut, with access to important waterways of the Atlantic Ocean.

The boat has a traditional submarine profile with sails mounted on the front and dive planes on the sides of the hull (opposite the sails). The sail/conning tower houses the usual sensor and communications masts, as well as the optics required for the attacking role.

The fuselage itself is usually tubular, tapering at the stern and capped by a shrouded propeller unit. The control layers are arranged at the rear in a typical cross shape.

At the time of construction, the ship was 377 feet long, 34 feet beam and 32 feet draft. It is powered by a 280,000 hp S9G PWR series nuclear reactor and 2 steam turbines producing 40,000 hp to drive the stern single-shaft pump-jet propulsion unit.

This arrangement gives the boat essentially unlimited operating range and an underwater speed of about 25 knots - the boat can stay at the station as long as the crew's stamina and supplies allow. The reactor has a design life of 33 years before maintenance is required.

The hull has been tested at a depth of 800 feet.

There were 135 crew members on board, including 15 officers and 120 men.

Nuclear powered and reserved for offensive missions, the USS Delaware carries torpedo and missile centric weapons. The Mk 48 torpedo family is inherently supported by four bow-mounted/bow-facing torpedo tubes, while the bread and butter of the design is a 12 x Vertical Launch System (VLS) handling the BGM-109 Tomahawk "Land" )attack. "- Cruise missiles.

The ship can carry up to 25 torpedoes and 12 cruise missiles.

Specification

Basic

Year of Service

2020

Origins

United States

Status

In service

supplement

135

staff

SHIPBUILDERS

Huntington Ingalls Industries / Newport News Shipbuilding - USA

Class information

Class

Virginia class

Class Size

66

ships

Class

USS Virginia (SSN-774); USS Texas (SSN-775); USS Hawaii (SSN-776); USS North Carolina (SSN-777); USS New Hampshire (SSN-778); USS New Mexico (SSN-779); USS Missouri (SSN-780); USS California (SSN-781); USS Mississippi (SSN-782); USS Minnesota (SSN-783); USS North Dakota (SSN-784) ); USS John Warner (SSN-785); USS Illinois (SSN-786); USS Washington (SSN-787); USS Colorado (SSN-788); USS Indiana (SSN-789); 790); Delaware (SSN-791); USS Vermont (SSN-792); USS Oregon Warner (SSN-793); USS Montana (SSN-794); USS Hayman G Rickover (SSN- 795); USS New Jersey (SSN-796); USS Iowa (SSN-797); USS Massachusetts (SSN-798); USS Idaho (SSN-799); USS Arkansas (SSN-800); USS Utah (SSN-810); USS Oklahoma (SSN-802); USS Arizona (SSN-803); USS Barb (SSN-804)

Operators

United States

Roles

Underwater Attack

Travel below the surface to find, track and/or attack or explore areas.

Sea Patrol

Active patrolling of critical waterways and sea areas; also serves as a local deterrent against air and maritime threats.

Fleet Support

Provide support (fire or materiel) to major surface fleets in blue water environments.

Distinctive Features

Rocket Weapons

The ship supports long-range missile launches to air, sea or land-based targets; typical of modern design.

Torpedo

Able to launch torpedoes at distant targets.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

377.0 feet

114.91m

Ray

34. 0 feet

10.36m

Draft

32. 0 feet

9.75m

Shift

7,800 t

No. submerged

8,700 t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

1 S9G PWR series water-cooled nuclear reactor rated 280,000 hp and 2 steam turbines rated 40,000 hp driving 1 shaft.

Surface Velocity

15. 0 nodes

(17.3 km/h)

Underwater speed

25. 0 nodes

(28.8 km/h)

Area

essentially infinite

Weapon

4 x 533 mm torpedo tubes in bow (Mk 48 torpedo series). 12 Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes for the BMG-109 Tomahawk land attack cruise missile. Carry up to 25 torpedoes and 12 cruise missile reloads.

Aircraft

None.