Tensions between the Russian and British navies have heightened following a recent incident between a Russian ship and a British destroyer in the Black Sea. In recent months, Russia has scaled up its presence in the Mediterranean and is now conducting drills with warplanes armed with missiles to apparently intimidate a British strike carrier group in the area. Crucially, its ability to launch missiles against onshore targets is a specific deterrent to aggression on land from any of these actors. The effect of this deterrent applies to would-be aggressors across the board, particularly Russian surface warships or submarines. The submarines would be of greatest value in the Mediterranean in the following areas:ĭeterring maritime and land aggression by diverse actors:Īs stated, the weapons systems on the Virginia class, combined with its undetectability by adversaries, are an inherent deterrent to aggression. The Virginia’s cutting-edge capabilities combined with the versatility in its design makes it uniquely suited to face many of the diverse geopolitical challenges in the Mediterranean and surrounding region. Each VPM adds four new Virginia Payload Tubes (VPTs), which in turn carry up to seven Tomahawk missiles, assets that would have otherwise been lost by the retirement of the four Ohio-class cruise missile subs. These weapon systems on an undetectable submarine are a powerful deterrent to aggression by adversaries.Īt present, the number of cruise missiles on each Virginia class is being increased threefold via the introduction of a Virginia Payload Module (VPM). Their cruise missiles can be applied with great precision against any kind of surface target, including warships and land installations, up to a distance of a thousand miles. Their torpedoes can be used against hostile submarines, surface warships, and merchant shipping. In terms of hard power, the submarines are equipped to conduct diverse warfighting missions. The shipyards alternate work on the assembly, testing, outfitting, and delivery processes. Newport News is tasked with building the stern, bow, sail, and machinery and torpedo rooms, while Electric Boat builds the engine and control rooms. with the capabilities to build nuclear-powered submarines, the arrangement is mutually beneficial. The Virginia is manufactured through an arrangement between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding. Though they spend most of their time collecting intelligence, Virginias can also conduct maritime warfare, attack onshore targets, and insert special operators such as Navy SEALs. Navy’s other submarines-ballistic missile subs and cruise missile carriers-the Virginia class is engineered for versatility. The Virginia class is a nuclear-powered attack submarine. However, it is safe to assume that at least one Virginia-class sub is deployed in the Mediterranean at any given time. The Navy seldom reveals any details of their operations. The locations of these submarines are rarely confirmed because their missions are so secretive. “If we’re short people, we’re going to be short people on Virginia,” he said.This June, the Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Mexico finished interoperability training with Navy SEALs in the Mediterranean Sea. The success - or failure - of these recruiting, training and retention efforts will impact Virginia program alone, Graney said, because the Columbia program will always be given the talent and resources it needs to stay on track. Fantastic, provided of course you can find the people and keep the pipelines filled,” the executive added. So that is an incredible agility that I don’t think has ever existed before. We want you guys to incorporate something in your curriculum that gets the guys to be proficient.’ And in the next cohort, they’ve got something developed and implemented. “What I’m thrilled about is, we can go in … and say: ‘Hey, we’ve got a problem with welds passing magnetic particle testing. “We are working harder than I think we would have predicted two years ago on getting recruits, getting them hired, getting them into the training schools, and then getting them out the other end so they can get on the deck plate and start to gain proficiency,” Graney said. Still, his “secret weapon” amid this workforce challenge is the tight collaboration between federal, state and local governments in Connecticut and Rhode Island to create a training pipeline for new recruits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |