🔍
US NAVY’S VIRGINIA CLASS TO BE THE FIRST SUBMARINES IN THE WORLD TO HAVE LASER WEAPONS ! - YouTube
Channel: Defense Updates
[16]
Several open-source budge documents indicate
the US Navy’s is in the process of developing
[21]
lasers for its Virginia Class attack submarines
Some of these documents which date back to
[28]
2011 show that the US Navy wanted laser weapons
fitted to the Virginia Class submarines so
[34]
that the submarines can take out potential
targets swiftly.
[38]
This plan by U.S Navy will be one of its most
audacious moves if implemented.
[43]
Some reports indicates that the laser is already
being tested.
[47]
Prima facie it looks pointless since lasers
don't work underwater.
[52]
But laser weapons attached to the mast will
be able to attack targets that are above the
[57]
sea level.
[58]
In this video Defense Updates analyzes the
deployment of laser weapons in Virginia class
[64]
submarines of the U.S Navy.
[66]
Let’s get started.
[68]
This video is sponsored by the free-to-play
military vehicle combat game War Thunder.
[72]
We talk a lot about military vehicles on this
channel, but what about trying them out for
[77]
yourself?
[78]
In War Thunder, you can chose from more than
1200 playable vehicles from the 1930s to the
[82]
1990s and go to battle on more than 80 theaters
of war.
[86]
You can fly aircraft, helicopters, drive tanks
and command ships of all types and sizes,
[91]
which have all been carefully recreated from
their real-world counterparts.
[94]
It's available as a free download on PC, PlayStation4
and Xbox One with cross-platform support,
[100]
so grab your friends and give it a try!
[102]
All viewers of Defense Updates that register
using the link in the description below will
[105]
also get a free premium tank or aircraft or
ship and three days of premium account time
[111]
as a bonus.
[117]
The Virginia class sometimes referred to as
SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered
[125]
fast attack submarines in service with the
United States Navy.
[129]
Virginia class is designed to replace older
Los Angeles-class submarines, many of which
[134]
have already been decommissioned.
[137]
The Virginia class was intended in part as
a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf-class
[142]
submarines whose production run was stopped
after just three boats had been completed.
[148]
The submarines of the Virginia class are designed
for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral
[153]
missions.
[154]
Their primary purpose is to take out enemy's
surface combatants and submarines and the
[159]
secondary task is to execute land-attack missions.
[163]
Submarines of this class have a length of
115 m.
[167]
To give viewers a perspective, the length
is slightly greater than that of a football
[171]
field.
[172]
These submarines displace around 7,900 tons
and are acknowledged to be able to move to
[178]
depths of 240m (800 feet) but allegedly capable
of going down to 490 m (1,600 feet).
[187]
A single S9G reactor that produces around
30 MW powers Virginia class submarines.
[194]
The S9G reactor is designed to operate for
33 years without refueling.
[200]
This enables the submarines of this class
to have a practically unlimited range, limited
[205]
by only food supplies and maintenance requirements.
[208]
The reactor produces enough power to propel
the submarines to over 25 knots that is 46
[215]
km/hr or 29 mph, though the actual numbers
may be significantly higher.
[222]
The Virginia class ushered in many technological
advances in submarine construction.
[227]
It is the first to use photonic sensors instead
of a traditional periscope.
[233]
The class is equipped with high-resolution
cameras, along with light-intensification
[237]
and infrared sensors as well as an infrared
laser rangefinder.
[243]
Starting Block IV, the submarines incorporate
a Large-Aperture Bow (LAB) water-backed array,
[250]
which replaces the traditional air-backed
spherical array.
[254]
This is main sonar is one of the most powerful
sonars mounted in any of the submarines in
[259]
the world.
[260]
The Virginia class is built through an industrial
arrangement designed to maintain both General
[265]
Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls
Newport News, the only two U.S. shipyards
[271]
capable of building nuclear-powered submarines.
[274]
The facilities alternate work on the reactor
plant as well as the final assembly, test,
[280]
outfit, and delivery.
[290]
Virginia class has a plethora of weapons.
[292]
1. There are Vertical Tubes to carry Tomahawk
Submarine Launched Cruise Missile (SLBM),
[299]
unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV).
[302]
These could also potentially carry non-nuclear
medium-range ballistic missiles.
[307]
2. Four 533 mm torpedo tubes for the Mk-48 torpedo.
[314]
There is a capacity to carry up to 26 Mk-48
torpedoes in the weapon's chamber.
[320]
These torpedoes have a range in excess of
50 km or 31 miles and can be used to take
[326]
out enemy submarines and surface vessels.
[329]
3. The boats are able to lay different types
of mines including the MK-60 CAPTOR Encapsulated
[336]
Torpedo mines.
[338]
4. An integral lock-out/lock-in chamber is incorporated
into the hull for special operations.
[345]
The chamber can host a mini-submarine, such
as Northrop Grumman’s Advanced SEALS Delivery
[350]
System that can be used to transport special
warfare forces such as Navy SEAL teams.
[363]
Documents indicate that the High Energy Laser
(HEL) would be of around 300 kilowatts.
[369]
They could eventually end up to be more powerful,
up to 500 kilowatts.
[374]
It will be powered by the S9G reactor.
[376]
As per some reports, the initial prototype
has already been tested using a towed power
[383]
generator instead.
[385]
Though the U.S Navy has been tightlipped regarding
this, a laser could have several use-cases.
[391]
The laser can be used as a last-ditch defense
against drones and anti-submarine helicopters.
[397]
The current crop of American submarines like
most others doesn't have any defense against
[402]
air attack as they spend very little time
on the surface.
[406]
This is especially true for U.S Navy subs
as they are nuclear powered, and don't need
[410]
access to atmospheric oxygen for propulation,
unlike diesel-electric subs which do so by
[416]
surfacing or using a snorkel.
[420]
Modern submarines generally depend on their
undersea cover to avoid attack from the air.
[425]
There are exceptions, for example, Interactive
Defence and Attack System for Submarines (IDAS)
[431]
is a submarine-launched, lightweight, multi-role,
fiber-optic guided missile system being developed
[437]
for the German and other partner navies to
take out aerial threats.
[442]
A system like IDAS is useful when the cover
of a submarine is blown.
[447]
Viewers may note that modern anti-submarine
aircraft and helicopters have many ways to
[453]
detect submarines.
[455]
Laser weapons will have some distinct advantage
over a system like IDAS or guns.
[460]
The speed of light enables them to hit their
targets almost instantaneously.
[465]
Laser weapons also don’t need to carry ammunition
like traditional systems and hence they will
[470]
be able to take out a much larger number of
threats constrained only by the power supply
[475]
limit of the platform.
[477]
This is pretty significant aa traditional
systems can run out of ammunition when encountering
[481]
a large number of incoming threats like a
drone swarm.
[485]
Also, a platform firing laser will be much
harder to detect than one firing a missile
[491]
since laser are invisible and there is no
blast associated with it when fired.
[496]
The laser could also be used to take out small
missile-firing boat likes of which are possessed
[501]
by North Korea and Iran, expending torpedoes
that are limited in number is not the most
[506]
effective solution in these scenarios.
[510]
Laser weapons also could potentially be used
to strike high value tactical coastal targets
[515]
such as radar stations.
[523]
U.S President Donald Trump revealed on 19
July 2019 that the USS Boxer downed an Iranian
[531]
drone.
[532]
As per him, the drone came within 1,000 yards
of the U.S Navy ship and ignored "multiple
[537]
calls to stand down”.
[539]
Mr. Trump Speaking at the White House had
said the drone was "threatening the safety
[544]
of the ship and the ship's crew" in the Strait
of Hormuz and was "immediately destroyed.”
[549]
In December last year, the U.S. Navy has confirmed
that "multiple" small Iranian boats ran alongside
[555]
the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Abraham
Lincoln and other ships from her strike group
[560]
as she sailed through.
[562]
These incidents exhibit the emerging threats
and new challenges of modern warfare.
[567]
U.S Navy already has 17 Virginia-class attack
submarines.
[572]
Last year the U.S Navy awarded its largest-ever
shipbuilding contract to General Dynamics
[577]
Electric Boat.
[579]
The contract worth $22.2 billion will see
the construction of nine Block V Virginia-class
[585]
attack submarines.
[587]
So, the fleet is getting expanded.
[589]
In the coming days, if these submarines get
laser weapons, it will add a lot of flexibility
[595]
to the US Navy.
[597]
Virginia class submarines are considered one
of the best attack subs and the inclusion
[601]
of laser will give them a unique capability.
Most Recent Videos:
You can go back to the homepage right here: Homepage