December 21, 2018

Excellent Youtube on Virginia class SSN capabilities.


Don't worry about the German Type 212A start frame. This is about US Virginia SSNs.
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After 4 minutes of hype this August 2017 Youtube settles down to a considered account of the Virginia class submarine's capabilities:

-  4 minutes in - Development at Electric Boat, Groton, computer-aided design

-  5 min, 28 sec - simulation of an underwater explosions against the submarine hull

-  6m 10s - launch of USS Texas (SSN-775) in 2005

-  6m 30s - on board sensors continuously monitor the air supply. Turning seawater into clean air.

-  8m - Uses HY100 pressure hull steel

-  8m 22s - Russia's supercavitating nuclear armed (?) Shkval torpedo threat.

-  9m - seeing and hearing enemy first is the key.

-  9m 44s - simulated firing of a Mark 48 torpedo.

-  11m - Possibly aided by US intel gathering the US was developing a "Barracuda"
    supercavitating torpedo answer to the Shkval rocket powered torpedo in the early 2000s? The
    Barracuda "outruns its own sound waves" so is silent to the target submarine's sensors.

   [Comment: But the Barracuda's noise may deafen its own on-board sonars! Maybe the Barracuda
   torpedo was shelved(?). Or maybe the US is quietly relying on stocks of old or improved VLS or
   torpedo tube launched nuclear SUBROCs as revenge rockets?]

-  13m - If stealth means wanting to be "a hole in the water" maybe anti-sub sensors may be looking
   for that atypical of sea conditions hole?

-  13m 40s - the (radar, sonar and optical) vulnerability of conventional subs (old and new) that
    need to surface or snort to take in air for their loud diesels to recharge their batteries.

-  15m 20s - Vivid illustration of the sonar research that goes on in the lakeside Bayview, Idaho,
   Acoustic Research Detachment (see earlier Submarine Matters' article)

-  17m 55s - the anechoic tiles/layer placed on the outside (and sometimes inside) submarine hull

-  18m 20s - uses of the subs sonars

-  19m 10s - location of the sub's sonar arrays

-  20m - the spherical bow sonar array being able to hears ships "1,000 miles" away. Ends.

Pete 

1 comment:

GhalibKabir said...

is it possible for you to update the steel table from 2015/07 to include India? I think there will be two categories (HY-80 and AB-2) where you can put an entry with a question mark against it to signify positioning doubt.

DMR-292A: it is being claimed this is the equivalent of AB-3, which if true will be a huge jump in India's ability to make high end steel. I am inclined to think it is more likely the DMR 292 steel made in India is more closer to HY-80..


The other steel DMR 249 has Ys around 490 MPa and is weaker than the HY-80 and is being used for surface vessels.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/new-special-grade-steel-make-from-sail-plant/article23089931.ece

(The link above says 249B is equal to AB-2, but I saw scientific community in India putting out research saying the Ys for the 249 steel was around 490 MPa making it quite weaker than HY-80)