The US Navy’s fast-attack submarine USS Seawolf (SSN 21) has concluded her first deployment in over five years as she pulled into her Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton on January 21. The six-month deployment followed an extensive $280 million worth Depot Modernization Period (DMP) of the submarine at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS&IMF) that lasted for 30 months.
USS Seawolf’s Commanding Officer Capt. Broderick Berkhout said: “They (the crew) maintained a 90 percent operational tempo and were able to meet all of the tasking required of us by the fleet commander. It couldn’t have been done without every single Sailor that’s part of my crew that worked hard to get the ship [ready].”
USS Seawolf is the first of the U.S. Navy’s three Seawolf-class submarines, the Navy’s most advanced attack submarine design. The Seawolf is significantly quieter than any Los Angeles class submarine, faster, has more torpedoes tubes and can carry more weapons – up to 50 torpedoes or missiles, or 100 mines.
She has greater manoeuvrability than the Los Angeles Class, space for later upgrades and weapons developments, and better sonars. The Seawolf class has a maximum speed of 35kt dived, and a ‘silent’ speed of 20kt. With a diving depth of 610m, the class has been designed with a sub-ice capability, with retractable bow planes.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, January 22, 2014; Image: Wikimedia