It turns out the Navy’s newest operational submarine (USS Virginia) is going up against my old boat in some war-gaming as they prepare for their first overseas deployment. From The Day:
Last week they were preparing for a war-gaming exercise with the USS Hartford (SSN 768), another Groton-based submarine, in which they planned to fire 12 exercise torpedoes.
[snip]
There is no comparison acoustically between a Virginia-class submarine like the Virginia and a Los-Angeles-class submarine like the Hartford, Hurt said. He refers to other classes as “Brand X.”
“In the submarine world, if you’re the quiet guy you’ll come out on top all the time,” he said. “Acoustically we’ll tear them up.”
This kind of thing was always fun, even though we were all pretty knackered by the end of it. And based on the improvements in submarine technology, I think the Hartford will likely get a thumping from a Virginia crew that’s been training their asses off for this.
I really wish I could get a tour of a Virginia-class boat sometime; though I’ve seen simulators of some of the panels both forward and aft, it would be great to see the real thing and talk to the crew to see what the new stuff can really do.
Jed Christiansen 