Tag Archives: Virginia-class attack submarine

Shipyard News

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Lots of developments on the shipyard beat in the past week or so…

Welcome, Bob!

Saturday saw the christening at Bollinger Shipyards in Pascagoula (Escatawpa) of the future Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey vessel  USNS Robert Ballard (T-AGS 67), with the principal address delivered by the famed Dr. Robert Ballard (CDR, USNR, Ret), the ship’s namesake.

The 353-foot/5,000 ton AGS is equipped with just about every precision survey tool you can think of, and the class is vital in making hyper-accurate charts of the sea floor, something especially important for modern submarine warfare.

Speaking of which…

NoDak Undocks

The storied Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, last week  undocked the early Virginia-class attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN 784), “marking a significant milestone in its maintenance and modernization availability.”

NoDak, commissioned in 2014, the first of eight Virginia-class Block III boats, has been under overhaul since April 2023. The work was scheduled to take 33 months and was cleared in just 34, which is great when it comes to SSN overhauls.

Virginia-class attack submarine USS North Dakota (SSN 784) undocking at Portsmouth, wrapping up a 34-month overhaul. (U.S. Navy photo by Branden Bourque)

Vermont wraps first SMP in Australia

In a quiet development from down under, the Virginia-class hunter killer USS Vermont (SSN 792) arrived at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia late last October and soon underwent something that is a first for both the class and the Royal Australian Navy– a four-month submarine maintenance period (SMP) by a blended American and Australian maintenance team without a sub tender alongside for support.

It’s the first time that was done outside of the U.S. and is an important milestone for the AUKUS SSN program, which will, eventually, see the RAN operating 774s.

Garden Island, HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, Australia (Nov. 10, 2025) – A bilateral team of U.S. Navy Sailors and civilians of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Dive Locker, and Australian members of Clearance Dive Team 4, dive under the hull of the USS Vermont (SSN 792) in support of a planned submarine maintenance period (SMP). The bilateral team completed multiple jobs, including installing patches under the hull to allow access to main ballast tank three. The maintenance period showcased Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility’s ability to conduct maintenance in Western Australia and its training of Australian maintainers to support the establishment of Submarine Rotational Force – West as early as 2027 as part of AUKUS Pillar I, the trilateral security agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The AUKUS Integration & Acquisition Program Office is the U.S. Navy office responsible for executing the trilateral partnership to assist Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarines while setting the highest nuclear stewardship standards and continuing to maintain the highest nonproliferation standards. (U.S. Navy Photo by Cmdr. Erik Wells)

Austal finishes the last EPF, keeps up with EMS, and ATS

The vessel that got Austal’s Mobile, Alabama yard on the map, the 16-vessel Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport, is wrapping up with the launching last week of the future USNS Lansing (EPF 16), capping a program that began in 2010.

The 337-foot vessels are big enough to land a CH-53K King Stallion on their aft deck and can schlep 412 troops around the theatre at 43 knots or, with a 20,000 sq ft mission bay, can fill a Swiss army knife of support roles– all with a crew of 41.

Austal says that, once delivered, the production efforts on EPF 16 will shift to final outfitting and system activation to support future USNS Bethesda (T-EMS-1), the first of three EPF Flight II medical variants, getting underway for sea trials. The white-painted EMS series will have four operating rooms and 124 medical beds, separated into acute care, acute isolation, ICU, and ICU isolation spaces.

Austal, in the same week, also successfully launched the future Navajo-class rescue and salvage ship USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12) into the Mobile River, some 75 percent complete.

The future Navajo-class rescue and salvage ship USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12)

The 263-foot/5,100-ton T-ATS will provide ocean-going towing, salvage, and rescue capabilities to support fleet operations. T-ATS will be a multi-mission common hull platform capable of towing U.S. Navy ships and will have 6,000 square feet of deck space for embarked systems. The large, unobstructed deck allows for the embarkation of a variety of stand-alone and interchangeable systems. The T-ATS platform will combine the capabilities of the retiring Rescue and Salvage Ship (T-ARS 50) and Fleet Ocean Tug (T-ATF 166) platforms. T-ATS will be able to support current missions, including towing, salvage, rescue, oil spill response, humanitarian assistance, and wide-area search and surveillance. The platform also enables future rapid capability initiatives, such as supporting modular payloads with hotel services and appropriate interfaces.

Welcome back: Chesapeake, Silversides, Pittsburgh

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it, I think that traditional ship names for warships need to be recycled. That goes for any fleet, not just the U.S. Navy. While current SECNAV Kenneth J. Braithwaite no doubt is updating his Linkedin and Jobs.com accounts in preparation for the new administration, he at least chalked up some great ship names last week.

The future ships will bear the names and hull numbers:

USS Chesapeake (FFG 64), Constellation-class frigate.
USS Silversides (SSN 807), Virginia-class attack submarine.
USS Pittsburgh (LPD 31), San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.
USNS Lenni Lenape (T-ATS 9), Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship.
USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7), Puller-class Expeditionary Sea Base.

While Simanek, named for a Korean War Marine hero, and Lenape, named after the first tribe to sign a treaty with the United States in 1778, are new names to the Naval List, the other three vessels have been there numerous times. Chesapeake, going back to 1799, has appeared four times, Silversides twice (both to other subs) and Pittsburgh four times, going back to a Civil War ironclad.

As detailed by the Navy: 

The future Constellation-class frigate USS Chesapeake (FFG 64) will be named for one of the first six Navy frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. The first USS Chesapeake served with honor against the Barbary Pirates in the early 1800s.

To honor the Silent Service, the future Virginia-class attack submarine USS Silversides (SSN 807) will carry the name of a WWII Gato-class submarine. The first Silversides (SS 236) completed 14 tours beneath the Pacific Ocean spanning the entire length of WWII. She inflicted heavy damage on enemy shipping, saved downed aviators, and even drew enemy fire to protect a fellow submarine. A second Silversides (SSN 679) was a Sturgeon-class submarine that served during the Cold War. This will be the third naval vessel to carry the name Silversides. The name comes from a small fish marked with a silvery stripe along each side of its body.

The future San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Pittsburgh (LPD 31) will be the fifth Navy vessel to bear the name. The first was an ironclad gunboat that served during the American Civil War. The second USS Pittsburgh (CA 4) was an armored cruiser that served during WWI, and a third USS Pittsburgh (CA 72) was a Baltimore-class cruiser that served during WWII – supporting the landing at Iwo Jima. The fourth USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720) was a Los Angeles-class submarine that served the Navy from December 1984 to August 2019.

I only wish that Pittsburgh could have been used on a combatant, but at least it falls in line with the naming convention of the current crop (and previous Austin– and Raleigh classes) of LPDs, which are all named after well-known large cities.

Hopefully, the new SECNAV will keep the theme going and not revert to the sins of Mr. Mabus, who was infamous for naming ships after non-serving politicans and labor/LGBT leaders.