Description
The Seawolf was conceived as a faster, better-armed eventual replacement for the Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarines. The first of class, the Seawolf (SSN21), was ordered from the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics, Connecticut, in January 1989 and commissioned in July 1997. Connecticut (SSN22) was commissioned in December 1998. The third, Jimmy Carter (SSN 23), is to be modified to improve payload carrying and underwater manoeuvrability. The alterations to the design will include modifications to the ballast control, mission management spaces and the creation of a flexible ocean interface known as a "wasp waist", which will enable the deployment and recovery of payloads without the use of torpedo tubes. Other additions include a new high capacity communications mast and ROV handling system. The Jimmy Carter was launched in June 2004 and is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2004. Like the improved Los Angeles class, the Seawolf does not have any external weapons. The submarine is armed with both the land-attack and anti-ship version of the Tomahawk missile from Raytheon. The land-attack Tomahawk has a range of 2,500km. A Tercom Aided Inertial Navigation System (TAINS) guides the missile towards the target flying at subsonic speed at an altitude of 20 to 100m. Tomahawk can be fitted with a nuclear warhead which is not normally carried. The anti-ship Tomahawk missile is equipped with an inertial guidance and an active radar and anti-radiation homing head. The range is up to 450km.
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