Russia’s Volkhov sub test-fires Kalibr cruise missile in Sea of Japan

 "The missile was fired at a coastal target imitating a notional enemy’s artillery position," the Pacific Fleet said

MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The Volkhov submarine of Russia’s Pacific Fleet test-fired a Kalibr-PL cruise missile in the Sea of Japan, striking a target around 1,000 km away, the fleet’s press service said.

"In accordance with the combat training schedule, the crew of the Volkhov diesel-electric submarine of Russia’s Pacific Fleet performed a launch of a Kalibr cruise missile while in the underwater position. The missile was fired at a coastal target imitating a notional enemy’s artillery position," the Pacific Fleet said.

"Prior to the launch, the submarine was secretly deployed in the designated area. At the scheduled time, a Kalibr cruise missile struck the designated target at the Syurkum tactical field in the Khabarovsk region. The firing distance exceeded 1,000 kilometers," the press service added.

USS Idaho Submarine Christened

 

Spectators gather to observe a christening of the pre-commissioning unit (PCU) Idaho (SSN 799) during a ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard facility in Groton, Conn., March 16, 2024. (Joshua Karsten/U.S. Navy)

GROTON — As a bottle of sparkling water broke against the hull of the USS Idaho, submarine test mechanic Spencer Holzschlag stood at the sail atop the massive ship to drown out the celebratory clink with the blast of a whistle that reverberated through the shipbuilding hangar for 10 deafening seconds.

It was the christening of the 26th submarine in the Virginia class of nuclear powered, fast-attack submarines. The Idaho, named for an unlikely hotspot in the world of maritime nuclear research and training, is the 13th in the class built at Electric Boat as part of a collaboration with Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.

The opportunity to participate in the pomp and circumstance was a perk of the job for Holzschlag, whose responsibilities revolve around making sure things work so the ship can soon float off. The Montville resident is among more than 22,500 employees in Connecticut and Rhode Island, with an additional 5,000 hires expected by the end of the year.

About a dozen dignitaries lined the dais in front of the submarine to praise the industry for creating a ship worthy of the Navy crew that stood in formation to their right.

Ship sponsor Teresa Stackley, of Maryland, said a lot has changed since her father walked the deck plates as an employee of Electric Boat during a widespread career devoted to naval design. But she added the 125-year-old company's "expert craftsmanship and dedication" remains the same.

Stackley is married to former assistant secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley, with whom she spent almost 40 years at duty stations from California to Maine.

"In the name of the United States, I christen thee Idaho," she said before the glass flew and the whistle blew. "May God bless her, and all that sail in her."

Electric Boat President Kevin Graney said the christening marks the "pressure hull complete" stage of construction, which signifies the final section has been welded to the rest of the ship with weaponry and control modules in the bow.

"Our job, and every member of my team, is to ensure our sailors get every unfair advantage we can load into a boat," he said.

Interior construction, testing, dockside trials and sea trials must occur before the submarine can be delivered to the Navy.

A timeline from the USS Idaho Commissioning Committee, an Idaho-based nonprofit established to help support the project, estimated the submarine could be commissioned by spring of next year.

Bryan Caccavale, vice president of Navy programs at Newport News Shipbuilding, described a situation in Virginia that mirrors the one in this state as the companies struggle to find workers.

"Our nation's shipbuilding demand is higher than it's been in four decades," he said. "At the same time, the number of Americans employed in manufacturing is down more than 30% compared to where it stood 40 years ago."

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D- 2nd District, said demand for submarines exceeds levels experienced during the World War II period and the Cold War.

He pointed to the Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative, a program of the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, that has become a national model for recruiting unemployed or underemployed workers who don't necessarily have experience in the field.

"This renaissance of the metal trades is also happening at our trade schools and even regular comprehensive high schools, so that high school grads can literally go to work in the shipyard as soon as they receive their high school diploma," he said.

Production of the Virginia class submarines represents 38% of Electric Boat's business, according to the company. The largest source of revenue, at 44%, comes from the Columbia class ballistic missile program that currently represents the country's top strategic defense priority.

The Biden administration's $895 billion defense budget for 2025 eliminates funding for one of two Virginia-class submarines contained in previous budgets.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in his remarks emphasized recruiting workers requires "constancy and continuity" in the nation's shipbuilding program.

"So let me be very blunt: Now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to two submarines in the Virginia class every year," he said. "And reducing that number sends the wrong message not only to those shipbuilders, but to the world."

Idaho Gov. Brad Little said the crew of the submarine once it is commissioned will benefit from history of underseas research and training in his state and the skilled workers in Connecticut and Virginia.

"It means that they will be safe, and that America will continue to be the biggest, badass warrior in the world," he said.

Idaho is known for the 890-acre U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory and some of the most important nuclear energy advancements in the world that have occurred there, according to the Associated Press.

One of those breakthroughs was the prototype for the nuclear propulsion system that came to be used in the USS Nautilus, the nation's first nuclear powered submarine. Construction on the ship began in 1952 at Electric Boat.

The Idaho National Laboratory is also known as the site of the only fatal nuclear accident in the nation's history after three operators were killed in the steam explosion and meltdown of an experimental reactor.

Little said the USS Idaho's nuclear fuel core upon decommissioning will be "stabilized in perpetuity" in the same desert where the national laboratory resides.

Part of history

After the ceremony, three-year Electric Boat employee Lisa Giassi of Pawtucket, R.I., was struck by the enormity of the day's event and the global significance of the locally produced submarine.

Giassi works in the warehouse picking parts large and small to be processed and distributed. She operates a forklift for bulk orders; for smaller parts — ranging from light switches to studs to micro screws — she gets on a larger machine designed to navigate narrow aisles with shelves rising 45-feet high.

"You name it, I pick it," she said.

She cited a sense of accomplishment in knowing she had a hand in something so powerful.

She gestured to the USS Idaho behind her.

"We helped build it," she said. "We're part of this: We're part of EB, we're part of Groton, we're part of history."

___

(c)2024 The Day (New London, Conn.)

Australia earmarks billions for naval infrastructure as BAE wins AUKUS submarine work

 

SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) - Australia said Thursday it would spend billions on docks, shipyards and factories at home and in Britain for nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact, and named Britain's BAE Systems (BAES.L), opens new tab to help build the boats.

The AUKUS agreement among Australia, Britain and the United States will see Australia buy up to five nuclear submarines from Washington in the early 2030s before jointly building and operating a new class, SSN-AUKUS, with Britain, roughly a decade later.

The pact, which will see Australia become the seventh nation to operate nuclear-powered submarines, will stress shipyards in Britain and the United States that are already beset by delays and cost overruns.

To help alleviate the strain, Australia will give Britain 2.4 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) toward design work on the conventionally armed SSN-AUKUS and expanding a Rolls-Royce (RR.L), opens new tab plant that builds nuclear reactors for submarines.

Australia has already agreed to invest $3 billion in U.S. shipyards, which build the Virginia-class nuclear submarines it will be sold early next decade amid concerns that a backlog of orders could jeopardize the deal.

"What AUKUS is doing is allowing Australian industry to further invest here, but there are opportunities also opening up with our UK and US partners," Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement on Thursday.

Australia will also invest A$1.5 billion ($993 million) to prepare a naval base in Western Australia for nuclear submarines, in particular a U.S. and British force set to be based there part of each year starting in 2027. The total cost of the work is expected to be about A$8 billion.

The Australian and British foreign and defence ministers will officially launch the investments on Friday at a joint news conference at shipyards in South Australia, where Australia will build its AUKUS fleet.

Australia said BAE Systems had been selected to build the submarines in South Australia in partnership with local naval firm ASC.

Work is expected to start in the late 2020s, after at least A$2 billion worth of new shipbuilding facilities are completed.

Once the submarines are in the water, ASC will handle maintenance and logistics. The firm, which builds and maintains Australia's diesel-powered Collins-class fleet, will work with unspecified U.S. and British companies.

SSN-AUKUS submarines will also be built in Britain, and BAE won a 4 billion pound ($5.1 billion) contract in October 2023 to start design work and infrastructure at the shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness.

Nuclear submarines require a specialised workforce and BAE and ASC will set up a joint skills centre in South Australia to begin training workers.

Australia plans to send roughly 100 ASC workers to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, next year to train at the U.S. naval facility there.

How a Michigan Beach Town Became Home to a Highly-Decorated WWII Submarine

 

The U.S.S. Silversides SS 236 being pushed into its new home near downtown Muskegon, Michigan, on April 4, 1991. (Muskegon Chronicle archive photo via TNS)

MUSKEGON, MI - An 82-year-old piece of storied World War II history has called the Muskegon Lake channel home since 1987, thanks to strong community support and the formation of a new museum.

The USS Silversides fought in the war from April 1942 to July 1945. Painted on the side of the ship like a tattoo are 30 Japanese flags representing the enemy ships the submarine sank during its 14 patrols. The submarine ranks third highest among all WWII submarines in ships sunk, today it is the nation’s most famous surviving WWII submarine.

The submarine was originally designed to run alongside a Navy fleet but when the U.S. fleets were depleted after Pearl Harbor, the submarine’s mission changed to “hunter killers,” said museum preservationist Matt Kervin.

Unlike modern-day submarines, the Silverside does not have a round exterior. Instead, the ship has a flat surface and looks similar to a fleet ship.

The USS Silverside was in the war from April 1942 to July 1945. Painted on the side of the ship like a tattoo are 30 Japanese flags representing the enemy ships the submarine sank during its 14 patrols. The submarine ranks third highest among all WWII submarines in ships sunk. Today it is the nation’s most famous surviving WWII submarine.

After WWII, the Silversides was brought to Chicago for training. After years of sitting in decay a team of volunteers helped restore the vessel. The submarine was moved to Chicago’s Navy Pier in 1979, but with the city wanting to revamp the pier, the submarine needed a new home.

In 1985, residents of Muskegon started a campaign to get the decorated submarine to their home port. In August 1987 that became reality as several boats helped escort the submarine to its permanent location in the Muskegon Lake channel.

Walking the length of the 312-foot vessel, visitors can picture different scenes of life at war, from the stacked cots next to torpedoes, the galley kitchen outfitted with a massive coffee tank, to the lights and levers of the control room.

People get a sense of how nimble and agile the crew must have been — especially the crew manning the elevated conning tower 36 feet up who would jump down the hatch and into battle position in 30 seconds.

However, they won’t envy the lack of privacy these men endured with only three showers and four toilets among them.

Today the Silversides serves as the centerpiece of the USS Silversides Submarine Museum located at 1346 Bluff St. in Muskegon.

The two-story submarine museum next to the vessel details the many adventures of the USS Silversides throughout World War II, its significance in battle and personal accounts from its crew. Also docked next to the Silversides is the USCGC McLane, a prohibition-era Coast Guard cutter, that is also open for tours seven days a week.

“We don’t want to cater only to the history buffs,” Executive Director Bethann Egan said.

“We want to make you curious about it afterwards. This isn’t a place you have to know something about World War II, you’re going to learn when you come here. You don’t have to be intimidated.”

The museum allows overnight stays for groups who want to fully immerse themselves in history. Groups up to 72 people can stay onboard, hang out below the water line and sleep next to torpedoes.

For more information about the museum and hours and admission, visit their website here.

 

Visit - USS Silversides Museum Visit USS Silversides Museum which allows you to immerse yourself in WWII history, with variety of permanent and...

Virginia Class submarine New Jersey completes first set of sea trials.

 

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division has successfully completed initial sea trials for Virginia-class attack submarine New Jersey (SSN 796). New Jersey spent several days at sea to test the boat’s systems and components. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

The Virginia-class attack submarine New Jersey has returned to Newport News, Va., after several days at sea testing systems and components, Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Thursday.

 Tests included submerging for the first time and conducting high-speed maneuvers on the surface and below. “Taking New Jersey out for the first time is a significant milestone, and the first major test of the submarine’s capabilities at sea,” said Jason Ward, Newport News Shipbuilding vice president of Virginia-class submarine construction. “Both New Jersey and her crew performed exceptionally well.” 

New Jersey is expected to be delivered to the Navy later this year. 

Though it is the 23rd sub in the Virginia class, it also is the first of its kind: Designed with female submariners in mind. Women have been serving on submarines for more than a decade, but the New Jersey (SSN 796) is the first to be designed with specific modifications for gender integration. Planned modifications included the obvious — more doors and washrooms to create separate sleeping and bathing areas — and the more subtle: lowering some overhead valves and making them easier to turn, and installing steps in front of the triple-high bunk beds and stacked laundry machines. 

Before construction of New Jersey, the Navy retrofitted existing subs with extra doors and designated washrooms.  “The future USS New Jersey will be a critical — some say the most critical — arrow in our quiver,” retired Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former chief of naval operations, said at the christening in November 2021. 

Mullen was chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 2010 when then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress the Navy would begin including women in the submarine community. 

As of October 2023, 609 women were assigned to operational submarines — serving as officers and sailors on 18 nuclear-powered ballistic-missile and guided-missile submarines and 14 nuclear-powered attack boats, according a report from the U.S. Naval Institute.  

The long-term plan is that by 2030, 33 submarine crews will have female officers and 14 crews will have female enlisted sailors. All classes of submarines will be integrated with female officers. Designs for the next ballistic-missile sub, the Columbia class, will rely on body measurements for men and women. The first Columbia-class sub is scheduled to join the fleet in 2031. Virginia-class submarines, a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines, are built for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions to replace the Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarines as they are retired. Virginia-class submarines incorporate innovations that increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth. They are capable of supporting multiple mission areas and can operate at speeds of more than 25 knots for months at a time.

Source - Stars and Stripes