Thanks to friend Bill Walker for sending this in.
The USS Virginia-class submarines are the United States' newest and most advanced attack submarines — a post-Cold War design built to operate equally well in deep ocean and shallow littoral waters. They take more than five years to build and cost approximately $2.4 billion each. This photo tour runs from stern to bow: engine room, reactor, crew habitat, SEAL lock-out chamber, command center, and torpedo room.
Step aboard the Navy's $2.4 billion Virginia-class nuclear submarine.
The submarines are nearly 400 feet long and have been in service since 2003.
The ships were designed to function well in both deep-sea and shallow-water environments.
Here is Cheryl McGuiness — widow of one of the pilots killed on 9/11 — christening the USS New Hampshire.
Engine Room & Propulsion
Here are the USS Virginia's engines, which power a pump-jet propulsor rather than a conventional propeller. This design reduces corrosive damage and makes the ship significantly stealthier.
The engine room, near the sub's stern, is where power from the S9G nuclear reactor drives the ship to nearly 32 mph when submerged.
Crew Habitat
This passageway — running from the engine room, over the reactor, and through the living habitat in the center of the ship — is kept dark so that sailors can sleep.
Submariners eat well — the quality of the food is designed to offset the stress and burden of living underwater for months at a time. As one sailor put it: "It's like having comfort food 24 hours a day."
SEAL Lock-Out Chamber
The ship has an airlock chamber with room for nine SEALs, who can exit the submarine while it is submerged by passing through this lock-out chamber in the center of the ship.
Command Center
Farther toward the bow, the command center sits directly beneath the main sail. Unlike earlier submarines, the Virginia-class command center does not need to be directly below deck because there is no traditional periscope.
Instead of a traditional periscope, the Virginia uses a state-of-the-art photonics mast system that delivers real-time imaging viewable by multiple crew members simultaneously.
The Virginia eliminates the traditional helmsman, planesman, chief of the watch, and diving officer by consolidating those functions into two stations manned by two officers.
The subs are equipped with a spherical sonar array that scans a full 360 degrees. The Virginia carries a full crew of 134 sailors. Despite computer navigation systems, all routes are also plotted manually.
Torpedo Room
Below the command center is the torpedo room, which can also be configured with temporary bunks for special operations teams. The ships carry up to 12 vertical-launch Tomahawk missiles and 38 torpedoes.
Here an officer aboard USS Texas fires water through the torpedo tubes as part of a systems test.
The subs were also designed to host the Advanced SEAL Delivery System — a midget submarine that would transport SEALs from the boat to their objective.
The Bow
At the very front of the torpedo room is the bow, which contains sonar equipment and anechoic shielding designed to make the sub stealthier. Even as boats are being built, new improvements and upgrades continue to be incorporated into the design.
That's what the U.S. has in the works beneath the waves.