Los Angeles class

The Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarines specifically include Anti-Submarine-Warfare (ASW) against Soviet submarines trying to sink the US carrier and ASUW against capital ships in the Soviet surface action group (SAG). The Los Angeles class SSN was designed almost exclusively for Carrier Battlegroup escort; they were fast, quiet, and could launch Mk48 and ADCAP torpedoes, Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles (no longer carried), and both land attack and anti-ship (no longer carried) Tomahawk cruise missiles. The new submarines showed another step improvement in quieting and an increase in operating speed to allow them to support the CVBG. Escort duties included conducting ASW sweeps hundreds of miles ahead of the CVBG and conducting attacks against the SAG.

Submarines of the Los Angeles Class are among the most advanced undersea vessels of their type in the world. While anti-submarine warfare is still their primary mission, the inherent characteristics of the submarine's stealth, mobility and endurance are used to meet the challenges of today's changing global geopolitical climate. Submarines are able to get on station quickly, stay for an extended period of time and carry out a variety of missions including the deployment of special forces, minelaying, and precision strike land attack.

These 360 foot, 6,900-ton ship are well equipped to accomplish these tasks. Faster than her predecessors and possessing highly accurate sensors, weapons control systems and central computer complexes, the Los Angeles Class is armed with sophisticated MK-48 Advanced Capability anti-submarine/ship torpedoes, Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, and mines.

These submarines were built in three successive variants:

• SSNs 618-718 - Orginal Los Angeles class
• SSNs 719-750 - Starting with SSN 719 and beyond the last 31 hulls of the class have 12 vertical launch tubes for the Tomahawk cruise missile, along with an upgraded reactor core.
• SSNs 751-773 - The final 23 hulls [SSN 751 and later] referred to as "688I" (for improved), are quieter, incorporate an advanced BSY-1 sonar suite combat system and the ability to lay mines from their torpedo tubes. They are configured for under-ice operations in that their forward diving planes have been moved from the sail structure to the bow and the sail has been strengthened for breaking through ice.

The USS MEMPHIS (SSN 691) has been modified to serve as a test and evaluation platform for advanced submarine systems and equipment, while retaining her combat capability.

The submarines are outfitted with a wide variety of antennas, transmitters and receivers necessary to support accomplishment of their assigned tasks. Interior communication is possible on a wide range of circuits and sound powered phones which do not require electrical power and are reliable in battle situations. Various alarm and indicating circuits enable the Officer of the Deck and the Engineering Officer of the Watch to continuously monitor critical parameters and equipment located throughout the ship.

The nuclear power plant gives these boats the ability to remain deployed and submerged for extended periods of time. To take advantage of this, the ship is outfitted with auxiliary equipment to provide for the needs of the crew. Atmosphere control equipment replenishes oxygen used by the crew, and removes carbon dioxide and other atmosphere contaminants. The ship is equipped with two distilling plants which convert salt water to fresh water for drinking, washing and the propulsion plant. Sustained operation of the complex equipment and machinery on the ship requires the support of repair parts carried on board. The ship carries enough food to feed a crew of over one hundred for as long as 90 days.

Los Angeles class submarines are divided into two watertight compartments. The forward compartment houses all the living spaces, weapons systems, control centers, and sonar/fire control computers. The after compartment houses the nuclear reactor and the ship's propulsion equipment.

The creation of the Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion (A-RCI) program was based on a detailed review of the U.S. acoustic advantage compared to foreign nuclear and diesel electric submarines. This program is the centerpiece of the Los Angeles (SSN 688)-class modernization effort. SSN 688 class submarines, which will comprise 68% of the attack submarine force in 2015, must be modernized to ensure that they remain effective when operating against increasingly sophisticated undersea adversaries. The use of COTS and Open Systems Architecture (OSA) will enable rapid (annual) updates to both software and hardware, and the use of COTS-based processors means that sonar system computing power can grow at the same rate as the commercial world.

A-RCI is a four phased transformation of existing sonar systems (AN/BSY-1, AN/BQQ-5, or AN/BQQ-6) to a more capable and flexible COTS/OSA-based system. It also will provide the submarine force with a common sonar system. The process is designed to minimize the impact of fire-control and sonar system upgrades on a ship's operational schedule, and will be accomplished without the need for major shipyard availabilities. Phase I, which commenced in November 1997, will enhance towed-array processing. Phase II will provide additional towed- and hull-array software upgrades. Phase III will upgrade the spherical array, and Phase IV will upgrade the high-frequency sonar system on SSN 688I-class submarines. Each phase will install improved processing and control and display workstations. The current installation plan completes all SSNs through Phase III by FY03.

Between 1998 and 2001 the US will retire 11 Los Angeles class submarines that have an average of 13 years left on their 30-year service lives. SSN-688 class submarines could operate for much longer than 30 years; one of the shipbuilders stated that 10 to 20 years of additional service would not be unreasonable. Past Navy actions indicate that extending a submarine's service life may be feasible. After a 5-year study was completed on the SSN-637 class submarine--the predecessor of the SSN-688 class--the design life was extended from 20 years to 30 years, with a possible extension to 33 years on a case-by-case basis. The 18 SSN-688 class submarines that will be refueled at their mid-life could make good candidates for a service life extension because they could operate for nearly 30 years after the refueling. After these submarines serve for 30 years, they could undergo a 2-year overhaul and serve for one more 10-year operating cycle, for a total service life of 42 years. The cost for the additional overhaul of SSN-688 class submarines would be about $406 million per boat.

Eight older Los Angeles-class submarines, without a vertical launch system, could be refueled at a cost of $210 million more than it would cost to inactivate them.

• FY2000 - SSN 713 Houston
• FY2001 - SSN 698 Bremerton
• FY2001 - SSN 699 Jacksonville
• FY2001 - SSN 714 Norfolk
• FY2005 - SSN 716 Salt Lake City
• FY2006 - SSN 717 Olympia
• FY2007 - SSN 718 Honolulu
• FY2008 - SSN 710 Augusta

The existing DOD guidance calls for a force of 50 attack submarines, although some studies have called for raising the number of subs to as many as 72. Existing plans are sufficient to meet the goal of 50 boats, although higher numbers would require modification to these plans. According to Navy secretary Richard Danzig, as of October 1999 the Joint Chiefs of Staff were studying options for increasing the size and capability of the submarine force. The three options under review include by converting older Ohio-class SSBN submarines to so-called SSGNs at a cost of $420 million; refueling and extending by 12 years the service life of perhaps eight Los Angeles-class (SSN 688) subs at a cost per copy of $200 million; or building new Virginia-class (SSN 774) subs at a rate of at least four over the next five years, at a cost of roughly $2 billion per boat. The FY2000 Defense Authorization bill requires the Navy to study converting four of the oldest Tridents to the new SSGN configuration.

The JCS Submarine Force Structure Study, completed in November 1999, concluded that the optimal force structure would be 68 attack submarines by 2015 and 76 by 2025, with the minimum being at least 55 by 2015 and 62 by 2025. The first would be to refuel some Los Angeles-class submarines previously scheduled to be decommissioned.

USS Los Angeles (SSN 688), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Batton Rouge (SSN 689), Norfolk, Va. (decommissioned 13 Jan 1995)  USS Philadelphia (SSN 690), Groton, Conn. USS Memphis (SSN 691), Groton, Conn. USS Omaha (SSN 692), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (decommissioned 5 Oct 1995) USS Cincinnati (SSN 693), Norfolk, Va. (decommissioned 29 Jul 1996) USS Groton (SSN 694), Groton, Conn. (decommissioned 7 Nov 1997) USS Birmingham (SSN 695), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (decommissioned 22 Dec 1997) USS New York City (SSN 696), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (decommissioned 30 Apr 1997) USS Indianapolis (SSN 697), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (decommissioned 17 Feb 1998) USS Bremerton (SSN 698), San Diego, Calif. USS Jacksonville (SSN 699), Norfolk, Va. USS Dallas (SSN 700), Groton, Conn. USS La Jolla (SSN 701), Pearl Harbor, Hi. USS Phoenix (SSN 702), Norfolk, Va. (decommissioned 19 Jul 1998) USS Boston (SSN 703), Groton, Conn. (decommissioned 18 Jan 1999) USS Baltimore (SSN 704), ? (Decommissioned 10 Jul 1998) USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705), Groton, Conn. USS Albuquerque (SSN 706), Groton, Conn. USS Portsmouth (SSN 707), San Diego, Calif. USS Minneapolis-St. Paul (SSN 708), Norfolk, Va. USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709), Norfolk, Va. USS Augusta (SSN 710), Groton, Conn. USS San Francisco (SSN 711), Norfolk, Va. USS Atlanta (SSN 712), Norfolk, Va. (decommissioned 22 Jan 1999) USS Houston (SSN 713), San Diego, Calif. USS Norfolk (SSN 714), Norfolk, Va. USS Buffalo (SSN 715), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Salt Lake City (SSN 716), San Diego, Calif. USS Olympia (SSN 717), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Honolulu (SSN 718), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Providence (SSN 719), Groton, Conn. USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720), Groton, Conn. USS Chicago (SSN 721), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Key West (SSN 722), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723), Norfolk, Va. USS Louisville (SSN 724), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Helena (SSN 725), San Diego, Calif. USS Newport News (SSN 750), Norfolk, Va. USS San Juan (SSN 751), Portsmouth, NH. USS Pasadena (SSN 752), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Albany (SSN 753), Norfolk, Va. USS Topeka (SSN 754), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Miami (SSN 755), Groton, Conn. USS Scranton (SSN 756), Norfolk, Va. USS Alexandria (SSN 757), Groton, Conn. USS Asheville (SSN 758), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Jefferson City (SSN 759), San Diego, Calif. USS Annapolis (SSN 760), Groton, Conn. USS Springfield (SSN 761), Groton, Conn. USS Columbus (SSN 762), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Boise (SSN 764), Norfolk, Va. USS Montpelier (SSN 765), Norfolk, Va. USS Charlotte (SSN 766), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. USS Hampton (SSN 767), Norfolk, Va. USS Hartford (SSN 768), Groton, Conn. USS Toledo (SSN 769), Groton, Conn. USS Tucson (SSN 770), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Columbia (SSN 771), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Greeneville (SSN 772), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

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