The Navy has begun awarding contracts to companies for new acoustic superiority upgrades that will make Virginia-class attack submarines more stealthy, the service’s program manager said in a May interview with Defense Daily.
The USS South Dakota (SSN-790) will be the first submarine to integrate the improvements, which include two large vertical arrays placed on each side of the vessel, a new treatment for the hull and other modifications aimed at quieting systems inside the ship, said Capt. Mike Stevens, who manages the Virginia-class submarine program.
The plan addresses the two ways submarines can better sneak up on enemy subs: by improving the “ears” of a submarine by improving sensor capability and by making less noise, thus becoming less traceable by sonar, he said.
“The key thing of a submarine is being able to hear your adversary before they hear you,” he said. “We’re improving the sonar system on the platform as well as improving the quieting, so we’re tackling both ends of it. We can hear better, and we can’t be heard as well.”
So far contracts have been awarded to: Precision Custom Components (PCC-York) for array fixtures manufacturing, UTC Aerospace Systems [TXT] for array sections manufacturing, SEACON for cables and connectors manufacturing, PCB Piezotronics, Inc. for sensor manufacturing, Lockheed Martin [LMT] for outboard electronics manufacturing, D.G. O’Brien [TDY] for cable assembly and electrical hull penetrators procurement, Northrop Grumman [NOC] for array fairing manufacturing, Doerfer for fixture cart installation and Globe Composite Solutions for tiles and fairing manufacturing.
According to Naval Sea Systems Command, several contracts associated with the acoustic superiority effort are pending, however a spokeswoman declined to comment until time of award.
The Navy will serve as the systems integrator, Stevens said. The service will prove out the new modifications during a 2019 at-sea demonstration aboard the South Dakota, a Block III submarine slated for delivery in Feb. 2018.
The acoustic superiority upgrades will then be incorporated in the Block V submarines, which will begin procurement in 2019. Backfitting the technologies on earlier ships is also under consideration, although the Navy has not yet made a final decision on whether to do so.
“This is about not just building a good submarine today, but ensuring the submarine is superior in 30-40 years from now,” he said. “So it requires us to really stay ahead of the technology that’s out there.”