"High-Tech Upgrades for US Subs" Topic

U.S. Navy leaders say the service is making progress developing new technologies to ensure the U.S. retains its technological edge in the undersea domain – as countries like China continue rapid military modernization and construction of new submarines.

When asked about the pace of Chinese undersea military construction and modernization, the Navy's Director of Undersea Warfare said the Navy is focused on sustaining the research and development, or R&D, sufficient to ensure the U.S. retains its technological superiority.

Some of the efforts are yielding near-term results in the form of the USS South Dakota, a prototype Virginia-class attack submarine engineered with a series of high-tech adjustments, Rear Adm. Joseph Tofalo told Military.com…

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The reporter did less than stellar research/note taking for the artice. Dallas is a Los Angeles class boat due to go out of service in 2017 and hardly an improvement while South Dakota is the 7th of the Block III Virginia class, not the prototype. North Dakota is the lead boat of the Block III's and has the new bow, new sonar.

I'm kinda waiting for more subs to get the "Ocean Access" stretch like the Jimmy Carter has. It's basically a couple Trident missile tubes turned on their sides and placed in a "wasp-waist" section of pressure hull amidships. Gives the sub a pair of 7' diameter access hatches to put big things in the water, like a pair of SDVs that don't require a dry-deck shelter on the back of the sub.

It does require a roughly 70-foot stretch of the hull, though.