The attack
Submarine s (
SSN ) are the most numerous class of
Nuclear Power ed submarines built by any nation, and form the bulk of the U.S. attack submarine force
As Of 2004 . They were preceded by the
''Sturgeon''-class and followed by the
''Seawolf''-class . Named after US cities, the class broke a long-standing Navy tradition of naming attack submarines after sea creatures. The boats are also colloquially referred to as "''688''-class" subs, after the hull classification symbol of the first boat, SSN-688.
''LA''-class submarines are extremely fast—they are publicly acknowledged as being faster than 25 knots (46 km/h, 29 mph), and it is widely believed that they can exceed 35 knots (65 km/h, 40 mph) under good conditions. They carry about 25 torpedo-tube launched weapons. Any boat of this class may launch a
Tomahawk Cruise Missile from its horizontal torpedo tubes. The last 31 boats of this class have 12 vertical launch tubes specifically for this purpose.
The final 23 boats in the series, referred to as "688i," are even quieter, incorporate an advanced combat system, and are configured for under-ice operations (with
Diving Plane s on the bow and a reinforced
Sail ). The Navy is phasing out older non-Vertical Launch System (VLS) ''Los Angeles''-class attack submarines in favor of the
''Virginia''-class attack submarines.
- Builders: GD Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding
- Displacement: 6,927 tons submerged
- Length: 360 ft (110 m)
- Beam: 33 ft (10 m)
- Draft: 32 ft (9.7 m)
- Armament:
- --- 4 x 21 in (533 mm) forward torpedo tubes
- --- on SSNs 719-725 and 750-773, 12 Vertical Launch System tubes
- Propulsion: S6G Reactor
- Speed: 25+ knots (46 km/h) submerged
- Depth: greater than 800 ft (240 m)
- Complement: 140
