One of the U.S. Navy’s newest break-through programs is focused on ensuring “acoustic superiority” for America’s 11 Virginia Class submarines, as well as incoming vessels from the Ohio Replacement Program. The goal is to allow submarines to operate undetected in or near enemy waters for both reconnaissance and attack missions, using enhanced sensor capabilities to detect enemy vessels.
“In the fourth generation, acoustic stealth will always be required — get into a hostile environment. If I am noisy, I am not going to live very long. We are constantly pushing the boundary of how to minimize our own signature — while having a better ability to detect an adversary signature,” Rear Adm. Charles Richard, Director of Undersea Warfare, told Scout Warrior in an interview.
In addition to sound-dampening measures, the initiative involves determining how well America’s submarines are prepared to deal with the threats likely to be present on future battlefields, such as lasers. The program does, however, place priority on making vessels undetectable rather than invulnerable.
The developing technologies focus on more highly sensitive, passive acoustic sensors that are able to detect potential adversary vessels and their movement at much longer ranges and with a higher-degree of reliability.
According to Richard, most detection technology in undersea warfare is passive, meaning it only receives signals from outside sources, as opposed to using radar-like “pings” to bounce off objects. While active detection is more accurate, its use also reveals the presence of the pinging vessel.
The in-progress technologies are being tested aboard the USS South Dakota, a prototype Virginia Class submarine and are set to be rolled out to the rest of America’s state-of-the-art submarines upon completion. Richard told Scout Warrior that the undersea warfare division sees the project as the beginning of a “fourth generation” in undersea warfare.