According to a tweet published by WarshipCam on April 4, 2023, the Virginia class submarine USS Virginia left Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for sea trials after a maintenance period.
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Virginia class submarine USS Virginia. (Picture source: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard)
The Virginia-class submarine is a type of nuclear-powered attack submarine used by the United States Navy.
These submarines are designed and built by General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding, both located in the United States. The Virginia-class submarine program was launched in the early 1990s as a replacement for the aging Los Angeles-class submarines.
USS Virginia has a displacement of 7,800 tons and a length of 377 feet (115 meters), with a beam of 34 feet (10.4 meters) and a draft of 32 feet (9.8 meters).
The submarine is powered by a single S9G PWR nuclear reactor generating 280,000 shp (210 MW), with a HEU 93% enrichment. She also features two steam turbines producing 40,000 shp (30 MW), a single shaft pump-jet propulsor, and a secondary propulsion motor.
The Virginia-class submarine can reach a speed of 25 knots (46 km/h) and has a test depth greater than 800 feet (244 meters). It has a complement of 134 officers and enlisted personnel and is equipped with 12 VLS tubes, four 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes, and BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles.
