Has anyone here read up on the Virginia class nuclear attack submarines? They've got amazing capabilities, but it's like a stealth sub in the media, nobody seems to be talking about it.
It's a fast, powerful, modern, and relatively cheap submarine that's essentially a Seawolf in Seasheep's clothing.
There are a couple areas where the Seawolf is still better, like a slightly higher top speed and more torpedo tubes, but the Virginia is still rather astonishing.
It's the first US military submarine to do away with physical optics (eg, mechanical periscope). Instead, it has an array of high resolution sensors in the periscope that beam the information through the pressure hull electronically, so there's another possible point of failure eliminated.
It has a command center that has more in common with a starship then a submarine, I've seen diagrams that show plasma screens in front that display periscope data while the captain has a chair at mid-rear of the bridge.
So... anyone know anything else neat about this neat new sub?
