Commissioning, the second

Actually, the USS Vermont was already in service, but something was still missing. More than a year ago, in April 2020, the US Navy was able to commission the submarine of the Virginia-class into the fleet list. She has already been able to demonstrate her capabilities by serving as a target ship for the South American partner in submarine hunting exercises off the coast of Brazil.

Already familiar: USS Vermont already has a few nautical miles under her keel

However, as corona had put a spanner in the works of any celebrations at the time, the US Navy quickly added a second commissioning date to the diary. Although there were still restrictions due to the pandemic, what is a warship without a ceremonial "welcome" and media boos? Especially when it's the "First of Class". With construction number 19 of the Virginia-class, you finally have to deal with the first boat of Block IV. Although it is not characterised by powerful new weapons or sensors, it can score points in another discipline. Originally, the boats built since the turn of the millennium were Virginia-The new submarines in Blocks I to III were planned and designed for 14 operational voyages and four shipyard layovers. Thanks to all kinds of improvements in detail, many components of the new attack submarines last longer, which has a positive overall effect on availability over the entire service life. The elimination of one shipyard laytime means that one more mission can be carried out with the same service life. Of course, this also saves costs, a not insignificant factor even for the US Navy.
The political representatives from Vermont and the Washington Congress who had travelled to the event were all the more pleased to finally be able to add the 115-metre-long, 7800-tonne nuclear-powered boat to the ranks of American warships in a media-effective manner. With a unit price of just under three billion dollars, a couple of slices should be included.

Text: mb; Photos: US Navy