NUWC dedicates new $24.9M payload research facility

NEWPORT – The Naval Undersea Warfare Center dedicated a new $24.9 million payload research facility on Wednesday.

“Since forming the Torpedo Station on Goat Island, [NUWC] has been the center of cutting-edge research of undersea technologies,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said in a statement about the event. “NUWC Newport continues to make Rhode Island the premier state for the test and evaluation of submarines, torpedoes and unmanned undersea vehicles.”
Business representatives were given the opportunity to tour the facility at the event. Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee and U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin also attended the ceremony.
The Virginia Payload Tube facility will focus on Virginia-class submarines, which have a redesigned front end. The sonar has been replaced and the 12 vertical launch tubes have been replaced by two payload tubes that can be configured with six Tomahawk missiles each, according to information from the center.

The Virginia Payload Tube also is capable of housing various payloads and weapons that can be rapidly interchanged.

The U.S.S. North Dakota (SSN 784), scheduled for commissioning later this month, is the first submarine to be equipped with this technology. Unlike the first 10 Virginia-class submarines that housed 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles in individual vertical launch system tubes, all Virginia-class submarines beginning with the North Dakota will utilize two payload tubes to house and launch the same number of missiles.

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“This facility will push the envelope of the wide variety of crucial at-sea support where lives and missions are at stake,” Langevin said in a statement. “This facility will allow us to innovate while maintaining support for the fleet. I’m proud that emerging technologies are being tested in Rhode Island and at this facility. NUWC is a national asset and a regional leader.”
Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, served as the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Virginia class program manager when the Virginia Payload Tube facility was conceived and funded.

“I recognized the necessity and wisdom of having a land-based Virginia Payload Tube facility for training and development,” Jabaley said.

“NAVSEA and the program executive office for submarines made a significant investment that resulted in less risk, lower costs and accelerated transition to the warfighter,” he continued.

NUWC’s new state-of-the-art facility houses not only the Virginia Payload Tube centerpiece, but all of the ship’s systems that support it in actual ship configuration. This ship-like capability will provide engineers and technicians with the land-based ability to mimic, troubleshoot and discover repairs required to resolve fleet issues without affecting submarine availability.

The facility will allow defense contractors to directly partner with NAVSEA experts on weapon systems.

“The strategic benefit includes more cost-effective test and evaluation of advanced payloads,” Jabaley said. “It’s also an opportunity for industry to use the facility if they have innovative ideas, as this payload tube facility cannot be replicated elsewhere.”
“It’s exciting to peer into the future and imagine the potential impact the Virginia Payload Tube facility will have on the undersea battlespace,” Capt. Todd Cramer, commander of NUWC Division Newport, said in a statement.
The 95,000-pound launch tube section and supporting ships systems were funded by NAVSEA’s Virginia Class program office and were designed, fabricated and installed by General Dynamics Electric Boat.

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