Electric Boat Advertising
Virginia Payload Module (VPM)
This ad, promoting the concept of the Virginia Payload Module, debuted in Spring 2011 in trade journals, and as a graphic in the Electric Boat booth at the Navy League of the United States' Sea-Air-Space symposium outside Washington D.C.
When Ohio-class SSGN submarines joined the fleet beginning in 2005, they provided the U.S. Navy with a significant increase in stealthy, survivable strike capacity. To retain this capability when the SSGNs begin coming off the line in the 2020s, General Dynamics Electric Boat has a proposed an effective and affordable solution — the Virginia Payload Module, or VPM.
The VPM comprises four additional large-diameter payload tubes in a module inserted amidships in Virginia-class submarines, extending the hull by 94 feet and increasing the fixed strike capacity by more than 230 percent per ship.
A Virginia modified with a VPM would also free up space for a Battle Management Center that has proven valuable on the Ohio-class SSGNs, allowing the submarine to coordinate a variety of operations, including serving as the headquarters for a Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF) commander.
The VPM allows for more flexible distribution of strike assets, giving theater commanders greater discretion in staging payload and allowing them to more easily cover widely separated targets.
VPM will leverage payloads developed for Block III Virginia-class submarines and SSGNs into three times as many large diameter tubes on future Virginia Class submarines. That increased volume enables wider use of Special Operating Forces, and provides the Navy the capability to bring aboard future weapons, sensors, adjunct vehicles and other potential payloads.
It changes the nature of payload discussions from 'what can you shoot?' to 'what do you need?'
We Can't Keep Silent About This
Playing off the theme of the 'Silent Service', this advertisement, which debuted in 2010, announced the latest in a string of successful deliveries by the Virginia Class program. USS Missouri, SSN780, was delivered nine months early, in a record breaking 65 months, and was 8 percent below its target cost, another triumph for the EB-US Navy-Vendor submarine team. The image of Missouri shows the ship on its sea trials off New London. The ad was developed by Karl Smizer of Smizer Design, New London.
If you would like a poster of this ad email grose1@gdeb.com - While supplies last.
Missouri was delivered in 65 months, five months faster than any Virginia Class Submarine before it, and $100 million under target cost, continuing the continuous improvement trend demonstrated by the Virginia Class. It was the most complete at delivery, including a lot of work that was previously was done after a shakedown period, making it of greater value to the fleet from the time it entered service. The Virginia Class continues to be cited by top Navy and Department of Defense officials as a model procurement program.
Here's the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, in testimony to Congress: "We are introducing affordability in our aviation an shipbuilding plans and realizing significant savings. For example, on the Virginia Class Multi-Year Prodcurement alone, the savings has been $3.2 billion."
And here is the Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, addressing the SECNAV Current Strategy Forum at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI: "I expect industry to make the necessary investments in infrastructure and in training to build (Navy) ships. I also expect that both cost and construction time will come down with each successive platform built. Some of the classes of ships and aircraft that we have built have been incredibly successful at this, like the Virginia class attack submarine."
