Future USS Baltimore to Serve as U.S. Navy's Elite Seabed Warfare Submarine

The U.S. Navy and General Dynamics are adapting the future Virginia-class submarine USS Baltimore for a specialized seabed-warfare role intended to succeed USS Jimmy Carter. The configuration is expected to support covert work around undersea infrastructure, intelligence collection, special operations and the deployment or recovery of unmanned systems. Concentrating these capabilities in a modern attack submarine reflects the growing military importance of cables, sensors and other seabed assets, while preserving a discreet platform with exceptional stealth for missions in heavily monitored or contested waters.