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USN claims SSN(X) will be the 'ultimate apex predator'

22nd July 2021 - 16:30 GMT | by Harry Lye in London

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Fast attack submarine USS Seawolf (SSN 21) is submerged after surfacing through the arctic ice. (Photo: USN.)

The USN wants to combine the best capabilities of its Seawolf, Virginia, and Columbia-class submarines as it looks to move ahead with its next-generation SSN(X) attack submarine.

The USN continues to shape its plans to field a new type of attack submarine that RADM Bill Houston, Director of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Undersea Warfare Division, has described as the ultimate maritime 'apex predator'.

Speaking on 21 July during a virtual event ahead of the Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference on 1-4 August, Houston said that the SSN(X) design would be timed to enter production as work on Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines ramps down.

Houston added: 'We are looking at the ultimate apex predator for the maritime domain; it is going to be faster, carry

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