The third and final Seawolf (SSN-21)-class submarine, the Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is expected to enter U.S. Navy service in December 2005. She differs from her two predecessors in having a 100-foot hull extension to enable enhanced operations by Naval Special Warfare operators and to allow the submarine to "accommodate advanced technology required to develop and test an entirely new generation of weapons." This hull lengthening has resulted in significant delays for the submarine's construction, though it will enable the Jimmy Carter to carry 50 SEALs and their equipment in addition to displays for remote-controlled minehunting submersibles and other remotely operated vehicles. Once commissioned, she will supplant capabilities previously offered by the USS Parche (SSN-683) and USS Kamehameha (SSN-642).
Alhough reports of a new class of Indian minehunters have been circulating since 1990, it appears the Indian Navy now has finalized a deal to begin construction of a new class of mine warfare vessels to supplement—or perhaps replace—at least some of the 20-year-old Project 1258E Soviet Yevgenya-class inshore minesweepers, of which five remain in service, and the project 266ME Natya-class fleet minesweepers (right), of which 12 are in service. Construction of the eight new vessels will take place at Goa Shipyard. The new minehunters are to be constructed of modern composite material, which will reduce their signatures and vulnerability to mines. Though they are expected to carry domestically built fire control radar, their minehunting gear likely will be purchased abroad, from France, Germany, or Spain. Plans call for the as yet unnamed class to begin entering service around 2008.
This recent artist's concept depicts the U.S. Coast Guard's proposed Maritime Patrol Coastal (WPC) cutter, formerly referred to as the Fast Response Cutter (FRC). Northrop Grumman has announced a partnership with Kockums AB and its parent company, Howaldtswerke Deutsch Werft AG (HDW), to allow for the continued sharing of composite shipbuilding technology in the cutter's design and eventual construction. A component of the Integrated Deepwater project-the Coast Guard's program to modernize or replace is major cutters, aircraft, and supporting communications, sensors, and logistics systems-the first WPC is scheduled to enter service in 2017, with the new 130-foot cutters intended to replace the Coast Guard's current 110-foot patrol cutters. The WPCs will be numbered in the WPC-1101 series. Bollinger Shipyards and VT Halter (in a joint venture with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin) each will build 29 of the cutters over a proposed five-year period.