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Seawolf is a fast attack submarine. Her primary mission is to remain undiscovered and be ready to take out her adversaries’ ballistic missile submarines should hostilities develop to a point when the launch of their weapons is expected.
Her other missions include surveillance and intelligence gathering, both electronic and visual, deploying special forces like Navy SEALs, and land attack using tube-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles which can hit targets with extreme accuracy over 1,500 miles away. In short, she offers a multi-purpose role to the Navy.
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She has one Westinghouse 6th generation nuclear reactor that puts out some 45,000 horsepower, well over 100 times the juice in a high-powered V8 “muscle car.” This can push the sub to over 35 knots, but her tactical speed is 25 knots to keep her quiet. It has been said that Seawolf is actually quieter at its tactical speed than the previous class of submarines at pier-side.
Including her skipper, Seawolf has a complement of 14 officers and 126 enlisted sailors, all on-board by choice. The submarine force is an elite group, requiring extensive training, and a willingness to live in a world without sunlight, often for months at a time, in some of the most dangerous places on the planet with literally tons of water overhead that can crush the sub in an instant like an empty beer can.
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