[Delgard]

I know that their are more experienced submariners here, but to my knowledge, there is not a new class of subs that the Seattle might be one of them.

Just looking at the name "Seattle", that is a city name, just like the LA Class, but the newer Virginia class will be given State names. Unless, of course, a new submarine program is being initiated for the 2030s and beyond.

Looking at the past, rather than produce new submarines of a different design on a regular basis, upgrades are added to currently building submarines and those same upgrades are retrofitted into submarines that are currently in the fleet as they conduct overhaul maintenance, Intermediate Maintenance Activity (IMA) (submarine tender or base)and Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) (base).

To make some of this easier, submarines are becoming modular in that that whole systems can be removed quickly and replaced quickly with an updated capability.

I'm not sure of the cost benefits, but it can be a faster naval base visit for maintenance. I say that since there are a bunch of naval bases, but fewer naval bases that are configured for maintenance or specific types of maintenance.

A lot of moving pieces to keep the highest percentages of boats actively on patrol or forward-deployed. I understand that their are 1-2 sub tenders working the Pacific Theatre of Operations (PTO). I suspect they would be good targets for enemy strikes.

I also note that the newest submarines are named for States, just as the SSBMs are so named. I hear a new SSBM class is in the works for IOC in the later 2020s. Maybe they will be named for cities with the highest rate of ...armed cat burglars. .