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'America's first millennial submarine' is also its deadliest-ever hunter-killer — step inside the USS South Dakota

US Navy USS South Dakota submarine attack
  • The US Navy commissioned the USS South Dakota on Saturday and, in doing so, ushered in a new era of millennial undersea war fighters and the most technologically advanced submarine hunter-killer on earth.
  • The South Dakota can be thought of as "America's first millennial submarine," because it was built by mostlymillennials and will be manned by millennials too.
  • It's also the deadliest submarine for undersea combat the US has ever put to sea.

The US Navy commissioned the USS South Dakota on Saturday and, in doing so, ushered in a new era of millennial undersea warfighters and the most technologically advanced submarine hunter-killer on Earth.

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"I think we can honestly call South Dakota 'America's first millennial submarine' from construction to operation," Joe Courtney, a congressman from Connecticut, said at the South Dakota's commissioning.

While millennials across the board make up the majority of the US's combat servicemembers in any service, the South Dakota was built by shipbuilder Electric Boat, whose workforce is more than half millennial, The Day reports .

"The rise of the millennial generation emerging to lead Electric Boat's important work for the country, I believe, is a powerful rebuttal of cynics and naysayers that say that American manufacturing and technological excellence are a thing of the past," Courtney said.

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In the slides below, meet the young sailors and new submarine that makes the South Dakota the most modern and fearsome submarine in the world today.

US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steven Hoskins

The South Dakota is a fast attack submarine, which trades the world-ending nuclear might of a ballistic missiles submarine or "boomer," as it's known, for Tomahawk cruise missiles, mines, and torpedoes.

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Boomer submarines hide in oceans around the world on the longshot chance the US may call upon them to conduct nuclear warfare. These submarines are not to be seen, and avoid combat.

But fast attack subs like the South Dakota meet naval combat head-on.

Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Samuel Souvannason/US Navy

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Fast attack submarines like the South Dakota serve as a door-kicker, as one did in 2011 when the US opened its campaign against Libya with a salvo of cruise missiles from the USS Michigan. These submarines also must hunt and sink enemy ships and submarines in times of combat, and the South Dakota is unmatched in that department.

Chief Petty Officer Darryl Wood

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US Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Andrew McKaskle

(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Scanpix Denmark/Sarah Christine Noergaard via Reuters

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US Navy

Reuters

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US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Steven Hoskins

US Navy

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US Navy

The South Dakota can detect ships and subs with an offboard array of sensors that it can communicate with in near real time. This represents a breakthrough in undersea warfare and a first for the South Dakota.

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US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jared Bunn

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