Buoy O Buoy Fly!

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This Buoy Helps Ballistic Missile Submarines Get Nuclear Strike Orders

Ohio class ballistic missile submarines have tethered buoys allowing them to stay deeper and stealthier while receiving key transmissions.

BYJOSEPH TREVITHICK|PUBLISHED NOV 1, 2023 6:14 PM EDT

THE WAR ZONE

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The U.S. Navy has released pictures that offer an unusually good look at a tethered communications buoy found on its Ohio class ballistic missile submarines. This is a critical piece of equipment that is designed specifically to help ensure these boats can receive nuclear strike orders. Communicating with submerged submarines, especially those that have gone very deep to avoid detection, can be a very challenging proposition.

The Trident Refit Facility (TRF) in Kings Bay, Georgia, posted the pictures of USS Tennessee undergoing a so-called "bouy fly" on its Facebook page.

A wider shot of the buoy being hoisted out of its compartment on the Ohio class ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee during the recent post-repair test. The bay doors are also visible here. USN

"The 'Buoy Fly' is the final certification in a series of post repair testing for the AN/BRR-6/6B Communications Buoy Systems," according to a post on Facebook accompanying the pictures. "The ... testing protocol included a 3000-pound counter weight attached to a fly rig and crane that simulated water force pressure which allowed the system's electronic and hydraulic components to respond as if the buoy was being deployed while underway."

A picture of the recent "buoy fly" at the Trident Refit Facility. The counterweight mentioned in the TRF's Facebook post is visible above to the right of the buoy itself. USN

The TRF is a central hub for major maintenance and upgrade work on the Navy's 14 Ohio class ballistic missile submarines, or SSBNs, of which Tennessee is one. The facility also services the four additional Ohios that have been converted into guided missile submarines, or SSGNs, which have conventional-only strike capabilities and a host of other highly specialized features as The War Zone has explored in detail in this past feature.

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