After suffering a serious collision with an underwater mountain in the South China Sea during October 2021, the Seawolf-class nuclear submarine USS Connecticut was forced to interrupt its mission and return with extreme caution to the base in Guam, from where it later traveled to the U.S. West Coast to undergo major repair work at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (in Washington). Almost four years later, the U.S. Navy has made progress toward recovering one of its most prized vessels, with estimates suggesting it will be reincorporated into the fleet by the end of next year.
According to statements made to the specialized outlet The Warzone by Navy spokespersons: “USS Connecticut (SSN 22) is in dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, in an Extended Dry-docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA), a major maintenance period that all submarines undergo during their life cycle. The damage sustained by Connecticut in October 2021 is also being repaired during this EDSRA. Connecticut is expected to return to service in late 2026.”
It is worth recalling in this regard that the aforementioned EDSRA period only began in February 2023, with an initial projection of 31 months; which would mean that its return to service is just over a month away from being completed. As for the funds the U.S. Navy allocated for the effort, no detailed total amount is available, although the outlet reports investments of $10 million for a new bow dome and $40 million for emergency repairs—figures that fall far short of the total amount allocated for the vessel’s recovery.
On another note, referring to the importance of recovering USS Connecticut for the Seawolf class, it is necessary to consider that the U.S. Navy currently has only three units in total, including it; the other two being USS Seawolf (SSN-21) and USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23). This class of vessels was originally intended to consist of more than two dozen units, but due to the end of the Cold War and the resulting cuts to the U.S. defense budget, the plan never materialized. We are also talking about the most expensive class of attack submarines ever put into service by the Navy, with an adjusted per-unit cost that, by 2025 standards, would translate to more than $10 billion—though this is offset by their advanced capabilities for carrying out specialized intelligence missions.
Along these lines, it is also useful to note that starting next April, the Navy is preparing to begin the maintenance program for USS Seawolf at the same shipyard, aiming for delivery in 2029 according to the budget documents presented so far. This, combined with the fact that the U.S. Navy is facing significant obstacles in designing the Seawolf successor class (a program underway since 2018), largely due to a shortage of qualified shipyard personnel, makes it especially urgent that the Connecticut’s recovery process not be delayed beyond the current projected completion date.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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