Rare sighting of USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23) coming into San Diego for a quick turn.
The Seawolf-class nuclear-powered fast attack sub is regarded as the most secretive sub in the U.S. Navy & specially modified for covert seabed warfare.
Larger & more advanced than the other two Seawolf boats, USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23) has likely been tasked with some of the U.S. Navy’s most secretive missions.
It’s also the only one modified for seabed warfare – unreported missions deep below the waters that can target critical infrastructure such as power cables, telecom cables, & natural resource extraction systems.
Designed to address the threat of Soviet ballistic missile submarines, & to replace the aging Los Angeles-class of attack submarines, the Seawolf-class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) has been described as the best of the best.
A total of 29 boats were to be constructed over a 10-year period – a number that was then reduced to 12 – but only 3 were launched. By the time USS Seawolf (SSN 21) & USS Connecticut (SSN 22) hit the water, the Soviet Union had collapsed.
The Seawolf-class are the fastest U.S. subs & the revolutionary design focused on noise reduction. However, it isn't just the speed & stealth that makes the boat stand out:
The exact types of missions USS JIMMY CARTER has conducted in the past two decades remain classified…
The Seawolf-class was designed to be the ultimate “hunter-killer” submarines…
Their pump-jet propulsion helps keep the noise they make at ~95 decibels, just above the level of general ocean background noise, while their high-strength HY-100 steel hulls enable them to dive deep below the surface.
Equipped with 8 torpedo tubes — 4 more than the Los Angeles-class — the Seawolfs can hold up to 50 weapons & carry MK 48 torpedoes, Tomahawk cruise missiles, & Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
CARTER is the only operational submarine named after a president – a naming convention typically reserved for aircraft carriers – because the former President became a submariner after he received his degree from the United States Naval Academy.
Plans are underway to build a follow on special spy submarine using the newer Virginia Class hull, @navalnewscom reported. A single Mod VA SSW (Modified Virginia, Subsea & Seabed Warfare) version of the Virginia-class is expected to be built (at an estimated cost of $5.1 billion)
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
New images show massive “Manta Ray” underwater drone underway 👀
The extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) demonstrates “first-of-kind capabilities” for a new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs.
DARPA is engaging with the U.S. Navy on next steps.
The Manta Ray prototype uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) built by Northrop Grumman completed full-scale, in-water testing off the coast of Southern California in February & March 2024. Testing demonstrated at-sea hydrodynamic performance, including submerged operations using all the vehicle’s modes of propulsion & steering: buoyancy, propellers, & control surfaces.
“Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections,” said Dr. Kyle Woerner, DARPA program manager for Manta Ray.
“The combination of cross-country modular transportation, in-field assembly, & subsequent deployment demonstrates a first-of-kind capability for an extra-large UUV.”
“Over my last 3 years, the security environment has changed drastically — & not in a good way.”
Adm. Aquilino, in his final public interview in uniform after a 40-year career 👇
⑴ “The main theme that’s really concerning — & that everyone has to see — is it links authoritarian nations [China, Russia, DPRK] in ways that we haven’t seen in our history in a long time.”
⑵ China has “expanded their military capability, their verbalization is more aggressive, & their actions are more aggressive. & they’ve now accelerated to dangerous. Perhaps most dangerous in the Philippines.”
⑶ Beijing “clearly made a risk determination that taking aggressive actions is within their interest & to the benefit of their strategic objectives. More aggressive rhetoric & certainly more aggressive actions.”
Admiral (soon to be retired) John Aquilino most recently served as Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Quick thread with a few more clips & quotes:
Interview by @nickschifrin & great thread with highlights (+ link to full video)
“Chinese actions are certainly destabilizing to the region... they are putting at risk the Philippine Coast Guardsmen, sailors, & those fishermen that operate in their exclusive economic zone — within the full rights of the Philippines.”
In the most hotly contested waterway in the world, the risk of Asia’s next war hinges increasingly on a ramshackle ship...
“Sierra Madre has become the epicenter of escalating tensions between the Philippines & China—a trip wire that could draw the U.S. into an armed conflict”🔥
China claims the vast majority of the South China Sea and, in recent months, has ramped up efforts to prevent the Philippines from providing supplies to personnel aboard the Sierra Madre. Analysis of ship-tracking data and videos over the past year shows that Chinese coast guard and militia ships have repeatedly swarmed and collided with Philippine resupply vessels. The Chinese vessels have also increasingly deployed water cannons at close-range, at times disabling Philippine ships and injuring sailors.
China has spent the past three decades expanding its presence in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which a third of global shipping passes, according to the United Nations. Beijing may not intend to start a war here, analysts say, but repeated confrontations at sea between vessels have raised the potential for fateful accidents, also potentially provoking a U.S. response.
Source: WaPo
“The United States has significantly increased its deployment of Navy personnel in the Philippines in direct response to the situation at the Sierra Madre, said a U.S. State Department official.”
New map — Major military activity in the Indo-Pacific:
- 1/3 of US Navy Fleet in theater
- Balikatan underway, many major firsts
- Taiwan inauguration May 20 & potential Chinese response
- Increased PLA military activity around Taiwan, 120+ ships in SCS
What you need to know 🧵
Tracking heightened & steady Chinese PLA military activity in 2024, highlighted by a balloon barrage in January, encircling Kinmen island in February, increasing frequency, scale, & scope of drills in March, & surging warships to end April.
Approximately 40 U.S. Navy ships are in the Indo-Pacific theater, including 2x carrier strike groups (1x deployed & underway near Thailand) & 2x amphibious ready groups (1x deployed & underway in the Philippines).
China has the world’s largest Navy—& soon to be the world’s largest Air Force, U.S. Navy Adm Aquilino told Congress.
“The magnitude, scope, & scale of this security challenge cannot be understated.”
Today, the U.S. Air Force is the smallest it’s ever been, writes @defense_news:
USAF “expects its fleet of fighters, bombers, tankers, cargo planes, drones, etc. to dip below 5,000 in FY2025, as retirements of older & outdated airframes outpace procurement of their replacements. The fleet could drop to 4,900 next year—but it may yet fall further.”