Photo: U.S. Navy
Military submarines are extremely discreet tools of war. Not only we almost never see them, but word about their whereabouts and dealings seldom makes it into the headlines. Yet, from time to time we do hear stuff about these metal beasts, and when we do it’s almost never a good thing.
The U.S. has close to 70 submarines of four different kinds in operation at the moment, almost half of them from the Los Angeles class. The fewer, just three, belong to the Seawolf-class, and the USS Connecticut (SSN 22) that is now making the headlines is one of them.
The fast-attack submarine was introduced in 1997 and it is based at Kitsap Naval Base in Bremerton, Washington. It is a submarine that measures 107.5 meters (353 feet) in length, it is powered by a nuclear reactor, and is crewed by over 100 sailors.
At the time of writing, the Connecticut is deployed in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region (read South China Sea). It is there where it suffered a peculiar incident this week, one that was just made public a few hours ago. Underwater collisions involving submarines are extremely rare, but somehow that’s exactly what happened to this submarine. According to the U.S. Navy, SSN 22 “struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2.”
The military does not give any info on what the submarine might have hit, but it does say there is damage, although the extent of that has not yet been determined. “USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational,” the Navy says.
Several of the sailors on board have suffered injuries, as per media reports, but the Navy says these injuries are not life threatening. No assistance was required, and the “incident will be investigated,” American officials added.
The fast-attack submarine was introduced in 1997 and it is based at Kitsap Naval Base in Bremerton, Washington. It is a submarine that measures 107.5 meters (353 feet) in length, it is powered by a nuclear reactor, and is crewed by over 100 sailors.
At the time of writing, the Connecticut is deployed in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region (read South China Sea). It is there where it suffered a peculiar incident this week, one that was just made public a few hours ago. Underwater collisions involving submarines are extremely rare, but somehow that’s exactly what happened to this submarine. According to the U.S. Navy, SSN 22 “struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2.”
The military does not give any info on what the submarine might have hit, but it does say there is damage, although the extent of that has not yet been determined. “USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational,” the Navy says.
Several of the sailors on board have suffered injuries, as per media reports, but the Navy says these injuries are not life threatening. No assistance was required, and the “incident will be investigated,” American officials added.
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