I haven't started repairing yet, The US nuclear submarine that collided in the South China Sea
According to a report on the website of the Russian newspaper "New News" on June 20th, the damaged US nuclear submarine "Connecticut" in the South China Sea will not be able to resume service until 2026 because all repair shops are fully booked.
According to reports, approximately 18 out of the 49 US Navy attack nuclear submarines are currently out of service and awaiting repair. Pentagon officials said, "The complexity of planning, waiting materials, and maintenance work itself is one of the main reasons for the delay in submarine maintenance. The Navy leadership is taking various measures to eliminate other factors that cause maintenance delays, but the problem has not yet been resolved."
The Connecticut is one of the three Wolf class nuclear submarines owned by the United States. This model of submarine is the largest attack nuclear submarine designed by the United States to counter the Soviet Union. Experts describe them as "exceptionally quiet, fast moving, well-equipped, and equipped with ultra sensitive sensors.". The Connecticut nuclear submarine is equipped with 8 torpedo launch tubes, and the torpedo compartment can accommodate up to 50 torpedoes.
The Connecticut nuclear submarine collided with the underwater mountain range in early October 2021. Experts say that the maintenance of its bow and rudder will cost a "small amount" to the US Department of Defense, but its suspension and maintenance may make Washington pay a higher price.
The report points out that the US Government Accountability Office's report on the US combat capability against China indicates that from 2014 to 2020, the maintenance time of US Navy submarines was 9563 days longer than expected. This means that billions of dollars in national budgets are drifting with the wind.
The USS Connecticut is currently anchored at a naval shipyard in Washington State, awaiting repairs that were supposed to begin in February. It is currently uncertain whether the repair will start in July or September.
Republican Senator Roger Wick of the United States Senate Military Committee stated that the five-year maintenance plan for one of the most threatening submarines in the United States "reminds the United States to invest heavily in offshore infrastructure construction.".
Russian Reserve Navy Lieutenant General Tengiz Borisov stated that the lack of maintenance docks is a problem faced by all large-scale navies in the world. If a country's navy has a large number of submarines, there will be issues with inspection or maintenance. In fact, dry docks and floating docks are very expensive and technically complex facilities that require significant capital expenditure. So even in the United States, their numbers are not many.
Borisov believed that everything was not simple. Americans attempt to coordinate arrangements based on importance and urgency. They attempted to prioritize repairing aircraft carriers and escort vessels for carrier strike groups in the shipyard, followed by nuclear submarines. Therefore, even the nuclear submarine "Connecticut" can only rank third.
