(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The United States is reportedly planning to spend around US$5.1 billion (RM20.4 billion) to develop a special-purpose submarine designed for engagement in seabed warfare.
Defense analysts claim that the United States lags behind Russia in possessing specialized platforms for underwater warfare, prompting Washington to make significant expenditures to compete with Russia in this aspect.
Currently, the United States Navy uses the nuclear-powered Sea Wolf-class submarine “USS Jimmy Carter” (SSN-23) as the country’s specialized platform for underwater warfare.
USS Jimmy Carter, utilizing the Virginia-class submarine hull but undergoing modifications, is the sole underwater warfare submarine owned by the United States.
The construction of the seabed warfare submarine is underway at the shipyard owned by General Electric’s Electric Boat company in Groton, Connecticut.
According to a report from a congressional research center, the United States will acquire this special submarine at a cost of US$5.15 billion, over US$1 billion more than the acquisition cost of Virginia-class submarines.
International defense media anticipates that the United States’ dedicated submarine for seabed warfare will be equipped with several Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUV), Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV), and Special Operation Submersibles.
The Vertical Launch System (VLS) on the submarine, previously used for launching guided missiles, will be used to deploy special underwater vehicles.
The United States is intensifying its focus on seabed warfare in response to what it sees as continuous efforts by Russia to map underwater infrastructure, particularly in Europe, possibly for sabotage missions.
The incident involving the Nord Stream pipeline that delivers natural gas from Russia to Europe last year underscored the global importance of ensuring the safety of underwater infrastructure related to telecommunications, sensors, and energy against sabotage by other parties.
However, according to international defense analysts, seabed warfare is more about reconnaissance than sabotage.
Both the United States Navy and the Russian Navy, as well as the Soviet Union, have a long tradition and history of operations against sensor networks, communication, and energy.
The Russian Navy has invested significantly in seabed warfare, and among the world’s largest submarines owned by Russia are those specifically built for underwater research.
Despite the U.S. Navy being said to have more advanced underwater equipment and systems, Russia has an advantage in terms of the capacity and size of seabed warfare submarines.
One such “special mission” submarine of the Russian Navy, whose operations are highly classified, is called “Losharik.”
Its existence is kept secret by Moscow because its main task is to spy and gather crucial information, especially regarding the seabed.
Due to its sensitive role for the Russian Navy, the crew assigned to operate the “Losharik” submarine are members of the Russian Navy serving in an agency called the “GUGI” (Main Directorate Deep Sea Research).
Only the best are selected to serve on this top-secret submarine of the Russian Navy.
The “Losharik” submarine was designed in the 1980s but only began operating in 2003. It is said to be capable of diving to a depth of 20,000 feet, which is 10 times deeper than any U.S. Navy submarine can reach. — DSA
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