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Submarines' Role Being Reduced To Fit In With New, Leaner Military
By JESSE HAMILTON
Courant Staff Writer May 22, 2005
Nobody hunts for Red October any more.
U.S. submarines that for decades have silently ruled the world's oceans
have slipped quietly out of favor. Hollywood depictions of their Cold War
exploits are more historical footnote than current-affair documentary.
And in the steady decline of the U.S. submarine fleet, specifically the
nuclear-powered fast-attack subs designed to hunt other vessels, nothing
is sacred - certainly not the Naval Submarine Base in Groton.
The proposal to close the country's first sub base - where 90 years of
undersea service have encompassed two world wars, the birth of
nuclear-powered subs and shadowy missions against the Soviets - has
provoked probing questions] capability and
the surveillance capabilities the submarine forces bring to bear."
"This is what tomorrow is about for the U.S. Navy - the ability to
project credible combat power to the far corners of the earth," giving
the president options "around the world and around the clock," a Navy
scribe reported Clark as saying.
Sub supporters point to a number of military studies and reports
justifying an even larger fleet in the future, including a 1999 study
released by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saying 76
fast-attacks would be needed by 2025 to work critical peacetime
missions.
They refer to the fact that naval commanders who request submarine
support are routinely turned down. They talk about the growth in sales of
advanced diesel subs around the world, including fleets belonging to the
remaining two members of President Bush's Axis of Evil: Iran and North
Korea.
Russia is still in the sub game, too, with Akula-class boats that rival
U.S. advancements. And China's fleet gets bigger and more advanced every
year.
But opponents say the U.S. sub fleet is bloated and expensive. A 2002
report from the Congressional Budget Office said each of the latest
submarines costs about $2.7 million for every day it conducts active
operations, an average of 35.7 days a year.
Christopher Hellman, a defense analyst at the Center for Arms Control
and Non-Proliferation, is no fan of the Virginia class subs, which he
said have run up a price tag that is "beyond stunning."
There's more, but that is all I can post for now without heaving....
Tom
By JESSE HAMILTON
Courant Staff Writer May 22, 2005
Nobody hunts for Red October any more.
U.S. submarines that for decades have silently ruled the world's oceans
have slipped quietly out of favor. Hollywood depictions of their Cold War
exploits are more historical footnote than current-affair documentary.
And in the steady decline of the U.S. submarine fleet, specifically the
nuclear-powered fast-attack subs designed to hunt other vessels, nothing
is sacred - certainly not the Naval Submarine Base in Groton.
The proposal to close the country's first sub base - where 90 years of
undersea service have encompassed two world wars, the birth of
nuclear-powered subs and shadowy missions against the Soviets - has
provoked probing questions] capability and
the surveillance capabilities the submarine forces bring to bear."
"This is what tomorrow is about for the U.S. Navy - the ability to
project credible combat power to the far corners of the earth," giving
the president options "around the world and around the clock," a Navy
scribe reported Clark as saying.
Sub supporters point to a number of military studies and reports
justifying an even larger fleet in the future, including a 1999 study
released by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff saying 76
fast-attacks would be needed by 2025 to work critical peacetime
missions.
They refer to the fact that naval commanders who request submarine
support are routinely turned down. They talk about the growth in sales of
advanced diesel subs around the world, including fleets belonging to the
remaining two members of President Bush's Axis of Evil: Iran and North
Korea.
Russia is still in the sub game, too, with Akula-class boats that rival
U.S. advancements. And China's fleet gets bigger and more advanced every
year.
But opponents say the U.S. sub fleet is bloated and expensive. A 2002
report from the Congressional Budget Office said each of the latest
submarines costs about $2.7 million for every day it conducts active
operations, an average of 35.7 days a year.
Christopher Hellman, a defense analyst at the Center for Arms Control
and Non-Proliferation, is no fan of the Virginia class subs, which he
said have run up a price tag that is "beyond stunning."
There's more, but that is all I can post for now without heaving....
Tom
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