19FortyFive: The feasibility of the US SSN(X) submarine program is questionable
Modern submarine technologies may not meet expectations in regional conflicts, and the cost of developing the fleet may become burdensome, writes 19FortyFive.
The next-generation SSN(X) attack submarine of the US Navy, designed to operate in conflict with China or Russia, with a projected cost of $ 6-7 billion per unit, may not be suitable for the real multipolar global crises facing America, writes a columnist for the 19FortyFive portal [...] .
"It's a technological miracle, yes. But like the F-35, it risks becoming a symbol of strategic distraction: too expensive to fail, too refined to fight, too disconnected from the real hot spots America is facing," said Andrew McAlester, a professor of international relations at McAlester College specializing in international conflict and security policy. Latham.
The advanced capabilities of the SSN(X) submarine provide limited advantages in local conflicts and theoretically can only increase tension in the region, the article says.
It is also emphasized that the American defense industry is already under serious strain, and budgets that are under the close attention of the administration of US President Donald Trump may not be able to withstand the additional costs. The development of the SSN(X) submarine can become an excessively expensive strategic project, diverting resources from other needs.
The author of the article considers it necessary to pause the implementation of the program and reassess it, since a more flexible and cheaper submarine fleet would be better suited to protect the interests of the United States in the current geopolitical situation.
The US Navy's next-generation SSN(X) submarine has been positioned as the word of the future in underwater warfare technology: it is fast, stealthy, deadly, and designed to outpace the expansion of China's naval forces, as well as surpass the power of Russia's deep-sea fleet. This boat was supposed to consolidate the underwater dominance of the United States in the middle of the 21st century, the author recalled.
"But, as with every promising program born in Washington, it's worth asking a more difficult question: is the Navy building the right submarine for the relevant reality of war? After all, the world has changed," he notes.
The U.S. Navy is on the verge of adopting a state-of-the-art submarine program for great power warfare, which is becoming less likely, and for boats poorly suited to respond to real conflicts that are breaking out in a multipolar world.
An even more provocative thought is that the next submarine war may do without Chinese aircraft carriers or Russian bastion defenses and will be similar to the crisis in the Indian Ocean, provoked by regional nuclear rivals acting on a hunch and driven by nationalist politics rather than the classical logic of deterrence.
Therefore, the United States should slow down, reassess and adapt military developments to a changed world, the author summarizes.
As the newspaper VZGLYAD wrote earlier, the US Defense Department has ordered the construction of two Virginia-class multipurpose nuclear submarines worth up to $ 18.4 billion.
Irma Kaplan
