UGH: Navy Faces Prospect That Crash Will Force USS Connecticut Out Of Service.

Despite a virtual news blackout, information on America’s damaged Seawolf Class attack submarine, USS Connecticut (SSN-22), is starting to leak out. While details are scarce, the Pacific Fleet’s latest operational debacle has left the U.S. without a key undersea combatant. At a minimum, the USS Connecticut will be out of service for years, and there is a creeping realization that the damage may be significant enough to force the USS Connecticut into a premature retirement.

It is time for the Navy to start talking. Regardless of the outcome, the fate of the USS Connecticut has enormous ramifications for virtually every facet of America’s maritime industrial base. Given the extended news blackout and the fact that the submarine hasn’t budged from Guam yet, indications suggest the USS Connecticut is badly hurt.

This is no time to smother a potentially uncomfortable debate under an over-classified blanket; the USS Connecticut’s mishap is a big deal and no longer a cozy internal Navy matter.

It is a big deal.

The Connecticut is one of only three Seawolf-class boats, the biggest and best-armed attack subs in the Navy. Losing her is about equivalent to last year’s loss of the USS Bonhomme Richard to arson.

Our Pacific fleet just lost a significant fraction of its strike capabilities — in peacetime.

It’s a very big deal.

Update: USS Connecticut CO, XO, COB Relieved Over Collision in South China Sea ‘Due to Loss of Confidence.’