A large number of fighters that are not ready for combat is not the only problem of the US military. The difficult situation with attack submarines adds to the headache for the Ministry of Defense.
What is known
The US Navy said that 18 of the 49 attack submarines were immediately out of action and are being repaired. This means that the service cannot use 37% of its submarines against the target of 20%.
Later, the command provided an update, according to which maintenance work had not yet been completed on 16 of the 49 submarines as of the end of last month. 32% is still well above the target. This situation puts the United States at a huge disadvantage compared to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s numerically superior fleet.
Problems significantly reduced the number of American nuclear submarines. This limits the ability of the US Navy to perform daily tasks and does not allow to increase the operational load on the submarines that are in service.
In 2017, the rate of disabled submarines was at the level of 28%. Five years later, it increased to 33%. The best year in terms of combat readiness for the US Navy was 2015, when only 19% of attack submarines were under repair (10 out of 53 units).
The US Department of Defense considers submarine forces a key advantage over China’s navy. It is important to note here that all Ohio-class submarines are operational.
It is these strategic missile cruisers that carry the Trident II intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. In addition, the Ohio class includes a quartet of nuclear-powered submarines with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Source: Bloomberg
2023-07-13 22:31:30
#American #attack #submarines #disabled #losing #position #compared #China
