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Heavily Damaged Submarine USS Connecticut Now Won't Return To Service Until 2027
Repairs to the Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut are now expected to keep the boat out of service until summer 2027. The submarine struck an undersea mountain in the South China Sea in October 2021, injuring eleven sailors and severely damaging its bow and sonar dome, and subsequent overhaul milestones have repeatedly slipped. With retirement currently planned for 2031, the latest delay leaves only a short post-repair service period and illustrates the Navy's constrained nuclear-submarine maintenance capacity. The episode also consumed scarce shipyard labor and dry-dock capacity needed for other attack submarines awaiting maintenance.