Seawolf Shortage Undermines U.S. Undersea Edge in Pacific Rivalry

Defense analyst Harry J. Kazianis argues that decades after Seawolf was conceived as a Cold War high-end hunter, budget cuts and strategic shifts left the U.S. Navy with only one Seawolf-class submarine ready (USS Jimmy Carter), while the other two remain in maintenance or modified for different missions. The Virginia-class cannot fully replace Seawolf’s capabilities, and the planned SSN(X) won’t come online until the 2040s, creating a growing undersea gap against a rapidly modernizing Chinese and Russian submarine force.