‘A Mistake We Can’t Ever Fix’: The U.S. Navy’s Seawolf-Class Submarine Shortage Makes Russia and China Smile

‘A Mistake We Can’t Ever Fix’: The U.S. Navy’s Seawolf-Class Submarine Shortage Makes Russia and China Smile

Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Navy planned to build 29 Seawolf-class attack submarines—the most lethal undersea predators ever designed—but ended up with just three after the Cold War ended. Decades later, that decision is haunting the Navy as the attack submarine fleet shrinks faster than Virginia-class replacements can be built, with the USS Boise inactivation just the latest casualty of the long-ago Seawolf-class cut. The Seawolf-Class Can…