Could The Russian And Chinese Submarine Fleets Sink The U.S. Navy?

Photo: Via Sinodefence.com

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: Could Russian or Chinese Submarines 'Sink' the U.S. Navy in a War?

The problem is not just that the U.S. Navy has not invested in the necessary ASW hardware—there is also a real training deficit. “We notice because we have not made the investments necessary to keep our anti-submarine capabilities up to snuff. The carrier no longer has the S-3 Viking and the skills of the dipping-sonar helicopters hasn't been honed enough in exercises in recent years to assure carrier strike group commanders that they are safe in contested waters,” Hendrix said. “Also, our surface force, with their bow-mounted sonars and passive tails, have also not been exercised enough—especially against tough targets like advanced nuclear submarines or some of the top-of-the-line diesel boats—to really know what they are doing.”

While the U.S. Navy has been sounding the alarm about a resurgent Russian and growing Chinese submarine threat, much of the problem stems the service’s much diminished anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. Even the combined might of today’s Russian and Chinese submarine fleet does not come close to matching the capabilities or threat posed by the once-mighty Soviet Navy—which boasted roughly 240 submarines before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

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WNU Editor: If Russian or Chinese submarines are sinking U.S. Navy ships .... it will only tell me that we are probably a few hours/days away from nuclear weapons being used. Sinking ships will be the least of everyone's worries.