The US increases the number of submarines in the East Sea and the East China Sea.
A senior US Navy official revealed that due to the US's strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region, the US Navy has developed a plan to reduce the number of submarines at the naval base in Groton, Connecticut.
US nuclear submarine USS North Carolina (SSN 777) appeared near the shoal
Admiral Greenert, US Navy, revealed that by 2020, this submarine base is expected to have 2 submarine squadrons, each squadron will have only 6 nuclear attack submarines, only more than 1/3 of the current 16. Admiral Greenert said that this will not cause a serious shortage of submarines and personnel, the US Navy will not compensate for the shortage due to the number of submarines being mobilized from the Connecticut base, but they will focus on adding the number of submarines transferred to perform missions from bases in the West. He also said that the US Navy hopes to build or re-establish alliances with most Asian countries.
Greenert said that despite the focus on enhancing combat capabilities in the Asia-Pacific, the US Navy still has to maintain three submarine bases on the east coast of the US. The Norfolk Naval Submarine Base in Virginia is not capable of receiving submarines from the Groton base, and transferring them from Groton to the submarine academy is also very inconvenient and expensive, while the submarine base in the state of Georgia also has a large number of nuclear ballistic missile submarines. Mr. Greenert did not mention the issue of where these ships will go, which base, which fleet and what mission they will perform.
In fact, this is understandable when considering the military moves in the US strategy of shifting focus towards the Asia-Pacific region. On September 30, the US Navy sent two aircraft carriers to the East Sea and East China Sea. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier group deployed operations in the East China Sea near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Meanwhile, the USS John C. Stennis strike group is operating further away, in the East Sea. In addition, the US Navy has continuously increased the number of ballistic missile submarines in this area to strengthen its "re-presence". In the past 4 consecutive months, the nuclear submarine USS North Carolina, the nuclear submarine USS Louisville, and the nuclear submarine USS Hawaii have continuously moved to the East Sea.
USS Hawaii (SSN-776) arrives at port in the bay
The above nuclear submarines all come from the Pacific Fleet, so it is reasonable for the US to reduce the number of submarines in the eastern naval bases to strengthen the western US submarine bases that are operating in the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, the US Navy wants to have a strategic reserve force, ready to deploy quickly to hot spots around the world, so they withdraw nuclear submarines from the Groton base to build a mobile strategic deterrent force.
According to ANTĐ-M