Last week, the United States Navy held a decommissioning ceremony for the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN-751) at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington.
The choice of date, August 6, was noteworthy as the boat was commissioned on that day in 1988 and subsequently decommissioned exactly 38 years later.
The former USS San Juan was the first Flight III, also known as 688i “improved design,” featuring several significant improvements over the earlier Los Angeles-class boats. That included the integration of the advanced AN/BSY-1 sonar suite combat system, the ability to lay mines from the torpedo tubes, and a strengthened sail that enabled the submarines to break through ice.
SSN-751 was the third U.S. Navy vessel to be named for the capital of Puerto Rico.
The first was actually a mercantile ship, acquired by the U.S. Navy from the San Juan Packing Company of Seattle and employed as a minesweeper and patrol boat during the First World War.
The first vessel built for the U.S. Navy named for the island territory’s largest city was CL-54, an Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruiser that saw service in World War II.
Recycling to Begin on SSN-751
As with other nuclear-powered submarines, the recycling will be a multi-phase process that will see all the usable components, including weapons systems, removed. The nuclear reactor and related components will also be removed, sealed and transported to the Department of Energy’s Hanford nuclear waste disposal site in eastern Washington State.
Although an intensive and complicated operation, the entire process to physically dismantle the submarine is expected to take around two years.
Much of the equipment removed from the ex-SSN-751 will be used to keep the remaining Los Angeles-class fast attack boats in service. The Pentagon described the process as being a “fiscally responsible contribution to the military’s organic industrial base,” and added that the “program is a cost-saving opportunity for the Navy to give new life to parts that may no longer be in production.”
The 62nd and final Los Angeles-class submarine, the USS Cheyenne (SSN-773), was commissioned in September 1996. Many of the components used in the class are no longer being produced.
“Taking parts from decommissioned submarines allows older subs still in the fleet to maintain their seaworthiness – a key component in deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific, where the focus is maintaining a strategic advantage over China,” the Pentagon added.
End of the Line Coming For the Los Angeles-class
Although the U.S. Navy hasn’t designated a single final retirement date for the remaining active Los Angeles-class submarines, the remaining boats are projected to be phased out over the next decade as their operational lifespans end, and additional Virginia-class SSNs enter the fleet.
Of the 62 total built, 43 have already been retired.
The first was the USS Baton Rouge (SSN-689) after it was determined it would be too costly to repair the submarine after it collided with the Russian Sierra-class attack submarine K-276 Kostroma in the Barents Sea near Kildin Island in February 1992. SSN-689 sustained hull damage, including scrapes, dents, and two significant cuts to its outer hull. As the boat was already approaching its scheduled nuclear reactor refueling, it opted to retire the damaged vessel.
A Capability Gap in the Making
The decommissioning of USS San Juan puts additional focus on a serious issue for the U.S. Navy, noting that the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine’s replacement, the newer Virginia-class, is running late. Production of the new boats is currently operating at a rate of about 1.2 submarines per year, falling short of the U.S. Navy’s planned goal of two per year.
Even worse is the fact that boats are running two to three years behind schedule.
The U.S. Navy’s long-term requirements call for 66 nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. Still, as the Los Angeles-class boats are retired and the Virginia-class replacements face delays, the service could see a decline from the current 49-50 SSNs to just 46-47 by 2030 before the numbers recover and then increase.
However, the tally is already deceiving, as independent analysts suggested that only 37% to 40% of the attack submarines are unavailable at any given time, as the boats are undergoing maintenance, modernization, or conducting sea trials.
