First I was on what submariners would call a target. And after having toured the Baton Rouge, short of Jesus coming and watching me sign papers to serve on a sub “IT AIN’T HAPPENING”!

But, from my days at NAVSUP I can say the Seawolf class was to attack Submarines what the Ford is to Aircraft carriers. The Seawolf class were built with so many new technologies that even the newer Virginia class probably doesn’t have all the capabilities the Seawolf class has.

I’d have no way of knowing what those technologies are, but it is common knowledge that the class design was successful. But the Seawolf class was the most expensive attack submarines ever built by the US.

As you can see from the chart above the Seawolf Class is the quietest submarine out right now and because they are made with HY-100 grade steel they are among the deepest diving also.

It’s really not any Sea Wolf sub – it’s SSN 23 – USS Jimmy Carter that’s special. The Navy has always had one active “special operations” submarine. Jimmy Carter was chosen as this sub after she was built, and a special mission 100′ section was added to the middle.

This can house all sorts of special equipment – seals, drones, underwater equipment to intercept cable communications, SIGINT, ESM – whatever the Navy/CIA can think off.

If you read Blind Man’s Bluff, you’ll hear about the missions of the earlier “spy sub”, USS Halibut. Other “spy” subs included the USS Parche (retired when SSN 23 refit) and USS Sea Wolf (the “original” one).

Jimmy Carter – Action in the face of the enemy?