$8.5 billion attack subs
The US Navy's Pacific fleet press agency confirmed on October 7 that the US Navy's Seaawolf-class rapid attack Submarine USS Connecticut collided with an unidentified object while diving deep in international waters in the Indian-Pacific region on October 2.
According to CNN, this is one of the most demanding underwater environments in the world, filled with noise from ships above and below the sea with constantly changing paths that can surprise any crew member of a tau crew.
US defense officials did not provide details about the accident with the US ship USS Connecticut, only saying that 11 crew members on board were injured when the ship collided with an unidentified object while diving in the East Sea.
A US Navy spokesperson told CNN that the front of the tau was damaged and that there would be a "full investigation and assessment" into the incident.
The USS Connecticut is one of three US Navy Seawolf-class Submarine, each worth about $30 billion in the late 1980s (equivalent to $8.5 billion today). The ship weighs 9,300 tons, is 107.6m long, 12m wide, and was put into operation in 1998, powered by a single nuclear reactor and has 140 crew members.
Because it is larger than the latest Virginia-class attack attack attackwater, the US USS Connecticut could carry more weapons than other US attackwater attackwater - including up to 50 tugboats and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
And despite being over 20 years old, the USS Connecticut has also had advanced technology that has been continuously updated throughout its operations.
The US Navy said the USS Connecticut was "especially quiet, fast-running, well-armed and equipped with advanced sensors".
Alessio Patalano, a professor of war and strategy at King's College London, said the subspace has some of the most advanced underwater features.
Why was USS Connecticut in distress in the East Sea?
Although the US Navy has not disclosed which object the USS Connecticut hit, analysts say the conditions in the South China Sea could be a challenge for the sophisticated sensors of the tau. Professor Patalano said that it could be an object small enough for sensors to miss in a noisy environment.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, naval vessels use what is called a "passive sonar" to detect objects in the water around them. Unlike the " proactive sonar" - which makes a ping and then records the time when their roar returns to the ship - the passive sonar only detects the sound coming towards it.
This allows the Submarine to keep quiet and hide from its enemy, but it also means that the Submarine must rely on other devices or multiple passive sonar sets to determine the location of the object on its path.
Analysts said that because the East Sea is one of the busiest shipping routes and fishing areas in the world, all types of noise from ships on the water surface can hide what can be dangerous for the below-ground Submarine.
Professor Patalano said that depending on the location of the incident, noise (usually from traffic above) may have affected the sensors.
Carl Schuster, former US Navy captain at the Joint Intelligence Center, US Pacific Command, said that not only the movement of ships could cause problems for subs captains in the East Sea.
It is an area with a very poor sound environment, even the characteristics of the water create problems. Surrounding noises from the flows between the islands and inconsistent water conditions affect the reception of the sound, Schuster said.
something could have been underlying the problem, Schuster said. The environment of those areas and the seabed are in a state of slow but continuous change. This is an area that requires continuous underwater maps, otherwise the ship could crash into an undiscovered mountain below.
This is the second accident involving a Submarine in this area this year. In April, an Indonesian tau sank in the Bali Strait, killing all 53 crew members. Indonesian Navy officials said the accident was due to "natural/environmental factors", but did not provide further details.
