Key Points and Summary – Conceived to outclass late–Cold War Typhoon and Akula boats, the Seawolf class pushed attack-sub design to the edge: quieter, deeper, faster, and packing more Mk 48s and Tomahawks for blue-water and littoral fights.
-After the USSR collapsed, cost and strategy cuts shrank the buy from 29 to just three—but capability stayed unmatched.
USS Connecticut Seawolf-Class Submarine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-A thicker, stronger hull, high sprint speed, and ultra-low acoustic signature keep Seawolf elite. USS Jimmy Carter adds a 100-foot multi-mission “ocean interface” to deploy UUVs, ROVs, divers, sensors and more without using tubes.
-Few hulls, huge punch—the apex predator of U.S. attack subs.
Why The Navy Wanted The Seawolf-Class
The Navy wanted the Seawolf-class submarines to counter increasingly advanced Soviet submarines, such as the Typhoon and Akula classes, during the late Cold War.
The Seawolf design was a next-generation response to this threat, providing unparalleled stealth, speed, and deep-ocean capabilities with advanced sonar and a stronger hull to withstand greater depths.
The ships were also designed to carry a significant arsenal of weapons, including more Tomahawk cruise missiles, and were equipped for both blue-water and shallow-water operations. The Seawolf could race at 35 knots beneath the surface or go 20 knots in silent mode.
The Seawolf-Class Sub Might Be the Best on Earth
The Seawolf nuclear attack submarine was the cat’s a, er, meow. The Navy wanted the very best, and they sure got every penny’s worth. The Navy and the designers stuffed every crevice with the very best technology that money could buy. And the price tag showed it.
However, the submarine was in a class all by itself. The hull was designed to withstand deeper dives; it weighed 9,000 tons, it could carry 50 torpedoes and cruise missiles, and the stealth of the boat was unsurpassed.
The boat was about 300 yards long, packed with weapons and technology, and quieter than a church mouse. And then the Soviet Union collapsed in on itself. The Navy wanted 29 subs. Ultimately, the order was reduced to 12, and then to three.
In another short-sighted move, the Pentagon sliced the program to the bone. The Clinton administration’s “peace dividend” was a mistake that the Defense Department, now called the War Department under the Trump Administration, is still paying for today.
The crew of the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN 780) render honors to the Battleship Missouri Memorial following a homeport change from Groton, Connecticut. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael H. Lee/ Released)
Oh, how the Navy would love to have another 26 Seawolf submarines today.
Meet The Seawolf-Class
Seawolf-class submarines entered service as the first new top-to-bottom attack submarine design since the early 1960s. The class is the fastest, quietest, and most heavily armed undersea vessels in the world.
Seawolf submarines provide the US Navy with undersea weapons platforms that can operate in any scenario against any threat, with mission and growth capabilities that far exceed Los Angeles-class submarines.
They are fast, stealthy, and equipped with a multitude of weapons, and can dive deeper thanks to their thicker, stronger hull.
The robust design of the Seawolf class enables these submarines to perform a broad spectrum of crucial military assignments—from underneath the Arctic icepack to littoral regions anywhere in the world.
Their missions include surveillance, intelligence collection, special warfare, cruise missile strike, mine warfare, and anti-submarine and anti-surface ship warfare.
Displacement: 9,137 tons submerged (12,139 tons for the Jimmy Carter). Length: 353 feet (453 feet for the Jimmy Carter). Hull Diameter: 40 feet, Draft: 35 feet, Diving Depth: 800+ feet, Weapons: 37 Mark 48 anti-submarine torpedoes, 13 Tomahawk cruise missiles
PUGET SOUND, Wash. (Sept. 11, 2017) The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) transits the Hood Canal as the boat returns home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Jimmy Carter is the last and most advanced of the Seawolf-class attack submarines, which are all homeported at Naval Base Kitsap. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Michael Smith/Released)
The ship had a complement of 130 officers and enlisted crew members, and General Dynamics claims that its stealth is so good that it is less detectable at high speed than a Los Angeles-class submarine sitting at pier side.
The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)
The Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), the third and final Seawolf-class submarine, was modified by Electric Boat to accommodate advanced technology for naval special warfare, tactical surveillance, and mine warfare operations. It is 100 feet longer than a typical Seawolf submarine and packed full of new technology.
Named for former-President Carter, who himself was a nuclear submariner. Carter is the only president who ever served on submarines. He was a Naval officer from 1946 to 1953. It is based out of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Washington.
War Department studies have described the Navy’s need to develop submarines with “improved payload capabilities and a flexible interface with the undersea environment, without sacrificing Seawolf-class warfighting capability.” According to the Navy, the Jimmy Carter modification perfectly fits those goals.
The $887 million modification required alterations to the basic Seawolf design in the areas of ballast control, mission-management spaces, and various services.
A unique feature of the modification was the creation of a flexible ocean interface, referred to as the “wasp waist,” which enables the Navy to deploy and recover various payloads without having to use torpedo tubes.
The USS Jimmy Carter was delivered to the US Navy in December 2004 and commissioned in 2005.
The Carter’s Modifications
The Carter is a Multi-Mission Platform (MMP) submarine. During construction, an additional Ocean Interface (OI) section, sometimes referred to as “the plug,” was inserted into its hull, providing extra space for various missions and equipment.
The “ocean interface” on the USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is a unique modification that enables the submarine to launch and recover remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), divers, and other payloads without having to use its torpedo tubes.
The MMP creates a large, floodable hangar area between a smaller internal pressure hull (the “wasp waist”) and the outer hull. This “aquarium” section is filled with seawater and kept at ambient pressure, allowing personnel inside the pressurized hull to operate equipment in the hangar.
This section can launch Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Countermeasures, Sensors, and classified research systems.
While there are only two “regular” Seawolf submarines and the Carter, they are still outstanding assets to the fleet. The USS Seawolf is scheduled for its extended maintenance in 2026.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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