The U.S. Navy Spent $80 Million To Repair Submarine Nearing Retirement

BusinessAerospace & DefenseThe U.S. Navy Spent $80 Million To Repair Submarine Nearing RetirementByPeter Suciu,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense.Follow AuthorJun 02, 2026, 12:53pm EDTJun 02, 2026, 12:55pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Submariners standing on top of the Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut in the water at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Washington, May 7, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)Getty ImagesAfter being sidelined for more than four and a half years following a very serious collision with an undersea mount in the South China Sea in October 2021, the United States Navy’s Seawolf-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) is finally set to return to service. Repairs to the submarine could exceed $80 million, which may seem like a good deal considering that the original price tag for the boat was nearly $3.1 billion.However, the U.S. Navy confirmed this spring that the second of just three Seawolf-class submarines will be inactivated in 2031, meaning that she could remain in the active fleet for just five more years, or roughly the same amount of time it took to repair the boat, and that’s only if the repairs are completed on time.SSN-22 was named for the Constitution State and also built by General Dynamics Electric Boat at their shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. Her keel was laid down in September 1992, and she was launched just five years later on September 1, 1997. She was commissioned on December 11, 1998.USS Connecticut is undergoing final repairs at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash. For much of the past four years, the boat was in Dry Dock 5 for an “Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability” to repair the severe bow and...