Naval capabilities Wave of the future
France’s recent rift with Australia and the US may have taken up plenty of attention, but submarines are clearly a broader part of US strategy too. That’s particularly true when it comes to the so-called SSN(X), a new class of attack submarine due to be launched in the coming decade. Andrea Valentino talks to experts across the sector to understand the limitations of existing US attack submarines, what the new class might entail – and what it all says about the US’s broader strategic concerns.
F
rance’s first ambassador to America arrived in 1778, when the War of Independence still raged and 10,000 Redcoats still squatted in Lower Manhattan. The US’s oldest ally has shipped officials across the Atlantic ever since, even as France herself was convulsed by three revolutions, two world wars and periodic bouts of German occupation. Yet in September 2021, this 243-year tradition abruptly stopped. At the personal request of President Macron, the French ambassador flew back home from his leafy embassy near the Potomac. To underline its displeasure, the Élysée Palace also cancelled a planned Franco-American gala off Baltimore, celebrating a French naval victory over the UK in 1781.
Everyone now knows the cause of French outrage: submarines. Despite signing a $66bn contract to supply Australia with 12 diesel-electric submarines, France found itself shoved aside by its mightier sister republic. In a secret deal – revealed to the Élysée just hours before it was announced – Australia decided to
abandon the French offer in favour of an American alternative. Partnering with the UK, the US plans to sell Australia a fleet of sophisticated nuclear-powered submarines instead. France, for its part, was left with nothing but complaints of its betrayal. Unsurprisingly, the so-called AUKUS spat has gained much attention: for what it says about the future of Nato, and for how US geopolitical priorities have moved decisively away from the Middle East towards China and the Pacific. Amid the furore, however, fewer pundits have focused on the submarines at its heart. This is unfortunate, especially given the deal is far from the only place where the US is putting underwater warfare at the core of its strategic thinking. Unveiled earlier this year, the SSN(X) promises to be the ‘Generation Attack Submarine’ of tomorrow, with all the tools the US will need to rule the waves until mid- century. And though it’s still in early development, the SSN(X) also hints at what the US Navy will be vying with – and who.
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com 27
BMC Michael Santiago / US Navy
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