According to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the U.S. nuclear submarine USS Connecticut hit an unidentified object while sailing in the South China Sea on October 2, injuring 11 people, two of whom were seriously injured. Fortunately, however, the nuclear power unit and propulsion system were not damaged, otherwise the nuclear contamination would be out of control. The U.S. Navy has had a surprising number of accidents in recent years, with the 2005 San Francisco nuclear submarine colliding with a mountain on the ocean floor, causing the entire porthole to collapse, completely damaged sonar, and nearly scrapping the entire submarine. In 2017, two destroyers of the U.S. Navy collided, and finally even the commander of the Seventh Fleet was picked up.
The submarine of the United States this accident is not simple, connecticut belongs to the Seawolf class nuclear submarine, this guy was specially developed in order to hunt the strategic missile nuclear submarine of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, which set almost all the black technology at that time, what modular design, floating raft shock absorption, vibration sensor, drag-and-drop line array sonar, photoelectric periscope, underwater unmanned combat robot, almost all can be used. The noise level of the Seawolf class is only about 95 decibels, carrying a large number of reconnaissance equipment, and can carry up to 50 torpedoes, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and other weapons at a time, both defense and offense are absolutely first-class, and its overall performance is even stronger than that of the Virginia class that appeared later, even if it has been born more than 20 years ago, it can still be called the most advanced attack nuclear submarine in the world.
So how outrageous is this guy? Because there are so many black technologies, its cost has reached an unprecedented $3 billion, and now at least $10 billion has not run. Because the cost was too high, just when the Soviet Union collapsed, the U.S. finances were really overwhelmed, so the Seawolf class only built only 3 ships and declared production stoppage. What did the United States, which has only 3 of its own baby nuclear submarines, run to the South China Sea? In addition to the so-called free navigation, there is another secret.
As we all know, due to special geographical reasons, China's coastal waters are either surrounded by island chains (the East China Sea), or the sea is too shallow and the area is too small (Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea), there are few suitable sea areas to meet the activities of strategic nuclear submarines, and the only suitable place is only the South China Sea, which is larger in area and deeper in water depth. Sanya, Hainan is now not only the home port of the Shandong aircraft carrier, but also the base of the 094 strategic nuclear submarine, so our latest strategic nuclear submarines often choose to carry out sea trials and strategic duty tasks in the South China Sea. The Seawolf class itself was born to hunt and kill strategic nuclear submarines, and their purpose in coming to the South China Sea is naturally to find out the local hydrological characteristics, and then collect information on the 094 strategic nuclear submarine, and even do not rule out that some simulated attacks and other exercises will be carried out, that is, to weaken our strategic nuclear counterattack capabilities to the greatest extent.
▲Type 094 nuclear submarine
But often walk by the river, where are the shoes that are not wet? Doesn't this just crash? During the Cold War, the nuclear submarines of the United States and the Soviet Union would come into close contact from time to time, and it was also common for their respective nuclear submarines to encounter civilian ships and even warships during the process of floating. Russia's Kursk nuclear submarine even sank to the bottom because of an underwater torpedo explosion. But none of the accidents were as bizarre as the Connecticut.
The accident that occurred on October 2 was not exposed by the media until October 7, and the media asked about it, only to say that 11 people were injured, and other key information such as why it hit, what was hit, and how to deal with it afterwards was completely undisclosed. You must know that this thing is a nuclear submarine, in case of a nuclear leak or something, the whole world will suffer, with the advanced nature of this submarine and the battlefield perception ability of the US military, it is impossible not to know about this kind of thing, so there must be a demon for a reason.
▲ After the accident of the Kursk, the Western media is not so low-key, and has been fanning the flames
Generally speaking, when a submarine collides, it is nothing more than hitting a ship of another country, or a mountain body on the seabed, which is an ordinary military accident and there is no need to make it so mysterious. So why is the United States so low-key about this impact? We can first rule out collisions with submarines of other countries, the South China Sea region has been china, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and other multinational submarine activities all year round, the probability of submarine collision is not too low, but even if the United States does not say, other countries should also have news, will not be so late to know, basically can be ruled out.
So what if it hits a mountain? This probability is very large, but the United States has cruised so many times in the South China Sea, and has also sent many spy ships to conduct special reconnaissance, and the seabed terrain should be clearly felt, not to mention that the Seawolf class is also equipped with one of the world's best active and passive sonar systems, but any snack will not occur such a low-level error. So the most likely thing is that the active sonar was not turned on for special consideration, and the passive sonar needed to be manned at all times, and the response time was relatively long, and the sailors on duty were negligent, and the two factors came together, and finally led to an accident that should not have happened.
So what is this particular consideration? The Connecticut came to the South China Sea to track and reconnoiter our strategic nuclear submarines, and we cannot do without countermeasures. Our Navy has Kilo class and Type 039 conventional submarines, 093 improved attack nuclear submarines, the Air Force also has a high-tech No. 6 anti-submarine aircraft, as long as the Connecticut turned on the active sonar, then their exact position will be exposed, which will also lead to the leakage of submarine voiceprint features, which is the last thing the US military wants to see, so it is speculated that this is the main reason why they do not open the active sonar.
What about the negligence of the U.S. military? This kind of thing is too much, if you go to work seriously, can you crash every few years? Let's just say one thing. When the Connecticut submarine participated in the "Icefield 2020" exercise in the Arctic last March, some crew members reacted that there were too many bed bugs on the submarine and that soldiers were always bitten. But until this year, this problem has not been completely solved, you can say how inefficient this problem is, even a bed bug can not deal with how much combat power, so the Connecticut submarine accident has long been expected, not accidental.
However, it is indeed a shame to say that a thousand ways and ten thousand, the underwater impact of nuclear submarines happened to the US military, which claims to be the world's first combat strength, so what to do? Naturally, we have to find ways to cover up the scandal. However, the sailors are certainly afraid of responsibility for their negligence, so they are very likely to conceal the true situation from above and make up a lie to cover up the facts. In the current tense situation, who is the easiest to throw the pot to? Of course it is China, so it is not surprising that they will make up that this is an excuse such as some sonar intervention or electromagnetic attack launched by China, causing the submarine to lose its direction and finally hit the mountain, and the US military high-level will be convinced.
The US military high-level was naturally very nervous when they heard this news, so after the submarine accident, we saw that an unprecedented three-aircraft carrier joint military exercise began near Okinawa, and the Queen of The United Kingdom and the USS Carl Vinson even crossed the Bashi Strait into the South China Sea, the purpose of which was most likely to cover the escape of the submarine, for fear of being directly killed.
▲ October 6, HMS Carl Vinson and the Queen aircraft carrier position map
Even more bizarrely, after leaving the South China Sea for Guam in a floating state, the USS Carl Vinson, which had been dangling in the South China Sea for a few days, also "coincidentally" disappeared, and they are now back at Singapore's naval base in the Strait of Malacca. Although it is not yet known exactly why the Seawolf class was hit? But it was clear that the U.S. military was already like a bird of fright, unable to withstand a little toss. In other words, their aircraft carrier formation should have immediately driven to the scene of the incident and then launched various investigations and military exercises, but now the first thing they do is to escape, is this not enough to explain the problem?
▲ On October 8, the Carl Vinson ran to the Strait of Malacca
Of course, the final result will be clear after the communication between the two sides, but after speculation, this is likely to be a "bloody case" caused by the lying of the sailors, which exposes various contradictions and problems within the US military. A butterfly flaunting its wings can trigger a hurricane on the other side of the ocean, and in a highly tense military confrontation, any slight movement can lead to war. The so-called free navigation of the US military in the South China Sea may be an accident this time, but next time it may not be, because the South China Sea is our South China Sea, and absolutely no foreign forces are allowed to spread wilderness!