SMART BOMBS: MILITARY, DEFENSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY
China So Freaked: How The Navy Surfaced 3 Missile Submarines (At Once)
ByBrent M. EastwoodPublished36 seconds ago
Ohio-class SubmarinePuget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash. (Aug. 14, 2003) -- USS Ohio (SSGN 726) is in dry dock undergoing a conversion from a Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN) to a Guided Missile Submarine (SSGN) designation. Ohio has been out of service since Oct. 29, 2002 for conversion to SSGN at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Four Ohio-class strategic missile submarines, USS Ohio (SSBN 726), USS Michigan (SSBN 727) USS Florida (SSBN 728), and USS Georgia (SSBN 729) have been selected for transformation into a new platform, designated SSGN. The SSGNs will have the capability to support and launch up to 154 Tomahawk missiles, a significant increase in capacity compared to other platforms. The 22 missile tubes also will provide the capability to carry other payloads, such as unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Special Forces equipment. This new platform will also have the capability to carry and support more than 66 Navy SEALs (Sea, Air and Land) and insert them clandestinely into potential conflict areas. U.S. Navy file photo. (RELEASED)
The U.S. military has a bone to pick with China. Chinese pilots fly dangerously close to American airplanes. Naval vessels from China also steam threateningly toward U.S. ships. Politicians talk tough about Beijing and the public is frustrated about China’s rise at the expense of the United States. Sometimes in these moments, a show of force is needed to demonstrate that one navy means business.
That’s what happened in June of 2010 when three Ohio-class (SSGN) guided missile submarines surfaced in an effort to show China that the boats could sail anywhere in the world. It happened in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean after the Pentagon became frustrated by a Chinese missile test in the East China Sea.
The Big Flex
China’s ballistic missile program is one of the best in the world. They have everything from nuclear-tipped ICBMs that can reach the continental United States and short-range missiles that could destroy many parts of Taiwan. But to show it was not afraid, the U.S. Navy flexed its muscles against China 13 years ago.
That’s when the USS Michigan in Pusan, South Korea, the USS Ohio in Subic Bay, in The Philippines and the USS Florida in the Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia came to the surface and said, “Here we are.”
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/05/china-so-freaked-how-the-navy-surfaced-3-missile-submarines-at-once/
