Almost a dozen sailors have been injured after a U.S. nuclear attack submarine hit an unknown underwater object in the South China Sea, USNI News has learned.
The Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) suffered an underwater collision while operating in international waters on Oct. 2 and is returning to port in U.S. 7th Fleet, a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.
“The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2, while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region. The safety of the crew remains the Navy’s top priority. There are no life-threatening injuries,” Capt. Bill Clinton told USNI News.
“The submarine remains in a safe and stable condition. USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational. The extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine is being assessed. The U.S. Navy has not requested assistance. The incident will be investigated.”
A defense official told USNI News about 11 sailors were hurt in the incident with moderate to minor injuries. The attack boat is now headed to Guam and is expected to pull in within the next day, the official said. The underwater strike occurred in the South China Sea and the attack boat has been making its way to Guam on the surface since Saturday, a defense official confirmed to USNI News.
The Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Wash., based submarine deployed on May 27 for the Pacific, the Navy announced at the time. The service has released photographs of the submarine operating in the Western Pacific with port calls in Japan in late July and August. U.S. 7th Fleet commander Adm. Karl Thomas visited the submarine in August, according to the service.
Connecticut is one of three Sea Wolf-class boats, a late Cold War attack submarine designed to hunt the most complex Soviet submarines in deep blue water. Along with USS Sea Wolf (SSN-21) and USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), Connecticut is among the Navy’s most capable and sensitive attack boats.
The last known instance where a submerged U.S. submarine struck another underwater object was in 2005. Then, USS San Franciso (SSN -711) struck an underwater mountain at full speed near Guam. One sailor died in the incident.
The following is the complete Oct. 7 statement from Pacific Fleet.
The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2, while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region. The safety of the crew remains the Navy’s top priority. There are no life-threatening injuries.
The submarine remains in a safe and stable condition. USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational. The extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine is being assessed. The U.S. Navy has not requested assistance. The incident will be investigated.”
CHINA will soon be capable of mounting a full scale invasion of Taiwan, the island's foreign minister has said.
Chiu Kuo-cheng's warning comes as Beijing said war could be triggered "at any time" in a chilling warning to the West.
Beijing launched into a tirade against the US and its allies after 56 Chinese warplanes crossed into Taiwan's air defence zone on Monday.
Chiu said the relationship between Taiwan and China was at its lowest for forty years.
While Beijing can't mount an invasion that will soon change, he warned.
Chiu said he feared that by "2025, China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest".
"For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me"
At the same time, an armada of aircraft carriers including HMS Queen Elizabeth were taking part in wargames in the region.
As tensions mount, Joe Biden said he spoke to Chinese president Xi Jinping and the pair affirmed that they would "abide by the Taiwan agreement".
China hit back in the scathing Global Times piece, saying its display yesterday was a "severe warning" to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which it accused of trying to secede from the mainland.
It said the "secessionist forces" on the island would "never be allowed to secede Taiwan from China under whatever names or by whatever means".
The paper claimed that "mainstream public opinion" in China was that the country should prepare for all-out war with the US.
"They should see that the Chinese mainland’s preparation to use force against Taiwan secessionist forces is much stronger than ever before.
The Chinese incursions have prompted Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu to say the territory was ready to fight.
"The defence of Taiwan is in our own hands, and we are absolutely committed to that," he told Australia’s ABC broadcaster.
"If China is going to launch a war against Taiwan we will fight to the end, and that is our commitment.
"I'm sure that if China is going to launch an attack against Taiwan, I think they are going to suffer tremendously as well."
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has long threatened to use force to bring it under its control, with regular invasion drills carried out by its military.
Taiwan has been repeatedly reporting missions conducted by China's air force that enter the island's ADIZ near the Pratas Islands, which it controls
Will 2021 Boast The Reddest October Ever?
Sam Honnold
It has been 104 years since the famed October Bolshevik Revolution established the USSR, the world`s first communist nation-state. Tsar Nicholas and his family were murdered unceremoniously along with literal millions of good Christian Russians. Vladimir I. Lenin had added the crucial final ingredient to the communist ideology--democide--institutionalized mass murder.
Recently the dragon has arisen--Red China, the communist world leader and belligerent nuclear superpower, openly bidding for world domination and a the destruction of all good people of every color, this time over the whole globe!
This October day, the tide may have shifted as the militaries of historically Western, free nations have assembled off the coast of Red China, with an amassing of firepower never before seen in the history of the world. Neither side can afford to back down or bluff. The titans will clash, and soon. The Pacific will be red with blood as many small nations fight for their existence and the great nations of the world stand with them.
Yesterday Stripes.com reported that THREE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS had assembled in the Philippine sea, two US supercarriers with nuclear propulsion and the flagship of the British fleet, Her Majesty's Ship Queen Elizabeth (The newest and perhaps most advanced carrier in the world). The truth is that the Japan Self Defense Force Ship JS Izumo also sailed in the combined fleet.
This ship TODAY proved F-35B interoperability (Confirming Trump's promise that she would carry the F-35 along with her sister ship), and brings the fleet total to FOUR AIRCRAFT CARRIERS! Some of these ships have been spotted on satellite through the night having entered the South China Sea (crossing China's "line in the sand") and sailed north toward the heart of regional tension, the Taiwan Strait. In addition to NUMEROUS NEW WEAPON SYSTEMS carried by this fleet (buildup reported on this blog for more than a year), TODAY the F-35A qualified to carry the new B61-12 NUCLEAR BOMB in dual tests dropping non-nuclear mock B61-12s at both RAF Lakenheath, England and Nellis Air Force Base Nevada, USA.
This weapon (able to be carried in the internal bay of the F-35 A and C variants for discreet carriage in full 5th generation stealth configuration) is guided to strike within 30 meters and has adjustable yield for proportional response (0.3kt, 1.5kt, 10kt, 50kt). The aircraft having passed qualification, I suspect this weapon system is fully active although it was scheduled for deployment in 2022 and full delivery in 2025. The B61-12 can also be carried on hard points on the F-16 in service with the Taiwan's Republic of China Air Force, and F-15 Strike Eagle employed by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, in case one of these allies were to come into possession of such a weapon to save themselves from annihilation.
Many other nations understand the gravity of this confontation and have drilled repeatedly with US and UK forces, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and that mighty and populous nuclear power, India, whose mountainous land border (according to Hal Turner last night) was threatened by the arrival of another 100,000 Chinese troops!
China issues dire warning, says World War III can jump off “anytime” over conflict involving Taiwan
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