The U.S. Navy has again delayed the return to service of the damaged submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22), with a new target completion date of summer 2027, according to a Navy official speaking to The War Zone on Sept. 28, 2026. The previous timeline had projected completion by late 2026.
The Connecticut, a Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarine, has been undergoing an Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility since February 2023. The Navy official said current work consists of “structural and systems restoration and required lifecycle maintenance.”
The submarine suffered severe damage, especially to its bow, in a collision with an underwater seamount in the South China Sea in October 2021. It first went to Guam, then San Diego, before arriving at Puget Sound.
The repair timeline has slipped multiple times. At the start of the EDSRA in February 2023, the Navy projected completion in September 2025. By July 2023, the schedule had shifted to early 2026, according to Naval News. In July 2025, the service confirmed to The War Zone that the timeline had moved to late 2026.
The exact reasons for the delays are unclear. The War Zone noted the particular complexities of major repairs to any of the Navy’s three Seawolf-class submarines, as the class is long out of production and only three boats were ever built. The Navy’s 2025 Fiscal Year budget proposal sought funds for spare bow domes “for use in the event replacement is required,” citing a “three plus year lead time” to produce.
In 2021, Congress approved $40 million for emergency repairs for the Connecticut and an additional $10 million for a new bow dome, but the full price tag is expected to be far steeper. The Seawolf-class submarines cost approximately $3.1 billion apiece in 1983, or some $10.6 billion in 2026 dollars.
The Navy is also planning to inactivate the Connecticut in 2031, making it the first Seawolf-class submarine to be retired, per its most recent annual shipbuilding plan. USS Seawolf is currently scheduled to start a routine maintenance availability next May, which will run through February 2030, per Navy budget documents.
Sources: DVIDS News · The War Zone