By JOHN T. BENNETT
WASHINGTON — The admiral in charge of all US military forces in the Pacific says some of his needs for attack submarines are going unmet.
Under the Navy’s latest shipbuilding plans, as noted during a Tuesday hearing by Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., the American attack submarine fleet is slated to dip to 42 by 2029, down from today’s 55-submarine fleet.
Ayotte and other senators say they are concerned that as China increases its submarine force and overall Navy fleet, America is shrinking its attack sub fleet to dangerous levels.
“They’re not all being met,” Adm. Samuel Locklear told Ayotte when she asked if all of his attack-submarine requirements are being fulfilled.
Ayotte questioned how the Obama administration can “justify” going from 55 to 42 attack subs by 2029 while China is ramping up its fleet. She sees “a disconnect” between the requirements likely to face Locklear’s successors and current shipbuilding plans.
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