As of December 2024, the United States Navy’s iconic Los Angeles-class submarines, coming in at forty-eight years of age, continue to be the workhorse of America’s submarine force. They were not intended to operate this long. The Navy spent quite a bit of money on designing and deploying the technologically advanced Virginia-class attack submarines that were meant to replace the Los Angeles-class subs. 

Yet, the transition has been fraught with challenges due to massive budgetary constraints, production delays of the Virginia-class, and the need to maintain a certain number of submarines for the Navy to meet its global obligations.

Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarines are truly the backbone of the Navy’s undersea fleet. There are around twenty-six in service today that provide an assortment of capabilities both under the sea and above it. 

These boats are equipped with a coterie of advanced systems, despite being forty-eight years old. One system, in particular, that stands out is the Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from vertical launch tubes. Another system the Los Angeles-class attack subs carry is a variety of torpedoes, making them versatile. 

What the Navy Plans to Do

Today, the plan is for the Navy to keep the Los Angeles-class subs in service until the 2030s. At that point, the Virginia-class submarines would totally replace the aging Los Angeles-class. But with a mere twelve Virginia-class submarines in service today, more are very slowly being built, and there is a severe gap in terms of replacing the older vessels for newer ones. 

If the Navy retires the aging Los Angeles-class subs before the requisite number of Virginia-class subs are ready, the U.S. submarine force would be unable to fulfill its global mission set.

This would be especially dangerous in the Indo-Pacific, where the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is busily building its new form of empire, and the U.S. Navy, notably the submarine force, appears to be the tip of any spear to stop the Chinese. 

There is already a dearth of submarines in the American fleet. Mothballing the Los Angeles-class subs before the proper number of Virginia-class submarines are prepared is a surefire way to have America lose its first war at sea. 

To extend the service life and maintain their combat effectiveness, the Navy is modernizing a handful of Los Angeles-class subs. The upgrades are being done to the combat systems, sonar, and propulsion systems to keep the Los Angeles-class subs relevant to increasingly advanced foreign threat actors. American naval planners have been exploring ways to convert some of these submarines for training or other secondary capabilities. 

Thus, the modernization of the Los Angeles-class submarines is seen as both a way to extend their operational life as well as a cost-effective measure against building entirely new vessels in the short term.

What the Navy Should Do

Indeed, some experts, such as this author, have questioned the Navy’s obsession with retiring the Los Angeles-class submarine fleet at all. These boats continue to serve in the fleet and have proven over decades that they are not only effective but that they can be upgraded repeatedly to better stand against rising threats, such as the kind that China poses. 

Even if the U.S. military is dedicated to mothballing its Los Angeles-class submarines, given the nuclear submarine development deal that Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS) entered a few years ago, might it seem better to offload America’s older Los Angeles-class subs to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) rather than have those subs sit in mothballs?

One thing is abundantly clear: any attempt to retire the Los Angeles-class submarines, given the delays and outright failures of the Virginia-class submarine is highly irresponsible. 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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