The Cold War-era Los Angeles-class submarine is slated for retirement in the 2030s when the Virginia-class submarine will become the Navy’s go-to fast attack submarine. But the transition has become complicated, owing to budgetary constraints and Virginia-class construction delays, raising questions about whether the U.S. will be equipped to face a revisionist China and her growing navy.  

Too Soon to Retire the Los Angeles? 

The Navy built sixty-two Los Angeles-class submarines between the years 1972 and 1996. Of those built, the Navy still operates twenty-four, meaning the Los Angeles has been and is today, a crucial component of the Navy force structure. There are more Los Angeles-class submarines in service today than any other class in the world.  

An attack submarine with a reported top speed of over thirty-three knots, the Los Angeles is mobile and well-armed with the ability to carry upwards of thirty-seven torpedoes and/or missiles. 

Specifically, the Los Angeles is equipped to carry the Mk 48 torpedo, the Tomahawk air-to-ground missile, the Harpoon anti-ship missile, and a variety of different mines.    

The maximum diving depth of the Los Angeles is disputed; the Navy lists the maximum diving depth at 650 feet, but some estimates list the diving depth at 1,475, over one hundred percent deeper than the Navy’s acknowledged depth. For obvious reasons, the Navy doesn’t want outsiders to know the true limitations of the Los Angeles.  

Delays for the Los Angeles’s Replacement 

The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine is slated to replace the Los Angeles-class. 

However, the Navy has had a few problems rolling out the Virginia-class on a timeframe that will prevent a gap in attack submarine coverage. For one, the Virginia-class is way behind schedule. Only two shipyards are capable of building the Virginia-class, and one of them, HII, suffered a setback recently because of the need to replace vital equipment. 

The upcoming Virginia-class vessels, the USS Massachusetts and the USS Arkansas are both years behind schedule. The Massachusetts is nearing completion and is expected to sail in early 2025, but she is already three years behind schedule.  

Further, the Virginia-class is costing upwards of $4.3 billion per unit and the Navy has finite resources. At a certain point, the investment just doesn’t make much sense.  

But the Pentagon is concerned that retiring the Los Angeles before Virginia is fully online will create a shortage of attack submarines, which could diminish the Navy’s ability to counter China. 

China is currently amidst one of world history’s most ambitious shipbuilding sprees, already surpassing the U.S. concerning naval vessel quantity, if not quality. The shipbuilding spree is being paired with antagonizing rhetoric over several territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific. The Pentagon, hoping to maintain a convincing naval presence in the region, hoping to assuage allies in the region, i.e., Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, wants to maintain current submarine fleet numbers.  

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken. 

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