Costing almost $3 billion dollars a piece, these subs will ensure that the US maintains domination of the undersea world. Apparently in this world where National Guard and Reserve troops are short-changed with lack of equipment and training, the hawkish democrat feels that these submarines will keep the Chinese at bay. Never mind that $3 billion dollars could ensure that the frontline troops got body armor or reinforced Humvees for Afghanistan and Iraq, or that a war with China will be economic suicide for both the US and China; it's important that defense workers in Groton have jobs.
Now don't get me wrong. Nobody loves submarines more than I do, but why spend this outrageous amount of money for attack subs when our most likely enemy will be in the littoral environment? We'd do good to buy or build the equivalent of Swedish Gotland-class submarines instead.
These submarines are so sophisticated and ultra quiet that the US Navy itself leased one for targeting and stalking practice. Sure they don't have all the capabilities of the Virginia-class, but they are lethal in the environment the US Navy would most likely find itself in the War on Terror, close to coast lines and shore. We need to maintain our advantage in weapons technology, I can understand that, but at the same time if we are truly interested in winning the War on Terror, we need to invest in equipment and training that will realistically maximize our combat effectiveness. Good boots and body armor for ground-pounders and small attack crafts for the new Riverine Squadron will probably prevent more terrorist attacks than a Virginia-class sub ever will. I highly doubt a war with China is in the immediate future, after all, if we are griping about the price of gas, imagine how much we'd gripe if all the goods we got from China would skyrocket in price?
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