Meet USS Jimmy Carter, Spy Submarine: President Jimmy Carter may not have enjoyed a highly effective presidency, but he was one of the most successful former presidents the nation has ever been blessed with.
He served as an unofficial secretary of state by forging peace agreements, writing an enormous number of books on wide-ranging subjects.
Carter’s Esteemed Naval Service
What is less known is President Carter’s naval career.
He performed well at the U.S. Naval Academy. Carter even worked for atomic power pioneer Admiral Hyman Rickover.
He was extremely proud of his namesake submarine – the USS Jimmy Carter.
The USS Jimmy Carter’s Role Against the CRINKs
SSN-23 has served with distinction for the last 21 years. The name of the game for the Jimmy Carter is undersea espionage.
The Seawolf-class boat runs so silent and deep that adversaries are under constant surveillance as it sneaks around dangerous waters, spying on China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (CRINKs).
The Silent Service must resist retiring the Jimmy Carter.
The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut transits the Pacific Ocean during Annual Exercise. ANNUALEX is a yearly bilateral exercise with the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The first of a revolutionary new class of fast attack submarine, the Seawolf (SSN-21). Shown during construction at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Conn. She was christened by Margaret Dalton, wife of Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton, on June 24, 1995.
Seawolf-Class Submarine USS Seawolf. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
No other sub has this level of stealth and intelligence duties with ultra-high-value surveillance and reconnaissance ability.
It will be difficult for the Navy to part ways with the valuable sub.
What Is the MMP?
The Carter was commissioned in 2005. So it is entering mid-life nuclear reactor refueling soon. This sub has a valuable 100-foot Multi-Mission Platform (MMP). This feature makes it able to hoover up intelligence data on unsuspecting enemies.
Look Out for SEALs in the Arctic
The Jimmy Carter is also adept at depositing U.S. Navy SEALs.
These operators have become invaluable in potential warfare with the CRINKs.
The SEALs are now training in the Arctic region to better prepare the United States and its allies for a potential clash with China or Russia there.
The Jimmy Carter can operate well in the Arctic and insert SEALs to maintain a significant presence in that frozen terrain.
What Else Can the MMP Do?
The MMP on the Carter has an advanced communication mast, with the ability to launch a naval remotely operated vehicle, which is the future of maritime warfare.
There is also a reconfigurable command center suite and cargo area.
The MMP allows for an auxiliary maneuvering device. So one can see how well the Carter is configured for espionage duty with some of the most advanced systems compared to other subs in the fleet.
Tapping Undersea Cables
Spying on an adversary’s shoreline and military installations and depositing SEALs is not the only mission that the Jimmy Carter can conduct.
It can also tap into undersea communications cables and collect data on enemy activities.
Those undersea cables are chock-full of internet traffic and other communications. The Carter excels at stealing these sources of data.
The new Axis of Evil better watch out because the Carter may be snooping on its cables or sniffing out the activity of enemy bases close to shore.
Sea Drone Quarterback
The Jimmy Carter is also a mothership for the aforementioned undersea drones. These can also be configured for spying ability, and it extends the range of the sub to allow for even more espionage activities.
The spy sub can also “launch and recover equipment without using torpedo tubes, according to my colleague Brandon Weichert. “That’s something other submarines in the fleet cannot accomplish,” he wrote.
Why the Jimmy Carter Is a Difference Maker
The extra maneuvering ability due to the MMP is a difference maker for the Jimmy Carter.
This enables diving to the depths to tap those undersea cables and withstand deep-sea water pressure.
The extra thrust also allows the ability to deposit sensors in the deep to better collect surveillance information.
Don’t Retire This Boat
Due to all of these features, the Jimmy Carter should not be retired anytime soon, and the boat is not easily replaced.
It certainly needs some of the best sailors in the Silent Service to conduct its spying missions. The use case in the Arctic could make it indispensable.
The U.S. military is just starting to make the region a priority. Sea ice is melting due to climate change in the Arctic, and a transit of the ocean there could cut significant time for ships to transit from Asia to Europe.
Arctic Asset Bar None
The United States needs more “traffic cops” in the Arctic. The region is also chock with oil and natural gas, making it another resource-rich area that is being dominated by other revanchist powers.
The Americans must catch up, and the Jimmy Carter is the perfect boat for Arctic deployment.
The SEALs on board can rehearse cold weather maneuvers and interact with special operations forces from Canada and Norway.
The Jimmy Carter has an important future ahead of it.
The boat is sneaky and fast. The MMP is a significant piece of technology, and the underwater drones are the future of warfare.
Deployments in the Arctic will be exciting and important for the United States to execute.
The late president would be satisfied knowing that his namesake will be a significant part of naval strategy for the next decade or more.
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About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood, PhD
Author of now over 3,500 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: A Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.