USS Connecticut (SSN-22)

USS Connecticut (SSN-22) is a Seawolf-class submarine nuclear powered fast attack submarine operated by the United States Navy. Connecticut is the fifth active United States Ship to be named for the U.S. state of Connecticut, going back to 1776. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 3 May 1991 and her keel was laid down on 14 September 1992. She was launched on 1 September 1997, sponsored by Patricia L. Rowland, wife of the Governor of Connecticut, John G. Rowland, and commissioned on 11 December 1998.

History
1999 was spent conducting shakedown operations that evaluated Connecticut weapons systems, sensors, stealth and engineering proficiency. She participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 2-99 as an opposing force asset, and completed acoustic trials, a shallow water exercise, and an anti-submarine warfare exercise.

In September 1999 Connecticut began a Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) at the Electric Boat shipyard. Despite a 100% growth in the amount of PSA work, making this the submarine force's most demanding PSA, Connecticut completed all work ahead of schedule. This PSA concluded as the safest in the 100-year history of Electric Boat.

In April 2003, Connecticut surfaced through the Arctic ice at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS). While there, she encountered a polar bear, which gnawed on her rudder for a while before disengaging.

On 31 March 2004 Connecticut put to sea in support of the War on Terror as part of the USS Wasp (LHD-1) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), returning to NSB New London on 2 September with a pierside band blasting Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town". For the next three years, Connecticut was largely confined to port as she underwent a prolonged maintenance cycle.

In early 2007, it was announced that Connecticut would be transferred to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, in Washington's Puget Sound, following a six-month deployment commencing on 25 July 2007. She would be the last of the Navy's three Seawolf-class submarines to be transferred from New London to Kitsap as part of a larger U.S. Navy realignment shifting 60% of the fleet's submarines to the Pacific. Upon arrival at Kitsap on 30 January 2008, Connecticut joined her Seawolf sisters in Submarine Development Squadron Five.

In early 2011, Connecticut participated in ICEX 2011 to "train today’s submarines in the challenging Arctic environment", as well as "refine and validate procedures and required equipment."

Connecticut received extensive overhauls from 2012 to 2017. She returned to operation in early 2018 and participated in the Arctic ICEX 2018 operational readiness exercise. Later that year she deployed to the western Pacific before returning on 30 January 2019.

From 26 March through 19 August 2019, Connecticut underwent maintenance and modernizing in a drydock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The US$17 million project involved 30,000 worker days, and used a hull-climbing robot to inspect the ship's hull.

The Navy plans to extend a submarine pier to moor Connecticut and USS Seawolf (SSN-21) together with USS Jimmy Carter at Naval Submarine Base Bangor.

2021 pier and seamount collisions
On 14 April 2021 during pre-deployment training, Connecticut hit a pier in Point Loma, California, prompting a separate command investigation and a navigation safety stand down for the boat.

On 2 October 2021 Connecticut was damaged after she collided with a seamount while maneuvering in the South China Sea. About eleven sailors sustained injuries, though none were reported to be life threatening. The submarine's propulsion system were said to be operating normally. After an investigation, the commanding officer, his executive officer, and the chief of the boat were all relieved of duty.

The US Navy intends to repair the submarine, with work to begin in 2023 and a planned repair time frame of 31 months, returning to service in September 2025.