The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is among the most unique and advanced submarines ever to sail in the U.S. Navy. Dedicated to the 39th President—a trained submariner at the onset of the nuclear age—this vessel is more than an homage to a statesman. It is a reflection of how the Navy evolves to counter new threats and missions in one of the world’s most demanding environments: the deep sea.
The Seawolf-class was initially thought up towards the end of the Cold War, with the express purpose of being the solution to all that had been achieved by the Soviet submarine establishment. Designed to be fast, silent, and packed with firepower beyond comparison, they were to reign supreme underwater. With the end of the Cold War and the expense of the class, however, only three were ever built.
The USS Jimmy Carter, the final of the class, distinguished itself through its construction with a significant alteration—an additional 100 feet lengthened her hull. This extension, the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP) or Ocean Interface, converted her from a cutting-edge attack submarine into an all-purpose multi-role platform unique to anything else in the fleet.
The engineering that went into Jimmy Carter’s alterations is still staggering by today’s standards. MMP built a pressurized area within the extension—popularly called the “wasp waist” or “aquarium”—for personnel and equipment to travel through, while seawater filled the area around it to create an underwater hangar.
It is from this location that unmanned underwater vehicles, special operations craft, and other mission equipment are launched and recovered without having to utilize the torpedo tubes. To achieve this, ballast systems, control centers, and mission spaces were redesigned. The outcome was the most costly attack submarine ever constructed, at a cost of more than $3.5 billion.
Jimmy Carter has capabilities that no other U.S. submarine possesses. She can take Navy SEALs and their gear, conduct advanced remote-controlled vehicles, and perform very highly classified intelligence-gathering missions.
Her capabilities include being able to communicate with undersea communications cables—tapping them, severing them, or extracting sensitive material from the ocean floor. Carrying space for as many as 50 special operations personnel and their equipment, she provides unparalleled support to clandestine operations with the speed, stealth, and attack capability characteristic of the Seawolf-class.
Much of what Jimmy Carter has accomplished is out of public sight, but there are hints. Her crew has been presented with the Presidential Unit Citation for exceptional heroism in action, and the submarine has returned to port from time to time under the Jolly Roger—a classic naval practice indicating a successful mission. Based in the Pacific, she deploys in areas where seabed facilities, undersea cable systems, and clandestine monitoring are of increasing strategic value.
The emergence of seabed warfare has created a new front for international competition. Underwater cables, pipelines, and sensor arrays are essential to communications, trade, and national security—but equally exposed. The Jimmy Carter provides the U.S. with an influential capability to defend these resources or, if the need arises, disable those of a competitor. In this darkened world, where activities are covered up or denied, such capabilities as hers can mean the difference between strategic leverage and vulnerability.
The Navy is already planning for Jimmy Carter’s ultimate replacement. The upcoming Modified Virginia-class Subsea and Seabed Warfare submarine will expand on its special capabilities, integrating lessons learned from decades of clandestine operations. It will be projected to transport even more sophisticated unmanned systems, mini-subs, and mission payloads for seafloor control.
For the time being, the USS Jimmy Carter remains an isolated instance—a unique fusion of engineering ingenuity and strategic flexibility. She is a demonstration that the submarine force is not merely about stealthy patrols and missile attacks, but it is also about dominating the unseen battles waged at the bottom of the ocean. Her legacy will define the submarines and strategies of tomorrow, and the U.S. will not lose its advantage in the constantly changing undersea battlespace.