The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is a unique submarine in the history of the U.S. Navy, named after the 39th President himself, a submariner trainee at the beginning of the nuclear age. More than a memorial, this submarine is a testament to how naval ingenuity evolves to meet new tasks and new challenges and brings them into the unseen depths of the sea.
The Seawolf-class, Jimmy Carter’s homeport, was designed in the final years of the Cold War. The mission was straightforward but bold: build a submarine that would outpace the Soviet navy in speed, quietness, and overall striking power. These ships were intended to control the undersea battlespace. But with the end of the Cold War and the cost of the program ballooning, only three Seawolf submarines were ever commissioned.
Jimmy Carter, the third and last of the class, is the most unconventional of them all. Her hull was extended by an unprecedented 100 feet during construction. This addition, the Multi-Mission Platform, fundamentally changed her mission. No longer merely a potent attack submarine, she became a versatile, multi-mission ship with capabilities that no other submarine on earth could match.
The engineering behind the modifications remains impressive even decades later. Within the added section, designers created a pressurized passageway—nicknamed the “wasp waist” or “aquarium”—that allows personnel and equipment to move through the extension, while seawater surrounding it forms a kind of underwater hangar.
From this facility, unmanned underwater vehicles, special operations vessels, and other gear could be launched and recovered without occupying the torpedo tubes. Complete control centers, ballast machinery, and mission compartments were reconfigured to enable it. The result was the costliest attack submarine ever built, with a construction price tag of over $3.5 billion.
What makes Jimmy Carter stand out is not only its design, but the variety of capabilities that ensued. She can transport Navy SEALs and equipment, launch sophisticated underwater drones, and execute highly classified surveillance operations.
One of her most compelling capabilities is to communicate with undersea communications cables—scanning them, intercepting them, or severing them if needed. Accommodating up to 50 special operations personnel, she aids in clandestine operations with the speed, stealth, and brute strength that characterize the Seawolf class.
All but a few of her activities are shrouded in mystery, but leaks have emerged. She has been granted the Presidential Unit Citation for superior performance, and the submarine has on occasion come into port with the Jolly Roger flying—a standard naval courtesy indicating a job well done. Based in the Pacific, her deployments frequently target areas where undersea cables, pipelines, and seabed installations become more vital to national security.
As conflict has spread into new realms, the seabed has become a contested frontier. The world’s communications, financial systems, and military networks are dependent on undersea cables and sensors, which are both critical and exposed. Jimmy Carter provides the Navy with a decisive advantage in this clandestine environment, with the capacity to protect those assets—or, if necessary, to deny them to an enemy. In the dark world of seabed warfare, her presence is an overwhelming asset.
The Navy already has plans for her eventual replacement. A variant of the Virginia-class submarine is being developed to assume the specialized duties trailblazed by Jimmy Carter. These upcoming boats are likely to be equipped with even more sophisticated unmanned systems, mini-subs, and payloads to control the ocean floor.
Until then, Jimmy Carter is in a class by herself. She is a unique combination of engineering genius and tactical flexibility, demonstrating that submarines are not merely stealthy patrols or missile attacks, but also lead the hidden battles beneath the surface. Her legacy will be felt by the Navy for decades to come, so that America continues to hold an advantage in the ever-changing world of undersea warfare.