The US Navy’s USS Seawolf attack submarine was spotted off the coast of Scotland on Monday, its second public appearance in the region. The Seawolf is typically very shy, with the photos the Navy released of it near Tromsø, Norway, last month being the first it had released in five years.
The nuclear-powered attack sub was spotted by Iain Cameron, a ship and plane spotter, when the vessel entered Gare Loch on Scotland’s west coast on Monday.
USS Seawolf SSN-21 passing Kilcreggan inbound for Faslane #USNavy #Navy #submarine #shipping pic.twitter.com/4FsSDiZZOU
— Iain Cameron (@ScotlandDX) September 21, 2020
USS Seawolf SSN-21 receing pilot at Loch Long #USNavy #Navy #submarine #shipping pic.twitter.com/F9GUqu2xdV
— Iain Cameron (@ScotlandDX) September 21, 2020
Just downriver from Glasgow, the inlet from the River Clyde houses Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde in the town of Falsane. Clyde is one of the Royal Navy’s three operating bases and home to the United Kingdom’s Trident nuclear deterrent, so seeing submarines there is not an unusual occurrence.
Washington built just three Seawolf subs, which are made for silent operation for long periods underwater. Accordingly, at least one of them, the USS Jimmy Carter, has been given special intelligence functions. Sputnik reported the attack boat’s high profile appearance in Norway might be seen as a message to Russia, which commonly operates in the cold northerly Barents Sea nearby.
However, why the Seawolf has appeared in Scotland now is anybody’s guess.
