Navy bolsters submarine force in Guam to support Indo-Pacific missions

The Navy now has five submarines homeported in Guam — up from two the service had based there as of November 2021.

The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines Springfield and Annapolis shifted their homeport to Naval Base Guam last month. The Springfield was previously based in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii while the Annapolis was at Naval Base Point Loma in California.

According to Bret Grabbe, commodore of Submarine Squadron 15, the homeport shifts represent an opportunity to “support Indo-Pacific initiatives and missions.”

The Navy announced it was aiming to bolster its submarine force in Guam last year. Rear Adm. Jeffrey Jablon, the head of Submarine Force Pacific, said in November at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium that the Navy would increase the number of submarines homeported in Guam to five in 2022.

At the time, Los Angeles class fast-attack submarines Key West and Asheville were the only submarines based in Guam. The Navy subsequently moved the fast-attack submarine Jefferson City from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to Guam in December.

Jablon said that additional infrastructure to support the growing submarine fleet is in the works, such as a pier to eventually accommodate a Virginia Block V attack submarine, the first of which is expected to be delivered to the fleet in 2026.

“I can guarantee you there is a significant amount of ‘MilCon’ that is going into Guam, specifically with the submarine force,” Jablon said, noting other construction projects in the works include a new medical clinic and barracks to house more sailors.

The move to increase the submarine force in Guam comes as China is beefing up its own submarine fleet. China currently owns four ballistic missile submarines, along with a force of 50 diesel-electric attack submarines, the Nuclear Threat Initiative reported in February 2021.

目前美国海军在关岛拥有五艘潜艇母港，而截至 2021 年 11 月，该海军只有两艘潜艇驻扎在那里。

洛杉矶级快速攻击潜艇“斯普林菲尔德”号和“安纳波利斯”号上个月将母港迁至关岛海军基地。“斯普林菲尔德”号此前驻扎在夏威夷珍珠港-希卡姆联合基地，“安纳波利斯”号则驻扎在加利福尼亚州洛马角海军基地。

据第 15 潜艇中队准将 Bret Grabbe 称，母港的转移为“支持印太地区的倡议和任务”提供了一个机会。

美国海军去年宣布计划加强其在关岛的潜艇部队。太平洋潜艇部队司令杰弗里·贾布隆少将在去年11月举行的海军潜艇联盟年度研讨会上表示，海军计划在2022年将驻扎在关岛的潜艇数量增加到五艘。

当时，洛杉矶级快速攻击潜艇“基韦斯特”号和“阿什维尔”号是仅有的两艘驻扎在关岛的潜艇。随后，海军于12月将快速攻击潜艇“杰斐逊城”号从珍珠港-希卡姆联合基地调往关岛。

贾布隆表示，为支持不断壮大的潜艇舰队，正在建设额外的基础设施，例如一个最终可容纳弗吉尼亚Block V攻击型潜艇的码头，该型潜艇的第一艘预计将于2026年交付舰队。

“我可以向你保证，关岛将有大量的军事建设项目，特别是潜艇部队的建设项目，”贾布隆说道，并指出其他正在进行的建设项目包括新建一家医疗诊所和营房，以容纳更多的水兵。

美国在关岛增派潜艇部队之际，中国也在加强自身的潜艇舰队建设。据核威胁倡议组织2021年2月报道，中国目前拥有4艘弹道导弹潜艇和50艘柴电攻击潜艇。