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Gaffer,
I think the other two, Seawolf and Connecticut, have been or are going to be upgraded to the same configuration as the 23 boat. They are all part of Submarine Development Squadron 5 or COMSUBDEVRON5. These three are specially outfitted to carry out special intelligence gathering operations.

I think the other two, Seawolf and Connecticut, have been or are going to be upgraded to the same configuration as the 23 boat. They are all part of Submarine Development Squadron 5 or COMSUBDEVRON5. These three are specially outfitted to carry out special intelligence gathering operations.

Seawolf and Connecticut were co-located with Carter at the Trident facility in Washington more as a way to consolidate supply chain management and maintenance for a very limited-run class of ships. Carter is based there, as was her special missions boat predecessor (Parche) for security purposes.

I haven't heard about Seawolf or Connecticut being upgraded with the hull plug. Not sure if that makes sense as opposed to using the Virginia-class as the base platform. IIRC the Virginias were specifically designed for all sorts of upgrades, including the capability of being stretched to take a midships Trident missile farm as an Ohio-class replacement.

I'm talking a new-build boat based on the Virginia design, not an existing Virginia taken out of service and cut in half. Like how the first SSBN's (George Washington class) were stretched Skipjacks. Building in a midships extension during construction is one thing, but doing a cut-n-insert on an existing submarine is kinda dicey given the rigours they have to withstand.

In any event, the Seawolf and Connecticut remain the best attack subs in the fleet, with all sorts of goodies (massive torpedo inventory, large-diameter "swim-out" tubes) designed to go forth and, quite frankly, smite an enemy's submarine force. Which is why they're in the Pacific, pointed directly at China. With Russia perfectly aware of their capability to go up over the Pole at THEIR submarines.