The US Navy Retired Its Most Capable Submarine-Hunting Aircraft & Replaced It With A Step Backward

The US Navy has retired its S-3 Viking, its ASW workhorse. The move follows a Cold War shift away from a dedicated sub-hunter. Duties are now reassigned to other aircraft on carrier decks. Naval officials warn this could weaken carrier-group anti-submarine reach in the future. The example underscores carrier magnitudes from WWII, with Essex-class ships at 36,382 long tons. Early Cold War Forrestal and Kitty Hawk classes weighed roughly 76,000 to 84,914 long tons. The article recalls Soviet Echo I/II and 670-class submarines shaping ASW doctrine. With the Viking retirement, the Navy faces questions about sustaining carrier-based ASW amid rising threats.