US attack submarine on deployment’s second visit to Japan

After visiting Yokosuka in March this year, U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) arrived at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on May 11, for the second visit to Japan during her Indo-Asia-Pacific deployment.

USS Santa Fe is also the second submarine to visit Japan this month as USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) made a port call at Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan, on May 2.

Santa Fe’s visit to Japan is likely to be seen as a “show of force” and attributed to heightened tensions between North Korea’s Pyongyang regime and the U.S. which now has the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson operating near the Korean Peninsula.

Measuring more than 360 feet long and weighing more than 6,000 tons when submerged, Santa Fe is one of the 23 improved 688 Los Angeles class submarines that have improved stealth features.

Santa Fe is homeported in Pearl Harbor and is assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 7. It is named after the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico.