San Diego’s USS Alexandria will be decommissioned in push by Navy to modernize its submarine fleet

The San Diego-based USS Alexandria, one of the Los Angeles-class hunter-killer submarines the Navy built during the Cold War to counter Russian technology and aggression, will be decommissioned next year to make way for newer, more advanced boats.

The Navy says Alexandria’s service life will end on Aug. 4 as part of a broader, long-term modernization of the fleet. The 34-year-old nuclear-powered sub will later be defueled and recycled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., says the U.S. Naval Institute.

For the time being, the 360-foot Alexandria will continue to operate out of San Diego, its home for the past decade. The fast-attack sub returned from a seven-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific in May. No additional deployments have been announced.

Alexandria represents a very distinct and dangerous chapter of naval history.

During the Cold War, Russia introduced new classes of submarines that posed a threat to American warships, including aircraft carriers, because of their stealth and speed.

The U.S. responded by developing Los Angeles-class subs, which surpassed Russian boats in those areas. The subs were also designed to fire Tomahawk missiles, a major technological advance for the U.S.

More than 60 of these subs were built between 1972 and 1996. Just over 20 of the boats are still in service. They are steadily being replaced by the new Virginia-class subs, which the Navy says are stealthier and better able to operate in shallow, near-shore waters.