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1927: Submarine Aircraft Carrier HMS M2 was a Royal Navy submarine monitor completed in 1919, converted in 1927 into the world's first submarine aircraft carrier. She was shipwrecked in Lyme Bay, Dorset, Britain, on 26 January 1932. She was one of three M-class boats completed. • Design and Career Four M-class submarines replaced the order for the last four K-class submarines, K17-K21. Although they were similar in size, the M class was an entirely different design from the K class, although it is possible that some material ordered for the K-boats went into them. In any event, the end of...

Concerns are growing over the lack of progress on Sweden’s A26 next-generation submarine programme, which is being developed to replace the Swedish Navy’s current Södermanland-class vessels. Despite the purchase of two submarines being approved by Swedish lawmakers in 2010, firm orders have yet to be placed. Kockums submarine Contract negotiations are still ongoing between Swedish shipbuilders Kockums, who will manufacturer the vessel, and Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). Differences between the two parties have significantly slowed contract negotiations, but details of what those differences actually are remain unknown. Both sides are tight-lipped on the whole process. ""The company will be...

A senior Pakistani official recently told the UK's Jane's Defence Weekly that the country is likely to purchase six submarines from China. The official said the deal will be completed soon and an agreement is expected to be signed by both parties by the end of the year. The Sina news web portal also cited a Pakistani official who said Islamabad and Beijing had settled the details for the arms sales and only the payment issue needed to be finalized. The Pakistani source revealed that the S20 diesel-electric submarines, an improved model of the People's Liberation Army's Yuan-class submarines, may...

The Chinese are preparing to deploy submarines armed with nuclear missiles that will patrol the northern Pacific Ocean and come within range of at least two US states, according to a new report from the US Navy. The US Naval Institute (USNI) reported that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has tapped the Jin-class nuclear ballistic submarines to begin patrols in 2014. The subs will carry intercontinental range missiles that are thought to have a range of no less than 14,000 kilometers (8,699 miles) and can deliver a single or multiple warheads. “With a range in excess of 4,000 [nautical...

EXCLUSIVE: Germany is “weeks away” from signing a contract with Egypt to provide the troubled Middle East country with two more submarines in a multi-million euro deal, a defence source told the The Local. The contract for two U-209 submarines follows on from a deal signed in summer 2011 for two of the same submarine types which was worth €920 million. A source said: “The new contract will be for two more U-209 to reach the target of four. “Two is not enough to have a permanent sea patrol. With four, you will have one for maintenance, one for training...

The U.S. Navy is looking into developing a submarine-launched hypersonic missile as part of its conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) program. According to an Inside Defense article, the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs office is soliciting proposals for “two-year industry trade studies to flesh out technology options and architecture for an intermediate-range conventional prompt global strike weapon.” The report said that the competition was part of the Defense Department’s “fiscal year 2014 plan to investigate a launcher, missile and glide body for a weapon with potential game-changing capabilities.” Top among these CPGS capabilities is to develop precision-guided ballistic missiles that can...

Groton, Conn. – While floating partially submerged in icy waters along a dock at a General Dynamics’ Electric Boat facility here, the Navy’s first Block III Virginia-Class attack submarine is being readied for sea-trials, certifications and delivery. As a key step prior to formally handing the boat over to the Navy to begin service, Electric Boat engineers and Navy professionals are testing the electronics, wiring, missile tubes and propulsion system on-board the submarine, among other things, said Kurt Hesch, vice president of Virginia-Class submarines, Electric Boat. The USS North Dakota, the first Block III Virginia-Class submarine slated for delivery, is...

Russia’s has received a New Year present with the hand-over of a cutting-edge nuclear attack submarine, the Severodvinsk, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said. The Severodvinsk had been under construction at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia since 1993. “Yesterday the parent nuclear submarine of the Yasen-project has been handed over to the navy for trial operation,” Rogozin wrote on Twitter, confirming an earlier report by RIA-Novosti news agency. The Severodvinsk is one of eight Yasen-class (Graney-class, according to NATO classification) attack subs ordered by the Russian navy. The second and third boats of the series, the Kazan and...

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CA) The United States has begun delivery of submarine-launched Harpoon missiles this year, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The anti-ship cruise missiles will become operational on Taiwan's two Dutch-built combat-capable submarines, the Tuesday report said. The NT$5.87 billion (US$195.46 million) deal, to be fulfilled between 2008 and 2016, is aimed at extending the country's undersea force's strike capability, the MND said. The deal reportedly includes 32 UGM-84L sub-launched Harpoon Block II missiles along with two UTM-84L exercise missiles and two weapon control systems, according to media coverage....

December 23, 2013: In late 2013 the Russian navy announced that plans to refurbish its nine Akula class SSNs (nuclear attack subs) would take longer than expected. In fact, the first Akula will be out of service for three years for the upgrade. The other eight subs will get done more quickly, but the entire job will take at least a decade and probably closer to fifteen years. The refurb involves replacing most if the wiring and electrical systems as well as the missile handling equipment. Many mechanical systems will be replaced of upgraded. The end result will be a...

T'was the night before Christmas, and what no-one could see, The men with the dolphins were under the sea. Most of the crew was flat on their backs, Snoring and dreaming all snug in their racks. Those men on watch were making their rounds, Some manning the planes or listening for sounds. Back in maneuvering or down in the room, They all hoped the oncoming watch would come soon. I'd finished some PM's whose time was now due, And hoped for some sleep, even an hour or two. Against better judgment I took a short stroll, And found myself wandering...

<p>It could dive deeper than any other submarine, and when it reached the ocean floor, the one-of-a-kind U.S. navy vessel could roll on wheels with lights illuminating the depths outside its windows.</p> <p>The nuclear-powered NR-1, launched in Groton in 1969, was one of the most secretive vessels in the U.S. undersea force.</p>

AUSTRALIA has asked Japan to consider providing highly advanced propulsion technology to be used in the navy's planned 12 new submarines. Defence Minister David Johnston has told The Weekend Australian Japanese officials had visited submarine maintenance facilities in Adelaide and talks were continuing. In a speech to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Senator Johnston spoke about the Abbott government's wish to cement closer defence ties with Japan, including much closer defence-industry ties. Senator Johnston said later he was particularly interested in the use of Japan's extremely effective submarine technology in Australia's future submarine, which is most likely to be an...

One of the boats can clearly be seen in the water at the Bostanu shipyard on the Strait of Hormuz in Astrium imagery taken on 27 October. It measures 40.5 m long and 4 m wide at the waterline. A second can be seen under construction at the Bandar Anzali Naval Base on the Caspian Sea on 17 September. It is partially shrouded by scaffolding, but is approximately 48 m long and 6 m wide.

SINGAPORE: Singapore, which has Southeast Asia’s most modern military, said Monday it was acquiring two new submarines from German defence contractor ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. In a statement, the defence ministry said it signed a contract to acquire two “Type 218SG” submarines, which are projected to be delivered in 2020. It said the deal included a logistics package and a crew training arrangement in Germany, but did not reveal the total cost. The two new submarines, along with Archer-class submarines purchased from Sweden in 2005 will replace its Challenger-class submarines that were built in the 1960s and acquired by the city-state...

GROTON, Conn. (AP) — The submarine that starred in "The Hunt for Red October," the USS Dallas, returned from its last overseas deployment Monday. Next year, after 33 years in the fleet, the Dallas will be inactivated. Tom Clancy's Cold War thriller made the Dallas famous, but in Navy circles it is better known for being the first attack submarine to carry a dry-deck shelter, which houses a vehicle for launching and recovering special operations forces. "Of all the submarines that would be finishing up their service life, there are a couple out there that people know by name, and...

Poland believes German-made submarines are not up to the job of defending Polish shores, but sources have told The Local that on the back of a landmark naval deal between the two countries, Poland is likely to lease two subs anyway. On May 27th German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière and his Polish counterpart Tomasz Siemoniak signed a “Letter of Intention” to increase co-operation between the two countries’ navies in 28 areas including through a “submarine operating authority”. The agreement pledged to “provide a sound foundation for the further enhancement of the German-Polish naval cooperation in the future,” in several...

By Roger Thompson, MA, FRSA In 1959, The U.S. Navy commissioned its final diesel-electric submarine combatant, the USS Blueback, which served until 1990. She was the last of her kind in the American Navy because of its insistence, or some would say, dogma, that all combatant submarines must be nuclear powered. After all, diesel-electric submarines are merely surface ships that can submerge only for short periods of time. They are too slow as well, and for these reasons primarily, they are thought to be inferior to nuclear submarines. At least that's the way the U.S. Navy thinks, but I would...

It’s not the usual kind of fanfare you would associate with the launching of a nation’s cutting edge new submarine, but this is Japan – and they do things a little bit differently here. Amid balloons, party banners, the odd “rising sun” war flag here and there, and confetti (lots of confetti, there has to be confetti), the Japan Marine Self Defense Force (MSDF) launched its newest state-of-the-art toy – the submarine Kokuryu, which literally means “Black Dragon”. The submarine Kukoryu was made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and is said to be made with leading edge technology, costing Japanese taxpayers...

Saudi Arabia 'plans to buy German submarines' A German newspaper has reported that Saudi Arabia plans to buy submarines from Germany. The news could intensify discussion on weapons exports during the current coalition negotiations in Berlin. The German weekly Bild am Sonntag said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia wanted to purchase five German Type 209 submarines for 12 billion euros ($16.5 billion). The paper said that in the long term, the kingdom was interested in buying altogether 25 of the vessels. The newspaper said it had information that the German chancellery had in the summer already signaled a willingness to...