Free Republic

The U.S. Armed Forces operate a wide array of sophisticated weaponry, in many cases superior to anything else in the world. But while the new destroyers, carriers, or the F-22 might have no equal, the U.S. Armed Forces face a significant gap in their capabilities: the total lack of any conventional submarines. The United States hasn’t produced any conventional submarines since the Barbel-class in the late 1950s; every submarine class since then has been nuclear powered. This might have made sense in the context of the Cold War, where Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines had to be shadowed, but times...

It’s been said so often but never actually examined in great detail – the Future Submarine Program is strategic for Japan and Australia. In speaking to the submarine community, past and present, what comes through is that cooperation with Japan results in a Future Submarine that can approach the performances of Collins but only with a completely new design and one that will definitely not be regionally superior post 2030. This is alarming and requires pause for thought. The root-cause of this problem is that Japan does not have any technology that is, well, regionally superior. Indeed it is the...

The U.S. Department of Defense has released the first footage of its prototype unmanned anti-submarine ship being developed to track quiet diesel-electric submarines over long distances. The new vessel was launched in January at Vigor’s shipyard in Portland, Oregon, where it has quietly been under construction for the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). During a speed tests in February, the vessel reached a top speed of 27 knots.... (snip)

Russia plans to upgrade its Project 971 nuclear submarines with Kalibr cruise missiles, Rear Admiral Viktor Kochemazov said in a radio interview on Saturday. “The Kalibr cruise missile is a highly efficient weapon as was amply proved by the recent launches from the Rostov-on-Don submarine. Kalibr missiles will be installed on the modernized Project 971 submarines,” Admiral Kochemazov told Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei (Russian News Service) radio station in Moscow. Project 971 Shchuka-B or Bars, designated by NATO as the Akula, are the codenames for the multirole nuclear-powered attack submarines which are the backbone of Russia's maritime nuclear deterrence. First deployed...

In 2016 Russia is set to disarm the missile system of the Typhoon-class Arkhangelsk submarine, the largest in the world. The disarmament will be carried out in accordance with the New START agreement between Moscow and Washington. Working in accordance with the New START treaty between Russia and US, the country’s leading Zvezdochka shipyard in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk will disarm the missile system of the Arkhangelsk submarine, the shipyard’s press service told TASS news agency on Friday. “We will remove the covers of the submarine’s missile launchers and seal them, thus making it impossible to use the...

North Korea has a missing submarine, two defense officials told Fox News Friday. One official told Fox the submarine is a 70-foot Yono class "midget" submarine that is diesel powered and has a crew of two, with room for a squad of saboteurs. It was unclear who may have been onboard. North Korea does not operate large ballistic missile submarines, such as the U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class fleet. Fox News has learned North Korea has not asked the United States to assist in search and rescue efforts. On Thursday, North Korea responded to new sanctions from South Korea by firing short-range...

The North Korean regime lost contact with one of its submarines earlier this week, three U.S. officials familiar with the latest information told CNN. U.S. spy satellites, aircraft and ships have been secretly watching for days as the North Korean navy searched for the missing sub. The U.S. is unsure if the missing vessel is adrift under the sea or whether it has sunk, the officials said, but believes it suffered some type of failure during an exercise.

Algeria may receive two Russian Project 636E (NATO reporting name: Improved Kilo) diesel-electric submarines (SSK) in 2018, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute`s (SIPRI) arms transfer database. The contract between Russia and Algeria for two Project 636E SSKs is supposed to have been signed in 2014. According to SIPRI, the delivery of the submarines is scheduled for 2018. SIPRI also mentions the contract for supply of two Project 20382 'Tigr' corvettes to Algerian Navy, which was probably signed in 2011. As the specialists of the institute pointed out, the delivery of both ships is scheduled for 2017. Algerian...

The technical museum named After K. G. Sakharov is probably one of the main places of interest in Togliatti. It was founded in 1998, today it has many unique exhibits and is surely worth visiting. The museum allows to trace the historical development of the automobile, engineering, armoured, aviation, railway, missile, artillery and naval weapons. The B-307 was retired and moved to the museum! The Russian Tango-class submarines (Project 641B Som [Catfish]) were the successors to the Foxtrot-class submarine based in the Black Sea and Northern Fleet areas. The first of the class was completed in 1972 at Gorky. A...

The British Navy has fired its first torpedo using a radical new 'brain' fitted to a nuclear submarine. The Royal Navy's latest and most advanced Astute class submarine, Artful, used the Common Combat System for the first time. It acts as the submarine's 'brain' – controlling its 'eyes', 'ears' and 'nervous system'. Artful, the third in the Astute class family, is the first to use this new technology which is now being retrofitted to earlier Astute class submarines. Work will soon begin to also retrofit Vanguard class submarines. Paul Beavis, Combat Systems & Support Director for BAE Systems Submarines, said:...

The navy is planning to keep all six of its Collins-class submarines in operation until enough new boats are ready to replace them, well into the 2030s. Close to $2 billion has been allocated for upgrade work. Two of the older Collins boats will require overhauls to extend their lives and the others will be modernised progressively to ensure they can match other submarines in the region. Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin told The Australian extra time was needed because the process of selecting, designing and building the new submarines could not be rushed and to ensure that Australia...

The United States Navy needs more submarines, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capacity, as well as more anti-ship missile capability in the Pacific to counter rising Chinese militarization of the South China Sea. Submarines, especially, are the best way to counter the People's Liberation Army Navy-but the problem is that the United States does not have enough Virginia or Seawolf-class attack submarines. "I don't have the submarines that I feel I need," Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of the United States Pacific Command (PACOM) told the House Armed Services Committee on February 24. "But that’s a function of the total...

Russia’s Alfa Class fast attack submarine was the SR-71 of the undersea world during the Cold War. The Alfas were largely constructed of titanium, used a liquid-metal cooled nuclear powerplant to obtain extreme speeds, and could reach depths far deeper than their competitors. Now Russia is floating the idea of building a modernized version of the design, one that leverages 40 years in technological advancement to take combat submarine automation to a whole new level. Russian news outlet RT reports that there is an imitative to build a new series of Alfa Class boats that are totally revamped, especially in...

Secretive U.S. Navy Submarine Went on a Dangerous Mission Clues suggest spying in 'extremely hazardous' waters On Jan. 20, 2013, the Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter left her home port in Bangor, Washington. Less than two months later, the submarine appeared at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii for repairs. It was all quite mysterious. During her time at sea, we don’t know where Jimmy Carter was or what her crew of nearly 150 were precisely doing. The Seawolf class is one of the most secretive weapons in America’s arsenal, and information about the Navy’s “Silent Service” is difficult to discover...

The corporate executive at the head of Japan’s submarine bid has warned of the “risk” in retro-fitting a nuclear submarine with a diesel engine as proposed by the French bid, and that scaling up a smaller design would create technical “challenges”. The caution comes as bid ­leader Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also said it would be willing to bid for future warship contracts in Australia and to launch satellites for the Australian government or telecommunications companies to augment its campaign for the $20 billion submarines contract. MHI chief executive Shunichi Miyanaga, when asked about converting a nuclear submarine to run on...

The Navy’s imperative to provide “uninterrupted strategic deterrence” with its ballistic missile submarines requires it meets two goals: development of the new boats must stay on schedule, and the old boats must make it to the end of their expected service lives. The latter isn’t easy – the Navy is counting on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to stick around for 42 years each, something that’s never been done. The longest-serving American submarine, the boomer USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642), retired in 2002 after 36 and a half years of service. USS Ohio (SSGN-726) has been around for just over 34...

TOKYO/ SYDNEY--The competition for the contract to build Australia's next submarine fleet is narrowing to a race between Japan and France as a bid from Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) loses ground over technical concerns, multiple sources said. Australia is expected to decide the winner of the Australian $50 billion ($34.55 billion) project, one of the world's most lucrative defense contracts, within the next six months, ahead of a national election in which the deal and the jobs it will create is expected to be a key issue for the conservative government. TKMS is proposing to scale up its 2,000-ton...

With its slightly chipped red grip and retro look, it could be the hand control for a Scalextric set or games console. In fact, the device seen here for the first time is the trigger to Britain’s nuclear deterrent, a button that when pressed could destroy hundreds of thousands of lives. It is in the hand of Lieutenant Commander Woods, the weapons engineer officer on HMS Vigilant, one of four Vanguard class submarines that carries up to eight Trident missiles armed with nuclear warheads. The 38-year-old father of three has spent 16 years training for the moment when Vigilant’s commanding...

There are no plans to discontinue the construction of Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric submarines (SSK) yet, Deputy Navy Commander-in-Chief Vice Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov told journalists on Thursday. The second and third submarines, the Kronstadt and Velikiye Luki, will be delivered later than scheduled in 2019 but the Russian Navy says the class is much quiter compared to the Project 636 Kilo-class. Lada class Diesel Electric Submarine (SSK) Project 677 "The Navy will decide on how many Project 677 Lada submarines it needs based on the outcome of the operational evaluation of the Kronstadt and Velikiye Luki submarines. The termination of...

Arguably Israel’s most critical military capability is their small but very deadly submarine fleet. Beyond being able to stealthily spy on enemies, insert operatives onto foreign shores and wreak havoc on enemy ships on a whim, they represent Israel’s “second strike” nuclear deterrent. Now Israel has received its fifth such vessel, the Rahav. The importance of the INS Rahav, and Israel’s small but elite submarine force was underscored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the new submarine’s arrival ceremony: “Our submarine fleet serves as a deterrent to our enemies who seek our destruction.” He continued, “they need to know that...