Free Republic

BRUSSELS — Russian submarines have dramatically stepped up activity around undersea data cables in the North Atlantic, part of a more aggressive naval posture that has driven NATO to revive a Cold War-era command, according to senior military officials. We are now seeing Russian underwater activity in the vicinity of undersea cables that I don’t believe we have ever seen,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Andrew Lennon, the commander of NATO’s submarine forces. “Russia is clearly taking an interest in NATO and NATO nations’ undersea infrastructure.”

Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric attack submarines will lack air-independent propulsion systems (AIP) for the foreseeable future, the head of Russian-state owned Admiralty Shipyards, Alexander Buzakov, revealed in a recent interview with Russian media this month. Buzakov confirmed that the third and fourth boat of the class will operate without AIP. AIP vastly improves the underwater endurance of a submarine by allowing it to operate its propulsion system without access to atmospheric oxygen. Given that there is less need for AIP subs to surface or use a snorkel to charge their batteries, the stealth capability of any boat fitted with this...

Armin Rosen Febuary 5, 2016Russia's submarine fleet is more active than it's been in decades in a strategically vital body of water — and US military planners can't seem to figure out why. US Navy Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, also head of NATO's maritime command, told IHS Jane's that the US has seen "more activity from Russian submarines than we've seen since the days of the Cold War" in the North Atlantic. While Johnstone didn't specify which parts of the North Atlantic have seen this uptick, nearly the entirety of the area between North America, the Western European coastline, and...