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Submarine production falters when a fragile industrial base cannot deliver the specialized castings, forgings, ceramics, magnetics, steels, and acoustic coatings that nuclear safety and acoustic stealth demand. Unfortunately, the United States relies on a dangerously thin bench of suppliers. The Naval Foundry and Propeller Center (NFPC) remains the Navy’s organic foundry and design reference for submarine propellers.6 But the NFPC alone cannot carry the load, nor was it designed to. Each propulsor involves long-lead steps—patterns, molds, pours, and machining—that stretch timelines even in the best cases. When quality issues arise, such as pour defects, heat-treatment variability, or radiographic anomalies, delays...

The United States will soon carry out the largest reduction in sea-based strategic launch capacity in its history—at precisely the moment the threat demands more. The November 2024 unclassified nuclear employment strategy report—submitted under 10 U.S.C. §491 and known as the 491 Report—now directs the joint force to “deter Russia, the PRC, and [North Korea] simultaneously in peacetime, crisis, and conflict.The Navy built 14 Ohio-class SSBNs with 24 missile tubes apiece—336 tubes of design capacity, of which 20 per boat remain operational after New START conversion. Twelve Columbias will carry 16 tubes apiece, netting 192 tubes.20 The transition surrenders 43...

Leaders across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales are preparing for a meeting to begin the process of seceding from the United Kingdom.The leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will gather on Monday to sign a deal designed to kick-start the break-up of the United Kingdom, The Telegraph can disclose.🔗: https://t.co/VeumqBREAKING:The Telegraph writes that the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will meet in Cardiff tomorrow sign a deal on starting cooperation breaking up the UK.They will demand the right to independence referendum, or in the case of Northern Ireland, on the right to become part of Ireland. After...

The Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 had bound the two island empires together against a common rival, but it was the German U-boat war that finally brought the Imperial Japanese Navy to the Mediterranean. As Royal Navy escorts were stretched to breaking point, Britain turned to its ally in the East. Eight Japanese destroyers, commanded by Admiral Soto Kozo, sailed for Malta -- and over the months that followed, they escorted nearly eight hundred troopships through submarine-infested waters and clashed with enemy submarines on more than thirty occasions. Why Did Japan Send Its Navy To British Malta In 1917? | 13:33...

Cmdr. Joseph Sammur was relieved as the commanding officer of USS West Virginia (SSBN-736) (Blue Crew) last week due to a loss of confidence, the Navy announced Saturday Sammur’s relief follows an investigation into a maintenance issue, a Submarine Forces Public Affairs spokesperson told USNI News on Monday. West Virginia is currently in port for maintenance, according to the Navy’s Saturday news release. Cmdr. Luke Kelvington, Submarine Squadron 20 deputy for training, has temporarily assumed command of West Virginia’s Blue Crew. Sammur, who assumed command nearly a year ago on Aug. 14, 2025, has been temporarily reassigned to Submarine Group...

Britain Must Not Sacrifice Trident To Please Obama By Nile Gardiner July 10th, 2009 Currying favour with Obama could leave Britain vulnerable As the Telegraph has reported, President Obama has called for a 30-nation summit in Washington next March to discuss nuclear non-proliferation. This follows a reckless preliminary agreement between Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow to cut America’s nuclear stockpile and delivery systems by up to a third, a deal which is stunningly good for the Russians but hugely damaging for America’s interests. In the wake of the Moscow summit, Gordon Brown has hinted he may include...

The United States test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads during a joint military exercise Wednesday with Saudi Arabia, a Western military official said. The Trident missile launch was carried out in the kingdom, the official said, but he would not give a precise location. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The U.S. has been strengthening missile defenses in allied Arab nations in the Gulf to help counter any potential missile strike from Iran. Like its nuclear work, Iran's missile program is of top concern to Washington and Arab nations...

The Royal Navy's entire available fleet of hunter-killer submarines is stuck in port unable to sail – leaving Britain at risk from Vladimir Putin's Russia. In a fresh humiliation for Britain's Armed Forces, all five of its Astute class submarines are currently laid up awaiting maintenance and other repair work. Military experts have also warned that the Navy's lack of available nuclear-powered attack submarines – which carry up to 38 Spearfish torpedoes and a battery of Tomahawk missiles – leaves the UK's sub-sea internet and power cables dangerously vulnerable to sabotage by the Kremlin. The subs also play a critical...

A massive undersea firepower gap is looming, and the Navy’s aging Ohio-class submarines may be the only thing standing in its way. A routine fleet review in March 2026 surfaced a number Navy planners are still struggling to absorb. Over the next several years, four aging Ohio-class guided-missile submarines and a dozen Ticonderoga-class cruisers will reach their mandatory retirement dates. When they go, the fleet sheds 2,080 Vertical Launch System cells in one wave.

Denmark’s foreign minister had the top U.S. diplomat in the country summoned for talks after the main national broadcaster reported Wednesday that at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland. Trump has repeatedly said he seeks U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, a vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. He has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island. Denmark, a NATO ally of the U.S., and Greenland have said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence there.

A new RUSI report warns that China’s submarine fleet is rapidly “closing the gap” qualitatively, “eroding” the U.S. Navy’s technological edge. While China’s current 6 Type 093 SSNs are “noisy” (comparable to a 1970s Victor III), the upcoming Type 095 SSN will be much larger (11,000 tons) and quieter, using Russian reactor designs. Furthermore, the new Type 096 SSBN will be nearly Ohio-class size (15,000 tons) and armed with 24 6,000-mile-range JL-3 missiles, allowing it to strike the continental U.S. from “safe” Chinese bastions.

Putin is amassing nuclear weapons and attack submarines in the Arctic Circle as his country prepares for war with NATO, Norway has said. Norway's Defence Minister Tore Sandvik claimed his country had found Russia had been increasing its military presence in the Arctic, particularly in the Kola peninsula. The politician also said Vladimir Putin had been attempting to take over the Arctic region where its fleet is based to block shipping routes to Nato allies if war broke out. 'Russia is building up on the Kola peninsula... where one of the largest arsenals of nuclear warheads in the world is...

SSN(X) is the Navy’s planned successor to Virginia: a larger, stealthier, longer-legged attack submarine that teams with UUVs, carries more weapons, and is designed for higher availability. Costs will dwarf current boats, and industrial bottlenecks—from single-source suppliers to overloaded yards—are real. Budget trade-offs and shipyard realities have pushed the first procurement to around FY-2040, delaying entry to the fleet.

The U.S. Navy faces a dangerous shortage of attack submarines, leaving it stretched too thin to meet global demands. While the fleet is already below its 66-boat goal, the reality is worse: about one-third of subs are non-deployable at any time due to massive maintenance backlogs and crew shortages.

The Ohio-class’s carrying capacity is about 50 percent of the entire supply of the U.S. Navy’s Tomahawk missiles. And since these SSGNs have been used recently to great effect, why take them away now? Some experts even argue that there is a strong case for attempting a refit of at least some of these powerful missile submarines until more Virginia-class boats equipped with cruise missiles can replace them.

Drug traffickers are spending $1 million a pop to build boats that look like submarines and can carry 4 tons of cocaine for 2,000 miles without refueling. Nicknamed "narco subs," they're made to sneak loads up from South America to Mexico, where the drugs are offloaded and taken overland into the United States. "It is a semi-submersible coffin," said Jay Bergman, Andean regional director for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "You batten down the hatches and you are doing everything to not be detected sailing in the middle of the ocean." At least 13 of the craft have been stopped and...

For US, a terror threat lurks in drug smuggling subs Shift of cargo to arms and people is feared By Bryan Bender KEY WEST, Fla. - Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles. These "semi-submersibles," which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses. So far this year, the Coast Guard says it has encountered...

The last defendant in an extended family charged with conspiring to export U.S. defense technology to China reached a plea deal that brought the case to an abrupt end, authorities said Wednesday. Rebecca Laiwah Chiu, 63, reached the deal with federal prosecutors late Tuesday on the eve of her trial on charges of conspiracy to export defense articles, failure to register as a foreign agent and making false statements to the FBI. Chiu instead pleaded guilty to one count of acting as a foreign agent without registering with the U.S. government and will serve three years in prison, said her...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The case against three alleged Chinese agents is set to return to court Monday with testimony from an FBI official that could help explain why the government has filed only one criminal charge despite making sweeping claims of conspiracy and theft. Chinese-American engineer Chi Mak, his wife, Rebecca Laiwah Chiu, and brother Tai Wang Mak pleaded not guilty Nov. 22 to charges that they were unregistered agents for China. Each was indicted on a single count even though an affidavit submitted last month by FBI Special Agent James Gaylord alleged they had committed crimes ranging from...

BREAKING: President Trump and SecDef Pete Hegseth just sent out 3 United States Navy destroyers, joined by an attack submarine, near Venezuela to crack down on the cartels. The gloves are finally coming off.