In 2005, a small, cheap Swedish submarine, the HSwMS Gotland, slipped past the multi-billion dollar anti-submarine defenses of the US Navy. It approached the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, snapped several periscope photos of the carrier’s hull (marking a virtual torpedo hits), and slipped away undetected. The US Navy was shocked. How could a diesel […]
For decades, China’s nuclear submarine force was considered the “noisy neighbor” of the undersea world. American sonar operators jokingly referred to them as “underwater drum kits”—easy to find, easy to track, and easy to kill. But those jokes are no longer funny. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is nearing the completion of its next-generation
For the past thirty years, the North Atlantic was arguably a “NATO Lake.” The Soviet Union’s collapse left the Russian Navy rusting in port. But that era of complacency is over. A new predator has entered the Atlantic, one that has caused top US Navy admirals to admit they can no longer track Russian submarines
In the silent, high-pressure world of undersea warfare, dominance is defined by two factors: stealth and firepower. For decades, the United States Navy held an undisputed lead in both. However, with the emergence of Russia’s quiet Yasen-M class and China’s rapid naval expansion, that gap has narrowed. The US Navy’s response is a massive, technological
