All military submarines are generally seen by the casual observer as being geared toward attack. “Attack submarines” are those boats designed particularly to hunt down and harass other submarines, surface warships, and merchant ships. Such submarines usually have elaborate quieting techniques, high speed, and heavy firepower, meaning, numerically at least, they should probably be expensive assets in naval warfare. Here, we take a look at the top five attack submarines that are set to dominate the seas in 2024.
Russian Project 945A Kondor Class, also known as the Sierra II, is still one of the costliest and noisiest submarines in the Russian Navy. Designed to take on search and destroy missions of U.S. nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, the Sierra II features light, robust titanium twin-pressure hulls. This unique design enabled it to dive deeper, decrease radiated noise, and increase resistance to any attack by a torpedo. Driven by one OK-650 pressurized water reactor, the Sierra II has greater speed and goes deeper than its American contemporaries at the time of its design. Two of the class remain in active service with the Northern Fleet: Pskov and Nizhny Novgorod.
While military projects from Russia are typically virtually oversized in terms of claims, some of their tools are, in point of fact, truly outstanding. Project Severodvinsk, also known as Project 885 Yasen – goes back to the late 1980s; initially, the submarines were meant to replace the Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, which had been aging. The Yasen-class, particularly the Yasen-M, features modifications in design, having performance improvements up to carrying advanced long-range, hypersonic Tsirkon missile cruise.
The Astute-class submarines have ten cruise missile silos used for vertical launching that arm Kalibr-PL and Oniks cruise missiles, the barrelled silos of the VLS, making it a multiple-purpose ship. All the submarines of this class have high-specification video equipment instead of the conventional optical periscopes. The 360-degree horizon can be viewed by the crew members from the video shot by these video instruments. Other technologies include the vessel being fitted with more than 39,000 acoustic-deafening tiles to mask the sonar signature of the vessel. Stowage is available for 38 weapons, including Spearfish heavy torpedoes and Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles. The Astute class – silent but deadly in all naval padres.
The United States Navy developed Virginia-class submarines for the accomplishment of multifarious functions both in the coastal and deep waters. The submarines can be used for anti-submarine, anti-surface, strike, and irregular warfare missions, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The Virginia-class features a fly-by-wire ship control system designed to enhance navigation and handling in shallow littoral environments and is outfitted with special warfare support for use by special operations forces. In fitting the Virginia Payload Module on the Block V boats, more Tomahawk missiles can be fitted, adding to its capacity and, hence, its striking potential.
It is built to be the best yet and designed to counter the threat of Soviet ballistic missile submarines. Seawolf-class possesses a modular design capable of future upgrades and reaches a maximum speed of 35 knots submerged, the speed of 20 knots is called silent. The eight-firing-tube submarine construction with the double-deck torpedo room allows for engaging multiple spanning threats at a time. The class, even though no more than three were launched from the originally planned 29 boats, remains a powerful force in the U.S. Navy’s arsenal.
These five classes of attack submarines embody the pinnacle of naval arms. Proficient in stealth, speed, and technology of weapons, these are the pillars of support of the big unit forces for these navies.