A few days ago a NATO mission in the sea of Barents (the part of the north glacial sea of Norway and Russia) suffered an unexpected turning point. The largest aircraft carrier in the world, the American Gerald R. Ford, was there on the operational mission escorted by two Norwegian war ships, while the Operations Center of the Alliance kept the Russian bases of the Kola peninsula by satellite, a few dozen kilometers, where the underworld of class Yasen and Yasen-M are stationed, the silent and most difficult to find Moscow Navali, able to launch subonsonic and hypersonic missiles. At a certain point the clouds denied the observation from space and, when the sky has returned clear, of the submarines Severodvinsk, Kazan and Arkhangelsk there was no trace. In the belief that they could be in the wake of the aircraft carrier, the NATO launched from the British air base of Lossiemouth, from the Norwegian one of Eventes and even from the bases in Iceland and Sicily an unprecedented research with 27 P-8 planes in Poseidon equipped with Boe Sonar and advanced sensors.
It is not known if in the end those planes managed to locate Russian vehicles, but this story already tells more: how much, in a world where nothing escapes all kinds of control, submarines are becoming the most invisible and fearsome war machines. Whether they are driven by nuclear energy or moved by diesel-electric engines to propulsion independent of the air (AIP) or whether it is autonomous submarine vehicles (AUV), or drones guided by artificial intelligence, the evolution of underwater technology is shaping the priorities of global research and geopolitical strategies.
The submarines are the secret weapon that could make the difference in the event of a conflict and, even in the absence of war situations of war, already break the balance – as we have seen in the case of yellow in the Arctic seas. And it is no coincidence that, at the end of August, Russia and China have led the first, historic underwater joint patrol in the Pacific. More: naval exercises in tandem with coordinated detection and simulated destruction of “enemies” submarines using Chinese Y-8 and Russian airplanes Il-38. Worthy of note that they have gone towards the Arctic leading specific tactical maneuvers, navigating from the Sea of Japan to the seas of the Ciukci and Bering, key access points to the transition to the north-west and to the route of the North Sea.
Alessio Patalano, full professor of strategic studies at King’s College in London and collaborator of ISPI (Institute for International Political Studies) explains: “From the Second World War the Western Pacific was a mainly maritime war theater in which the submarines played a crucial role. The geographical configuration full of bottlenecks, narrow and islands lends itself to the use of underwater vehicles to furtively affect war ships and merchanters. The joint Russia-China exercises not only confirm the key role of submarines in the Pacific but also show that Russia is actually offering its greatest ally the possibility of extending its “maneuver space” much further north, up to the Arctic. It is no coincidence that the two powers are affecting both in conventional and nuclear conventional capabilities ».
Also because the control of blue depths concerns the protection of strategic assets. “The development of defense and underwater surveillance technologies has become fundamental for all countries that must expand and protect infrastructure on the seabed, from electrical cables to pipeline”.
On the other hand, it was Russian president Vladimir Putin who enunciated him, at the end of July, in a meeting in Severodvinsk, the northern region of Arkhangelsk: “The underwater forces play a crucial role in guaranteeing the sovereignty and safety of Russia, protecting its interests and giving a significant contribution to regional and global stability”, reported the newspaper Moscow Times. While, the Chinese forehead, President Xi Jinping commissioned the army to develop “new quality combat skills”, alluding, as explained by the South China Morning Post newspaper, to the need for a strategic push to ships and underwoolless pilots.
According to many analysts, these are the real novelty: underwater drones, designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, mining detection and anti -Sommerible War. Equipped with advanced sensors and artificial intelligence, they can operate in difficult environments, providing sensitive data in real time and reducing risks for humans. It has come to develop very large ones: during the recent parade for the 80 years from the victory over Japan, Beijing made his version parade, the mysterious Ajx002, a sort of torpedo 18 meters long, probably entrusted to artificial intelligence. While it is known that the United States Navy is experimenting with its class of autonomous drones called Orca.
But there are several countries that work in this direction. Maybe not in an offensive key, but it is not excluded that in the future the characteristics of huge submarine drones “host” dozens of small drones for “swarm” missions are known, as already military engineers think for air raids.
Traditional submarines also evolve: invisibility, silence, versatility, autonomy … it is on these characteristics that the naval battle of the future is played. Both for the means built for the purposes of deterrence (with nuclear newspapers) and for those designed for the conventional war, such as hunting for ships and submarines enemies, surveillance and intelligence.
General Fernando Aguirre Pastor, of the Spanish Navy, explained to Defense24 that “the submarines are acquiring the ability to operate without being identified through the reduction of electromagnetic and visual acoustic traces. Technologies such as AIP significantly reduce submarine dependence on the atmosphere and the need for interruptions to recharge the batteries. In addition, these vehicles are becoming versatile, that is, capable of adapting to the sea water temperature, the degree of salinity and the profile of the seabed ». Less noise than the machines and the propeller means less ease of being captured by the passive sonar of the enemy, and negligible vibration of the hull and wake of bubbles translates into a lower probability of being detected by advanced sensors. Since the submarine that “feels” first the other, without being heard, has the opportunity to attack first, this feature is crucial.
It is a real global frenzy, that of placing the underwater fleet. In the conventional war, the United States Navy is preparing for a qualitative leap to face China and Russia. The new submarines, called NHS (X), are designed to be the silent most built. They will have speeds above 30 nodes, they will be able to launch, recover and manage several submarine drones at the same time, transport more weapons and spend more time under water than the current average, solving logistical maintenance and supply problems. They will be ready in 2040, but already in 2031 the United States will unfold the submarines of the Columbia SSBN class: how predecessors will be able to transport nuclear newspapers, but will be more silent, autonomous and fast.
Russian side, what we know revealed it in early August Ukrainian intelligence, which revealed the technical documents of a new Borei-A-class underwater (955A project) with nuclear propulsion, inaugurated by Putin a few days earlier. To be quieter and less intercepable, these submarines equipped with 16 ballistic missiles each with 6-10 nuclear newspapers, they will have a rushed hull with more fluid hydrodynamics, acoustic coatings and a pump-winter propulsion system, as well as a nuclear reactor that will allow about 90 days of immersion without re-emerge. According to the Moscow Times, the Russian Navy will receive four other submarines Borei-A class in the coming years.
A serious evaluation of the naval forces was on the other hand necessary. «The Russians suffered a series of devastating blows in the Black Sea by the Ukrainian marine drones. They are reconstructing their fleet on the basis of this experience, focusing on boats and submarines without pilot »reveals Lee Willet, authoritative English analyst specializing in the underwater war. “In May they announced the formation of the first regiment that integrates naval and submarine drones (UUV) and the commander of the Russian Maritime College, Nikolai Patrushev, announced plans for further integration, this time with ships and planes. When this happens, it will mean that a new era of the war at sea has begun. Europe and Ukraine would do well not to underestimate Russia on its ability to fight in water ».
From its China is rapidly recovering ground on American rivals thanks to the submarine SSBN type 096. And this is not so much for the greater silence but above all for the range of more than 10 thousand kilometers that will allow it to hit the United States from its coasts. It can be said that with this new project China will become a global nuclear actor. Europe certainly does not look at, but it is heavily investing in new platforms to enhance its naval defense. The nuclear attack submarines Class Barracuda, including Tourville (S637), recently entered service, are enhancing the skills of France which, according to the Monde, has sold four submarines to the Netherlands, for a value of around 5 billion euros. If the United Kingdom plans to build up to 12 new attack submarines with nuclear propulsion as part of a larger defense strategy, the Italian Navy, which currently manages four U212A Todaro class submarines, launched the U212 Near Future Submarine program in 2021, managed by Fincantieri, Leonardo and other companies. The first two submarines are already under construction in Muggiano (La Spezia). The goal is to achieve, with a mixed fleet of submarines with crew and autonomous diver vehicles, which work in tandem, more advanced technology and greater operational duration. The technological improvements consist, among other things, in the propulsion independent of the air (AIP), in advanced sound -absorbing coatings and in the lower electromagnetic track, all characteristics that allow you to be less “visible”.
In addition to crew submarines, Italy is investing in pilot-free underwater systems: Fincantieri’s SDO-Surs, able to carry out both rescue and surveillance roles. This integration of submarines and drones will guarantee adaptability to new threats, from the Russian presence in the Mediterranean to the protection of the critical infrastructures of the seabed. It is therefore a program that focuses on submarines for the conventional war and not on those for deterrence. And which will therefore allow Italy to have a greater weight in the Mediterranean, becoming, perhaps, the first marine power. The objective is perfectly achievable given the experience in the born area of our country.
