Submarines

The idea of an underwater vessel capable of attacking an enemy ship has been around for some time, but it was only in modern times that it came to fruition as the submarine. Modern submarines can submerse and surface at will. It was only after World War II that modern submarines were built—nuclear vessels that never need to surface to operate over long periods of time under the seas. In today’s maritime security environment, navies use both diesel-electric and nuclear submarines for all the missions traditionally performed by fleets throughout history—sea control, power projection, and sea denial—and also as nuclear deterrents for those nations equipped with nuclear weapons. Additionally, nonstate entities like narco-traffickers and smugglers use them to move illicit cargo on an increasing basis ...