I found the sub-story more fascinating than the nuclear incidence. If I understand it correctly, one purpose of these "research" submarines is to find and possibly sabotage undersea communication lines. Well, talk about national security threat, isn't this a very serious threat to the Internet? I'd love to see more articles about this vector of attack.
“Jimmy Carter has additional maneuvering devices fitted fore and aft that allow her to keep station over selected targets in odd currents. Intelligence experts speculate that the MMP may find use in missions as an underwater splicing chamber for optical fiber cables.”
The primary role of subs has been intelligence for as long as subs have existed. One of the first missions subs carried out in WW1 was cutting undersea cables.
Despite all the undue attention placed on the combat U-Boats and their limited success in sinking merchant ships, the history of submarines is primarily the history of getting in good positions to tap cables or radio frequencies or put people in places.
There is very little need for torpedoes or missiles anymore, outside of creating dramatic scenes in the movies.
The story doesn’t say anything about sabotaging. Tapping the cables is most likely. But this was in Russian waters so they could have been looking for taps or looking for foreign subs doing the same. Cutting lines has happened accidentally but I don’t think it would be very useful for a adversary with the capability to tap and monitor.
I wonder how big this sub is. I say that because as far as I know nuclear submarines are all full-sized. But maybe I'm wrong and this is a mini-sub that had a small crew.
[+] [-] deehouie|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joezydeco|6 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jimmy_Carter
“Jimmy Carter has additional maneuvering devices fitted fore and aft that allow her to keep station over selected targets in odd currents. Intelligence experts speculate that the MMP may find use in missions as an underwater splicing chamber for optical fiber cables.”
[+] [-] notinversed|6 years ago|reply
Despite all the undue attention placed on the combat U-Boats and their limited success in sinking merchant ships, the history of submarines is primarily the history of getting in good positions to tap cables or radio frequencies or put people in places.
There is very little need for torpedoes or missiles anymore, outside of creating dramatic scenes in the movies.
[+] [-] joewee|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] auslander|6 years ago|reply
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_submarine_Losharik
[+] [-] woodandsteel|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aaron695|6 years ago|reply
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