The “silent service.” It refers not only to the stealth inherent in submarine operations, but also to the imperative that those who serve on nuclear subs and those who design them remain silent about the boats’ capabilities. This makes them one of the most dangerous of weapons platforms. And the U.S. is not the only nation to have advanced vessels beneath the surface of the sea.
Russian nuclear-powered submarines conducted an exercise near American military bases with the objective of avoiding detection as they came close to the US coast, a submarine squadron commander told a Russian military TV channel.
The stunning revelation was made in a military TV series set to air on Zvezda (‘Star’), the Russian Defense Ministry’s official broadcaster. The episode focuses on Akula-class Shchuka-B nuclear-powered attack submarines.
According to a submarine officer filmed in the show, the Navy command ordered to take position in the vicinity of US military bases during exercises.
The source of this article is a Russian news source, so keep that in mind. Nevertheless, the information is concerning.
This mission has been accomplished, the submarines showed up in the set location in the ocean and returned to base,” the commander of the submarine squadron, Sergey Starshinov, told Zvezda.
Asked if the submarines had managed to stay off the radar during the mission, Starshinov replied: “Yes. This is our objective – to come and go undetected.” The Navy commander said the Russian vessels came “close enough” to American shores but did not violate US maritime borders, remaining in neutral waters.
The date and location of the covert mission have not been disclosed, but the channel said the Russian nuclear-powered submarines “reached the very coastline of the US.”
And what is the American reaction to all of this?
In 2016, a senior US Navy official complained the military branch cannot ensure full awareness of Russian submarine deployments which were at the level unseen since the Cold War.
“The submarines that we’re seeing are much more stealthy,” Admiral Mark Ferguson, commander of US Naval Forces in Europe at the time, told CNN. The Russians “have more advanced weapons systems, missile systems that can attack land at long ranges,” and their operational capabilities were getting better “as they range farther from home waters.”
Are we returning to tactics and potential for a confrontation that was a defining characteristic of the Cold War? If so, what is our proper response?
American submarine technology should not be underestimated. Neither should our ability to detect enemy subs. Just because our Navy didn’t make a big thing about it does not mean that Russian sub really went undetected.
The way the rest of us would find out for sure would require just the sort of event we do not want to see happen.
Source: RT
Image: Wikicommons
