North Korea presents its nuclear submarine*

[Jimmy Higgins]

Okay, when I say nuclear submarine, I mean a submarine that, at best, is based on a sub design that is over 60 years old (Romeo class Russian sub)... and it could be 50+ years old, itself. And it is a diesel submarine allegedly with "tactical" nuclear weapons.

Yes... a diesel submarine, which would be sunk by the US sub fleet pretty quick because the thing is a boombox underwater.

But such weapons won't add much value to the North's more robust land-based nuclear forces, because the aging submarines used as the core of the new design are relatively noisy, slow and have limited range, meaning they may not survive as long during a war, said Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who works with the 38 North project in Washington.

It is never wise to underestimate an enemy... but this is North Korea. So it more estimation that the things could sink immediately once placed in water, forget survive combat.

Apparently they didn't learn from Hitler's mistake in WWII, and our tech is a tad bit more advanced. Honestly, the benefits seem silly. They can blitz Seoul quite easily without subs, and with conventional weapons too.

 

[robnisch]

The Last Diesel Submarine In The US Navy: The USS Bluefish – ussjpkennedyjr.org

www.ussjpkennedyjr.org

I saw this girl once. It is actually electric when submerged.

 

[TomC]

The Last Diesel Submarine In The US Navy: The USS Bluefish – ussjpkennedyjr.org

www.ussjpkennedyjr.org

I saw this girl once. It is actually electric when submerged.

I'm sure that is how they work.
Diesel engines recharge the batteries, while surfaced. That doesn't mean it stealth quiet underwater, given modern technology.
Tom

 

[steve_bank]

It is definite phallic.

Kim Jong Un is obviously compensating for a small penis. Why else does he keep shooting missiles into the sea? A form of masturbation.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Diesel subs are total boomboxes while snorkeling but can be pretty quiet when hiding in shallow water since there's no reactor. It's also safer for them to hide on the ocean floor (a nuke that tries that risks pulling seafloor into it's cooling loop.) Think of them more like mobile mines than warships.

Such a sub is effectively zero threat to us--but it could be a problem for South Korea.

 

[ZiprHead]

Sounds like a death trap to me. Do they get volunteers for this service or do they just go : "You, submarine."

Reminds me of those guys in WWII who took on flame thrower duty.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Sounds like a death trap to me. Do they get volunteers for this service or do they just go : "You, submarine."

Reminds me of those guys in WWII who took on flame thrower duty.

I don't know about the North Korean sub, but a good diesel sub is a considerable threat in littoral combat. It's not worth much in the wide open ocean because you basically have to run over it to be threatened and it doesn't have terrain to hide in. In littoral combat it also has a fair amount of protection from the greatest threat: helicopters. ASW helicopters can't operate without local air supremacy.

 

[steve_bank]

Learned my new word of the day

littoral

adjective
adjective: littoral

relating to or situated on the shore of the sea or a lake.
"the littoral states of the Indian Ocean"
Ecology
relating to or denoting the zone of the seashore between high- and low-water marks, or the zone near a lake shore with rooted vegetation.
"limpets and other littoral mollusks"

noun
noun: littoral; plural noun: littorals

a region lying along a shore.
"irrigated regions of the Mediterranean littoral"

I would think a noisy diesel sub would be easy to track with modern passive sub detection systems.

 

[steve_bank]

Now that I think about it, what I see is probably a sub not tested or deigned to near anything in the west.

A kludged sub coupled with kludged nucleat missiles which have bot been adequately tesetd for sfaety.

A hazard to navigation.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Sounds like a death trap to me. Do they get volunteers for this service or do they just go : "You, submarine."

Reminds me of those guys in WWII who took on flame thrower duty.

I don't know about the North Korean sub, but a good diesel sub is a considerable threat in littoral combat. It's not worth much in the wide open ocean because you basically have to run over it to be threatened and it doesn't have terrain to hide in. In littoral combat it also has a fair amount of protection from the greatest threat: helicopters. ASW helicopters can't operate without local air supremacy.

Yes, I'm certain North Korea is saturated with Captains well trained in any type of sub combat.

 

[steve_bank]

Trained by Russia no doubt.

 

[Elixir]

Kim, Putler and Xi … add MBS and Duterte and you have a whole chapter of MAGAts.

 

[Gospel]

Now that I think about it, what I see is probably a sub not tested or deigned to near anything in the west.

It is more suited to serve as a paperweight than to be deployed in combat.

 

[Gospel]

It would be reduced to North Korean fart bubbles in the ocean if they ever try to use it.

 

[TomC]

I wonder if Kim will be aboard for it's deep sea dive.

At least the guy who made the plastic Titanic submarine was onboard for the fun.
Tom

 

[steve_bank]

Un prbabaly plays with toy subs in the bathtub, fighting glorious sea battles against the USA.

 

[ZiprHead]

Kim, Putler and Xi … add MBS and Duterte and you have a whole chapter of MAGAts.

They could be a barbershop music group.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I would think a noisy diesel sub would be easy to track with modern passive sub detection systems.

Moving around, yes. That's why I said to think of them more like mines. A diesel's job is to lie in wait, fling it's tubes at the enemy when it gets close and then slink away into a noisy place to hide. A diesel can't effectively go after anyone because it can go neither far nor fast while quiet.

 

[steve_bank]

I don't know the state of the art, any engine or machine noise. Propeller noise.

 

[steve_bank]

A nuclear missile diesel sub would first have to get away from NK undected, which I think would be hard to do. Then they have to get close enough undtected to launch a missile.

Don't know how long the batteries run, periodically the diesel engines have to run to charge the battery.

There may be specs for the subs subs they use on the net. The general number I found for running submerged is 7 to 10 days.

Submarine-launched ballistic missile - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles.

Modern submarine-launched ballistic missiles are closely related to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), with ranges of over 5,500 kilometres (3,000 nmi), and in many cases SLBMs and ICBMs may be part of the same family of weapons.