What countries have made significant strides in submarine warfare? What boats are in their navies? Let’s read on for the answers.

While diesel submarines are difficult targets anywhere, their effectiveness is maximized in shallow water, littoral areas and especially in choke points in strategic waterways. In such areas, it is possible for diesel submarines to use the restricted waters to their tactical advantage. Also, diesel submarines can lay minefields covertly in many areas of the world. Examples of strategic waterways susceptible to such tactics are the Strait of Hormuz, the straits through the Indonesian Archipelago, and many areas in the Mediterranean region.

Who has the boats? What kind of boats do they have?

HIGH INTEREST SUBMARINE OPERATING COUNTRIES

COUNTRY	CLASS	QUANTITY
China	XIA	1
China	HAN	5
China	MING	8
China	modified ROMEO	1
China	ROMEO	70
China	GOLF	1
China	KILO (expected)	3
China	NEWCON SS	1
Iran	KILO (3 expected)	2
North Korea	ROMEO	20
North Korea	WHISKEY	4
North Korea	SANG-O	9
Libya	FOX TROT	4
Serbia	HEROJ	3
Serbia	SAVA	2
Syria	ROMEO	3

The Chinese submarine force is the third largest in the world and includes six nuclear-powered submarines, one of which is a ballistic missile submarine. Over the next 10 to 15 years, China will pose the most complex submarine challenge outside of Russia as a result of its commitment to increased training, the steadily expanding scope and complexity of its exercises, and an active acquisition program targeted at modern technology. While block obsolescence will greatly shrink China’s present fleet of aging diesel submarines, new submarine construction, one of the navy’s highest priorities, is expected to yield significantly improved capabilities. New classes of diesel and nuclear submarines are in the design or development stages, or under construction.

China’s Ministry of Defense has extended the distance at which it will defend vulnerable coastal cities and industries against sea-based attack from the existing inner island defensive line to an outer, longer range distance. In the fall of 1994, a HAN Class nuclear powered attack submarine operated in the vicinity of the USS KITTY HAWK Battle Group, a first time occurrence.

(HARRY’s NOTE - this encounter was reported some months ago in our KTB Magazine...... Itchy trigger fingers on both sides.)