how do military submarines communicate with land and how long does it take.
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Generally they communicate using radio. This means that when a submarine is deep under water, they generally can’t communicate with land. Submarines either have to come to the surface, or come near the surface and release an antenna buoy in order to send and receive signals. In the old days these signals were basically shortwave radios with a range of a few hundred miles at most. Now, its usually encrypted satellite communications that work globally.
While a submarine is in communication, it only takes a fraction of a second to send data back and forth. However depending on the mission, a submarine might go for days or weeks between coming up for communications. When the sub is out of communication, the messages get stored and are sent when the sub next checks in, sort of like how text messages just pile up when your phone is turned off and all get delivered at once when you turn it back on.
There are some other special ways that subs sometimes communicate. There are underwater sonic telephones which allow communication over relatively short distances (a few miles) underwater from one submarine to another, or from a sub to a surface ship. There are also special types of ultra-low frequency radio-waves which can be picked up under water, as long as you aren’t too deep. These are used to sent special messages like a warning that a nuclear war is about to start. Only some submarines are equipped with this kind of signaling system, and it only works under certain circumstances.
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