Realised that most modern submarines (and some aircraft carriers) use nuclear power, but destroyers and frigates don’t. I don’t imagine it’s a size thing, so I’m not sure what else it could be.
In: Engineering
It’s mostly the U.S. navy that use’s nuclear power because they need the long range and endurance to stay underwater for a very long time. Especially nuclear ballistic missile submarines, they basically sneak to some secret spots in the ocean and either sit on the ocean floor (if shallow enough) or go to a depth where they can hide under a layer of different temperature water or salinity. And drift with the ocean currents.
Diesel engines are cheaper to build operate and maintain. So a lot of nations use those, with the understanding they have to surface periodically. Where surfacing often means rising to a depth where they can extend a snorkel and draw air to run the engines and recharge the batteries.
Newer diesel engine submarines are incredibly quiet, and can be quieter than a nuke which has to run the pumps to cool the reactors. Technologies such as using sterling engines, liquid oxygen and others can be quieter than a nuke
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