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
Many submarines are still diesel powered, but if your submarine is meant as a nuclear deterrent then staying hidden for long periods just in case it needs to nuke someone is its entire job. Nuclear power is the only way to stay submerged for months at a time.
A lot of subs meant solely to attack other vessels are still running on diesel because they only need to stay submerged long enough to do so. Some countries like the US and Russia still make those submarines nuclear powered due to range requirements and because they want them to be able to hunt down the subs with the missiles, but most other countries are less interested in those things so they stick to diesel.
Latest Answers