Table of Contents
What are some of the threats to submarines?
The underwater environment is a dangerous one. Submarines face many perils of the deep. Even a small fire or gas leak inside a submerged submarine can have catastrophic consequences. A collision with another vessel or grounding may be much more serious for a submarine than for a surface ship.
What is a submarine safe?
The Submarine Safety Program (SUBSAFE) is a quality assurance program of the United States Navy designed to maintain the safety of its submarine fleet; specifically, to provide maximum reasonable assurance that submarine hulls will stay watertight, and that they can recover from unanticipated flooding.
How are submarines destroyed?
Common weapons for attacking submarines include torpedoes and naval mines, which can both be launched from an array of air, surface, and underwater platforms.
Why does a submarine surface?
A submarine comes to the surface once every few days (or even more frequently than that), not only to get a fresh supply of atmospheric oxygen from above the water’s surface, but also to dispose of the waste gases that it produces onboard.
How did air independent propulsion (AIP) improve underwater endurance of submarines?
As battery technology improved, the endurance of these submarines increased proportionally. But it was not enough to last them beyond a week. The introduction of Air Independent Propulsion (AIP), vastly improved the underwater endurance of these submarines and gave them a distinct advantage.
What is the difference between AIP and non-AIP diesel submarines?
Comparatively, a non-AIP diesel sub has an underwater endurance of just 4-6 days before it has to surface. This shows that AIP-equipped diesel-electric submarines are far more capable than their non-AIP equipped counterparts when it comes to endurance. AIP Usage Around The World
What is AIP in ship propulsion?
In this section we consider AIP systems, other than nuclear, for ship propulsion, the emphasis being on submarine applications. Fuel and an oxidant are required to generate electricity by either a heat engine (e.g. closed cycle diesel, Stirling engine, closed cycle gas turbine), or an electro-chemical cell (e.g. lead acid battery, fuel cells).
Is DRDO building AIP systems for Indian naval submarines?
The DRDO on Wednesday tested a land-based prototype of an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarine. The prototype operation at the Naval Materials Research Laboratory in Ambernath, Maharashtra, is considered to give a boost to the DRDO’s plan to build AIP systems for Indian naval submarines.