The attack submarine remains an integral part of any navy. They are a primary weapon in the eternal battle to keep the seas open to free commerce. The world depends upon it, and the sailors and officers who man them are a special breed. Sailors trained to run the nuclear plants get the equivalent of graduate school education. In all the world, the British attack sub fleet is arguably closest to our own in terms of armament and capability. The Atlantic, and particularly the vital North Atlantic, is British territory, but as the British surface fleet has fallen into disrepair and its numbers have fallen below the minimum necessary even to protect the British Isles, the sub fleet has become even more important. Now, not a single attack sub is capable of combat patrols. All are docked.
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Graphic: X Post
The Royal Navy’s entire available fleet of hunter-killer submarines is stuck in port unable to sail – leaving Britain at risk from Vladimir Putin‘s Russia.
In a fresh humiliation for Britain’s Armed Forces, all five of its Astute class submarines are currently laid up awaiting maintenance and other repair work.
Military experts have also warned that the Navy’s lack of available nuclear-powered attack submarines – which carry up to 38 Spearfish torpedoes and a battery of Tomahawk missiles – leaves the UK’s sub-sea internet and power cables dangerously vulnerable to sabotage by the Kremlin.
Democrats often claim President Trump has destroyed the respect of our allies for America, and has alienated NATO by demanding they pay for minimal contributions to their own defense and the defense of other NATO nations. He has been successful in substantially increasing the defense budgets of many NATO members, but decline—military or otherwise—is a choice, and Britain has chosen military decline. Our own aging submarine fleet is hard-pressed to take up the slack.
The extraordinary revelations come just a day after the Mail told how one of Britain’s flagship £3.5billion aircraft carriers had broken down again and was forced into port in Norway for repairs.
And on Friday the head of the UK’s military warned that the threats faced by Britain are greater than at any time since the Cold War.
In stark comments, Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the Defence Staff, said Russia has been ‘probing, challenging, testing our defences’ and is ‘raising the stakes and risks crossing a line‘.
He told the BBC: ‘I’m very clear that this is the most dangerous time I have known in my working life. The risks and threats to this country are greater than I have known since the Cold War.’
It’s this kind of defense debacle that also presumably puts training for future attack submarine officers at risk. The Royal Navy’s legendary Perisher course is among the most demanding in the world, but there are no boats available for training.
The Astute boats, which cost £12.2billion, are regarded as the most advanced attack submarines in the world and it is claimed have never been located on sonar by a Russian sub.
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If none are at sea, that record is certainly safe.
Graphic: X Post
However, the fleet – which consists of five already operational submarines, with two more yet to come into service – has suffered a series of problems, including HMS Astute running aground on a mud bank while undergoing trials off the Isle of Skye in 2010.
Last night, naval sources confirmed all five of the current fleet were not deployed due to maintenance and other technical issues.
These are among the most technologically advanced war machines ever built, and require constant, intensive maintenance:
They added that the maintenance and safety checks on submarines was particularly important.
One source said: ‘Modern submarines are so technical. If you don’t get them right, it’s the most dangerous thing to be on. That’s why the planned maintenance is so important.’
On Saturday the Mail revealed how the carrier HMS Prince of Wales had been forced into port in Norway for repairs – delaying her departure for the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
The carrier’s own X account later declared ‘maintenance complete’, with MoD sources saying that it was expected to ‘sail in the coming days’.
This may be essentially an academic issue. Britain is increasingly surrendering to wokeness and the Islamist invasion of the country. Islamists certainly can’t maintain or man these subs, which is ultimately a good thing. While they’re in port for maintenance, an essential link in the defense of Western civilization is broken, and the current UK government obviously doesn’t give much of a damn.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
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