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<ul class="summary-list"><li>In October, a US submarine collided with what is believed to have been a seamount in the South China Sea.</li><li><keyword id="12273547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uss-connecticut" source="Orion">USS Connecticut</keyword> is one of the US's most sophisticated subs, leading to suspicions it was gathering intelligence.</li></ul><p>In October, a US nuclear-powered attack submarine collided with what is believed to have been an <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2830738/statement-regarding-uss-connecticut-ssn-22-command-investigation/" target="_top">uncharted seamount</a> while operating in the South China Sea.</p><p>The USS Connecticut suffered some damage, and several sailors were wounded during the collision. The Navy said on November 4 that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-relieves-leaders-of-submarine-that-crashed-into-underwater-mountain-2021-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it had relieved</a> the sub's senior leaders over the incident.</p><p>The Navy is investigating the incident and has not - and likely will not - disclose the nature of the USS Connecticut's mission. But it is safe to assume that the sub was involved in strategic reconnaissance or even intelligence gathering.</p><p>It wouldn't be the first time the Navy's Silent Service has conducted such risky operations.</p><h2>The Silent Service</h2><div type="image" title="The Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut" height="714" width="1000" msid="87530514" hostid="261"></div><p>The US Navy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-navy-nuclear-powered-submarines-dominate-the-seas-2021-1" target="_top">fields three major submarine types</a> - ballistic missile, guided missile, and fast-attack submarines - totaling 68 nuclear-powered vessels of all types in service.</p><p>Ballistic-missile subs are the US nuclear triad's maritime component. The 14 Ohio-class subs can each pack 24 Trident nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.</p><p>Four Ohio-class subs were converted to guided-missile subs in the 2000s and now pack up 154 Tomahawk missiles, for an impressive non-nuclear show of force. In addition to launching precision strikes, these four subs can also carry a dry-dock shelter from which Navy SEALs can launch mini-submarines and conduct operations.</p><p>The US Navy's 50 fast-attack submarines - of the Los Angeles, Seawolf, and Virginia classes- primarily go after enemy vessels, but they can also conduct underwater strategic reconnaissance and can accommodate Navy SEALs and underwater drones with the addition of the multi-mission platform module.</p><p>Since submarines <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/confederate-civil-war-submarine-hunley-first-sub-to-sink-warship-2021-2" target="_top">emerged as an effective platform</a>, the governments able to build and maintain them have used them for overt and covert operations in war and during peace. The US Navy in particular has pulled off some impressive operations straight out of Hollywood.</p><h2>Spying subs</h2><div type="image" title="US Navy submarine USS Jimmy Carter mast conning tower crew" height="930" width="1400" msid="87530515" hostid="261"></div><p>During the Cold War, the US Navy and its submarines were on the frontline against the Soviet Union.</p><p>In 2013, the <keyword id="12471497" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uss-jimmy-carter" source="Orion">USS Jimmy Carter</keyword>, an upgraded version of the already highly capable Seawolf-class subs, received the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award a US military unit can receive and equivalent to the Navy Cross.</p><p>The award came after a classified operation in the South China Sea. The sub's official history logged the operation as "Mission 7," <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/299352718/USS-Jimmy-Carter-2013-Command-Operations-Report-Redacted" target="_top">saying only</a> that it "performed under a wide range of adverse and extremely stressful conditions without external support ... in pursuit of vital national security goals."</p><p>When the sub returned to its homeport in Washington state, it was flying the Jolly Roger flag, a tradition dating to World War II and signifies that the submarine either sunk an enemy vessel or conducted a successful operation. That operation might very well have been intelligence-gathering.</p><p>Interestingly, USS Connecticut and USS Jimmy Carter are both Seawolf-class subs and part of the secretive Submarine Development Squadron 5, which is responsible for testing new underwater listening gear and remotely piloted underwater vehicles.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/397401/submarine-development-squadron-devron-5-holds-change-command" target="_top">Navy</a>, the unit works with civilian academic and scientific institutions "for tactical development, including unmanned undersea vehicles and naval special warfare."</p><p>The missions of the USS Connecticut and USS Jimmy Carter conduct now are likely reminiscent of ones done by their Cold War predecessors.</p><h2><keyword id="12471500" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="operation-ivy-bells" source="Orion">Operation Ivy Bells</keyword> and Project Azorian</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-129" height="542" width="800" msid="87530516" hostid="261"></div><p>In 1968, the Soviet diesel-electric ballistic-missile submarine <keyword id="12471498" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="k-129" source="Orion">K-129</keyword> sank with all hands while on patrol in the Pacific.</p><p>Despite several weeks of frantic searching, the Soviets couldn't find the sub and recover its cryptographic devices, codebooks, and nuclear weapons. The <keyword id="11937984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cia" source="Orion">CIA</keyword> saw a great opportunity for an intelligence coup. It launched "Project Azorian," an attempt to recover as much classified material as possible from K-129.</p><p>After the Soviets ended their search, the US Navy sent USS Halibut, a cruise-missile sub modified for intelligence missions, to locate the Soviet vessel.</p><p>After weeks of searching in a 1,200-square-mile area, the American sub managed to find the K-129. It later received a classified Presidential Unit Citation for its success.</p><p>In 1974, a CIA sent a salvage ship that managed to raise a section of the Soviet sub. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cia-worked-with-billionaire-howard-hughes-to-recover-soviet-sub-2021-7" target="_top">CIA has never fully disclosed what it </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cia-worked-with-billionaire-howard-hughes-to-recover-soviet-sub-2021-7" target="_top">found</a>, but in 1992 the CIA gave Russia a recording of the burial at sea it conducted for the Soviet sailors recovered during the operation.</p><p>In a separate effort in the early 1970s, the US intelligence community sought to tap into Soviet military communications. Washington and Moscow were <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/USRussiaNuclearAgreements" target="_top">discussing</a> how to contain their nuclear arsenals, and any intelligence on the Soviet's position would have been golden.</p><div type="image" title="Navy submarine USS Halibut" height="1528" width="2000" msid="87530517" hostid="261"></div><p>A US Navy intelligence officer <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/10/26/as-russia-scopes-undersea-cables-a-shadow-of-the-united-states-cold-war-past/" target="_top">came with a proposal</a> to tap an underwater communications cable connecting Soviet Pacific Fleet naval bases around the Sea of Okhotsk.</p><p>USS Halibut was once more sent into action for Operation Ivy Bells, as the cable-tapping mission was known. Divers from the sub successfully tapped the underwater cable, an extremely difficult task.</p><p>US divers periodically returned to the cable to replace the recorder - until 1981, when the operation was compromised and the Soviets recovered the device.</p><p>US submarines have likely conducted many similar missions in the decades since, and those operations have only gained importance in an era of renewed competition with capable adversaries - namely Russia and China.</p><p>Beijing has built military bases on manmade islands in the South China Sea, attempting to solidify its widely rejected territorial claims in what is one of the world's most important trade routes.</p><p>The US and its and allies would want to monitor Chinese moves through a number of methods - including underwater surveillance - and provide that intelligence to their policymakers.</p>

A mysterious accident with one of the US Navy's most sophisticated subs hints at a long history of submarine spying

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Australia is working with the US and UK to build nuclear-powered subs and other military technology.</li><li>The subs are the highest-profile part of the project, but they won't arrive until the late 2030s.</li></ul><p>In 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US shocked many by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-new-security-partnership-auukus-uk-australia-counter-china-technology-2021-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing a trilateral security agreement</a>, called AUKUS, with nuclear-powered submarines at its center.</p><p>The deal irritated France, which saw its deal to build subs for Australia scrapped, and raised ire in China, which viewed it as a boost for a rival military alliance.</p><p>Australia and France have largely made up, but China remains concerned about the growing military capabilities arrayed against it — especially the advanced subs that are heading to the region.</p><p>Australia's new submarines likely won't be delivered until the late 2030s, but Canberra is already looking out for spies who could try to compromise the program.</p><h2>Counterintelligence and AUKUS</h2><div type="image" title="Biden Sunak Albanese AUKUS" height="1333" width="2000" msid="103961599" hostid="261" sizebytes="108506"></div><p>Australian intelligence officials have identified a dual threat to the AUKUS program: disinformation and espionage.</p><p>Disinformation is the deliberate distribution of false information to deceive the target audience. It can be intentional — for example, a foreign intelligence service spreading election conspiracies on social media — or unintentional, as when someone unwittingly shares the foreign intelligence service's social-media posts.</p><p>"There's a role for intelligence in identifying efforts that are underway to disrupt the AUKUS initiative through disinformation and manipulation of opinion," Andrew Shearer, the director-general of Australian National Intelligence and head of the Office of National Intelligence, said <a href="https://shows.acast.com/%2013de84ee-6f50-420b-9f5a-52e94d3a2597/episodes/648aa641d9bb37001109650b?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on a podcast</a> in June.</p><p>In the context of AUKUS, Australian officials are aware that disinformation campaigns may seek to exploit misunderstandings of the nature of the nuclear energy that will power their new subs and create malicious narratives to drive misperceptions and public pushback against the program.</p><div type="image" title="USS North Dakota Virginia Class Submarine" height="638" width="960" msid="103961601" hostid="261" sizebytes="107522"></div><p>The Australians also understand that they have to maintain security around the <a href="https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/07/aukus-submarine-program-to-make-a-quantum-enhanced-leap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AUKUS</a> program and prevent the exposure of its technology — nuclear propulsion as well as other advanced weaponry — that costs tens of billions of dollars. Espionage can be quite expensive for the party being spied on.</p><p>Speaking on the same podcast, Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said that "people are already coming after those secrets and looking to interfere with" AUKUS.</p><p>US leaders "trust us to protect those secrets. We know that to be true," Burgess said.</p><p>The ASIO, Australia's equivalent of the FBI or MI5, is responsible for sabotage and counterintelligence — that is, catching spies.</p><p>To ensure the security of AUKUS-related technology, the Australian intelligence community will have to be on top of its counterintelligence game and ensure that information remains compartmentalized among officials who need access and will handle it responsibly.</p><div type="image" title="Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Collins" height="1333" width="2000" msid="103961603" hostid="261" sizebytes="204648"></div><p>Australia's existing intelligence-sharing partnerships could prove very useful for this, as its partners can share information they obtain about potential penetrations by foreign intelligence services. Australia is a member of the Five Eyes signals-intelligence alliance, alongside Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.</p><p>Those Australian intelligence officials echoed worries that US officials have about foreign efforts to compromise AUKUS. Some US lawmakers, fearing Chinese espionage, have voiced their concern about where <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/aukus-export-control-09062023143639.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sensitive technology</a> being developed as part of AUKUS may end up.</p><p>Submarine programs are high-priority targets for espionage, with a number of countries interested in acquiring advanced propulsion, quieting, and weapons technology for their own subs and in monitoring the movements of their rivals' submarines.</p><p>Throughout the Cold War, US submarines and intelligence officers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uss-connecticut-accident-hints-at-history-of-submarine-spying-2021-11" target="_top">conducted Operation Ivy Bells</a> to tap Soviet underwater communication cables, and in the 1970s the CIA's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cia-worked-with-billionaire-howard-hughes-to-recover-soviet-sub-2021-7" target="_top">Project Azorian</a> tried with some success to salvage a sunken Soviet nuclear-powered submarine and the missiles it carried.</p><h2>Chinese intel operations and Western veterans</h2><div type="image" title="China security guard aircraft jet engine turbine" height="1334" width="2000" msid="103961604" hostid="261" sizebytes="77924"></div><p>In its bid to become a superpower, China has launched an aggressive long-term espionage campaign.</p><p>For more than two decades, Beijing has been collecting intelligence on anything of interest to its leaders, including military technology, corporate intellectual property, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-dna-data-could-allow-targeting-spies-dissidents-citizens-2021-3" target="_top">even biological information like DNA</a>. US intelligence officials estimate that <a href="https://www.sandboxx.us/news/china-insists-that-its-balloon-was-not-spying-as-us-launches-recovery-operation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese espionage</a> steals US economic secrets worth between <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/threats-to-the-us-that-fbi-director-is-worried-about-2021-11" target="_top">$200 billion </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/threats-to-the-us-that-fbi-director-is-worried-about-2021-11" target="_top">and</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/threats-to-the-us-that-fbi-director-is-worried-about-2021-11" target="_top"> $600 billion a year</a>.</p><p>The Ministry of State Security, China's top civilian <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-spy-agencies-five-poisons-taiwan-tibet-uighur-democracy-2023-8" target="_top">intelligence and secret-police agency</a>, is particularly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recent-spy-case-shows-how-industrial-espionage-helps-chinese-military-2021-12" target="_top">interested in emerging </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recent-spy-case-shows-how-industrial-espionage-helps-chinese-military-2021-12" target="_top">military</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recent-spy-case-shows-how-industrial-espionage-helps-chinese-military-2021-12" target="_top"> technology</a> and people with expertise in developing and using it.</p><p>Chinese spies have targeted Western military personnel and veterans, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-looks-for-western-pilots-to-aid-its-military-aviation-2023-6" target="_top">especially</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-looks-for-western-pilots-to-aid-its-military-aviation-2023-6" target="_top"> fighter pilots</a> whose knowledge and experience could help China build a better and more proficient air force to counter Western air forces with more operational experience and extensively trained pilots.</p><p>To the surprise of some, Western veterans have been willing to help the Chinese military for the right price. Such recruitment by foreign intelligence services is <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/2-us-navy-sailors-arrested-allegedly-spying-china/story?id=101990144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nothing new</a>, but as the stakes increase, officials are being extra vigilant about sensitive programs like AUKUS.</p><p><em>Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations and Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He has a B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in strategy, cybersecurity, and intelligence from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School.</em></p>

Australia's new submarines are still 2 decades away from delivery, but the Aussies are already looking out for spies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sixty-seven years ago, the US Navy launched the world's first <keyword id="982979" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nuclear-powered-submarine">nuclear-powered submarine</keyword>, USS Nautilus, which went on to break multiple speed, depth, and travel distance records.</li><li>The US Navy has operated no less than 19 classes of nuclear-powered submarines since Nautilus' introduction — here's how they've evolved over six decades.</li></ul><p>January 22 was the 67th anniversary of the launch of the <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/nautilus-ssn-571-iv.html" target="_top">USS Nautilus</a>, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine.</p><p>Launched in 1954, Nautilus broke multiple speed, depth, and travel distance records, with a radical new design that marked the arrival of the nuclear age.</p><p>Nuclear-powered submarines have a number of advantages over their diesel-electric counterparts.</p><p>They can stay submerged at deep depths indefinitely, can sail at maximum speeds for longer, and can operate for years without refueling. (Modern diesel-electric subs running on batteries can be quieter than older nuclear-powered boats, however.)</p><p>Moreover, nuclear-powered subs' ability to carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLMBs) make them one of the most threatening weapons in service.</p><p>The US Navy has operated no less than 19 classes of nuclear-powered submarines since Nautilus' introduction.</p><h2>Nuclear-powered attack submarines</h2><div type="image" title="Navy submarine Nautilus" height="1498" width="1997" msid="80588050" hostid="261"></div><p>Nautilus was designed as an attack submarine, designated SSN.</p><p>Displacing 4,092 tons, Nautilus was 323 feet long, 27 feet wide, and armed with six torpedo tubes. It was capable of sailing at over 20 knots on and below the surface and of diving to 700 feet.</p><p>Nautilus was the first vessel to reach the geographic North Pole, and the first submarine to make the entire journey submerged - fully opening <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-submarine-connecticut-drills-during-icex-2020-in-the-arctic-2020-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Arctic as a theater of warfare for submarines</a>.</p><p>Though an attack submarine, it was also an experimental vessel, which was one reason it was the only ship of its class and saw no major action. This was also the case for its successor, <a href="http://www.hisutton.com/Spy%20Sub%20-%20USS%20Seawolf%20(SSN-575).html" target="_top">USS Seawolf</a>, though Seawolf did tap on Soviet underwater communication lines during <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a25857/operation-ivy-bells-underwater-wiretapping/" target="_top">Operation Ivy Bells</a>.</p><div type="image" title="Navy submarine Seawolf aircraft carrier John C. Stennis" height="1333" width="2000" msid="80588051" hostid="261"></div><p>Seawolf and Nautilus were followed by 11 classes of SSNs, each with unique features.</p><p>The six boats of the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-russia-china-feared-americas-skipjack-class-submarines-18770" target="_top">Skipjack class</a> were the first with a teardrop hull, which all future submarines had, and the <a href="https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ssn-594.htm" target="_top">Permit class</a> were the first SSNs armed with nuclear anti-submarine missiles.</p><p>The largest SSN classes were the Permit class (14 subs), <a href="http://www.hisutton.com/Sturgeon_SSN.html" target="_top">Sturgeon class</a> (37 subs), and the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-no-one-wants-mess-americas-los-angeles-class-submarines-107921" target="_top">Los Angeles class</a> (62 subs).</p><p>These classes went through extensive modifications and upgrades that enabled them to conduct both anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare missions with dozens of torpedoes and missiles.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-most-decorated-warship-sub-uss-parche-used-for-spy-missions-2018-6" target="_top">Some</a> were also modified to assist in intelligence gathering and special-operations missions, receiving electronic equipment and dry deck shelters for deploying Navy SEALs.</p><h2>Nuclear ballistic-missile submarines</h2><div type="image" title="Navy submarine Halibut Regulus missile aircraft carrier Lexington" height="969" width="1292" msid="80588053" hostid="261"></div><p>Seven years after the launch of Nautilus, the US Navy adopted the UGM-27 Polaris SLBM, once again changing submarine warfare and presenting a new nuclear threat to the world.</p><p>Nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines, designated SSBNs, can launch nuclear missiles while underwater. This, combined with nuclear reactors that allow them to remain submerged almost anywhere on earth for extended periods, make them a massive threat.</p><p>The Navy's first missile submarines were five subs built or refitted between 1953 and 1960 that could launch Regulus nuclear-capable cruise missiles from their decks, but they had to surface to do so, and only one, the <a href="http://www.hisutton.com/Secret%20Sub%20-%20USS%20Halibut.html" target="_top">USS Halibut</a>, was nuclear-powered.</p><p>The Regulus subs were seen as a stepping stone to the SSBN, of which the Navy has operated six classes.</p><div type="image" title="Navy submarine Woodrow Wilson" height="600" width="800" msid="80588054" hostid="261"></div><p>The <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/george-washington-iii.html" target="_top">George Washington</a> and <a href="https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-608.htm" target="_top">Ethan Allen</a> classes had five boats, while the <a href="https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-616.htm" target="_top">Lafayette class</a> had nine. The <a href="https://theleansubmariner.com/2019/02/13/uss-james-madison-ssbn-627-tribute-to-a-founding-father/" target="_top">James Madison</a>, <a href="https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-640.htm" target="_top">Benjamin Franklin</a>, and <a href="https://www.military.com/equipment/ssgn-ohio-class-guided-missile-submarine" target="_top">Ohio</a> classes had 10, 12, and 18 respectively.</p><p>The first five classes were part of the "<a href="https://ussnautilus.org/41-for-freedom/" target="_top">41 for Freedom</a>" program, an effort to get at least 41 SSBNs into service as fast as possible. Those vessels were commissioned between 1959 and 1967, each carrying at least 16 missiles.</p><p>USS Ethan Allen is the only SSBN to have launched a live nuclear missile, which it did in the Frigate Bird test during <a href="https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2012/December%202012/1212bang.pdf" target="_top">Operation Dominic</a> in 1962.</p><p>In 1972, the SALT I Treaty limited the number of SLBM launchers to 656. The SALT II Treaty further limited new SSBN capability, and as a result some SSBNs were modified and reclassified as SSNs to allow for the construction of Ohio-class missile submarines.</p><h2>Ohio class</h2><div type="image" title="Navy submarine Ohio SSGN conversion" height="745" width="1144" msid="80588055" hostid="261"></div><p>Ohio-class submarines are the largest in US history. Each displaces 18,750 tons submerged and measures 560 feet long and 42 feet wide. They are also the most heavily armed, with four torpedo tubes and 24 Trident II D-5 SLBMs.</p><p>In 2002, the US began converting four Ohio-class boats into cruise missile submarines, designated SSGNs. SSGNs can't carry SLBMs and are instead armed with up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.</p><p>Ohio-class subs can also carry 66 special-operations troops and dry deck shelters to deploy them and SEAL Delivery Vehicles without surfacing. Recent reporting <a href="https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/12/u-s-navys-ohio-class-submarine-to-get-new-hypersonic-weapons/" target="_top">suggests</a> that the SSGNs could be armed with hypersonic weapons as soon as 2025.</p><p>Ohio-class subs are currently the only SSBNs in service with the US Navy, making them the entirety of the submarine component of the US's nuclear triad.</p><h2>Virginia class and Columbia class - the future fleet</h2><div type="image" title="USS Virginia, Virginia Class submarine" height="930" width="1240" msid="80588056" hostid="261"></div><p>The end of the Cold War and declining budgets forced the cancellation of the remaining planned Ohio-class SSBNs and the remaining <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/silent-and-deadly-navys-seawolf-submarine-naval-monster-158526" target="_top">Seawolf-class</a> SSNs. But the Navy intends to replace them with <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R41129.pdf" target="_top">Columbia-class</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2019/12/11/the-virginia-class-submarines-are-3-classes-in-1/?sh=144877e82e68" target="_top">Virginia-class</a> subs, respectively.</p><p>The Virginia-class attack sub displaces 7,900 tons submerged. It measures 377 feet long, is 34 feet wide, and is armed with four torpedo tubes. It also has 12 vertical launching systems capable of firing Tomahawks or Harpoon anti-ship missiles, allowing it to fill in for Ohio-class SSGNs when they retire.</p><p>There are currently 19 Virginia-class boats in service, with nine more under construction and two on order. In addition to a new suite of electronics and weapons, future Virginia-class subs <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/02/09/the-navy-will-arm-attack-submarines-with-high-energy-lasers/?sh=ceedf6737796" target="_top">may be fitted</a> with lasers. (The Navy is also <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/12/07/the-us-navy-wants-to-find-ships-to-kill-using-aerial-drones-launched-from-submarines/" target="_top">looking into</a> sub-launched drones.)</p><p>In April 2018, USS John Warner became the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uss-john-warner-submarine-tour-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first Virginia-class boat to engage in combat</a> when it fired six Tomahawk missiles at Syrian government targets in retaliation for an earlier chemical weapons attack.</p><div type="image" title="Ohio SSBN-826" height="3277" width="4369" msid="80588057" hostid="261"></div><p>Columbia-class subs will have a submerged displacement of 20,815 tons and measure 560 feet long and 43 feet wide. This will make them slightly larger than the Ohio class and thus the largest submarines in US history. Their armament will be 16 Trident II D-5 SLBMs.</p><p>The Navy <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a34634124/navy-new-columbia-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarines/" target="_top">placed</a> a $9.4 billion order for the first two Columbia-class boats in November. All 12 planned Columbia-class boats are expected to be completed by 2042, while at least 46 Virginia-class boats are expected to be completed by 2043.</p><p>The Navy submarine force is set to shrink in the coming decades, and there have been delays on the latest version of the Virginia class and on the Columbia class, which now faces tight timelines.</p><p>Those challenges have <a href="https://news.usni.org/2020/11/18/navy-confident-it-could-build-3-virginia-ssns-a-year-though-more-study-needed-on-shipyard-capacity" target="_top">rais</a><a href="https://news.usni.org/2020/11/18/navy-confident-it-could-build-3-virginia-ssns-a-year-though-more-study-needed-on-shipyard-capacity" target="_top">ed</a><a href="https://news.usni.org/2020/11/18/navy-confident-it-could-build-3-virginia-ssns-a-year-though-more-study-needed-on-shipyard-capacity" target="_top"> doubts</a> about how the service and industry will balance construction of both classes in the years ahead.</p>

How the US Navy's nuclear-powered submarines have quietly dominated the seas for 67 years

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Corduroy pants are back in style, thanks to the fashion world's obsession with all things 70s. </strong></li><li><strong>From slimmer fits with a good amount of stretch to five-pocket pants and hybrid joggers, there's a cord for everyone's style.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&amp;merchant_id=66cdaaa7-8814-4e40-89d5-6897c9314cab&amp;website_id=9597bdee-ce2a-4552-aa13-419b5f275c06&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fhuckberry.com%2Fstore%2Fflint-and-tinder%2Fcategory%2Fp%2F59203-365-corduroy-pants-slim&amp;ctc=biipgf_110119_best-corduroy-pants" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Flint and Tinder's 365 Corduroy Pants</a> are our top pick for a combination of style, comfort, and price. They're more comfortable than your favorite pair of jeans and twice as versatile.</strong></li></ul><p>Corduroy has recently made a strong comeback in menswear, thanks in part to the fashion world's obsession with all things 70s. Today's corduroy pants aren't the staid Ivy League professor look or the bell-bottomed versions of the past. From slimmer fits with a good amount of stretch to five-pocket versions to hybrid joggers, there's a cord to suit an individual's style.</p><p>A great alternative to jeans or chinos, corduroy pants are ideal for cooler months thanks to their ability to keep you warm while remaining breathable and their hard-wearing properties. Corduroy is typically made from cotton or a cotton blend and features a velvety texture with raised ribs, known as wales.</p><p>Corduroy pants are more versatile than jeans since they can be worn as business casual and still look great dressed down with a T-shirt, trucker or chore jacket, and sneakers. Wear them with what you'd typically pair with jeans or dress them up with a collared shirt and a blazer or sweater for a more sophisticated look.</p><p>We chose <a href="http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&amp;merchant_id=66cdaaa7-8814-4e40-89d5-6897c9314cab&amp;website_id=9597bdee-ce2a-4552-aa13-419b5f275c06&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fhuckberry.com%2Fstore%2Fflint-and-tinder%2Fcategory%2Fp%2F59203-365-corduroy-pants-slim&amp;ctc=biipgf_110119_best-corduroy-pants" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Flint and Tinder's 365 Corduroy Pants</a> as the top pick. These five-pocket-style cords are the perfect mix of looks with their modern silhouette, and stretch, softness, and durability - well worth the money.</p><h2><strong>Here are the best men's corduroy pants you can buy:</strong></h2><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Best overall: <a href="http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&amp;merchant_id=66cdaaa7-8814-4e40-89d5-6897c9314cab&amp;website_id=9597bdee-ce2a-4552-aa13-419b5f275c06&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fhuckberry.com%2Fstore%2Fflint-and-tinder%2Fcategory%2Fp%2F59203-365-corduroy-pants-slim&amp;ctc=biipgf_110119_best-corduroy-pants" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Flint and Tinder 365 Corduroy Pants</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best casual corduroy pants: <a href="https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=EHFxW6yx8Uo&amp;mid=42353&amp;u1=biipgf_110119_best-corduroy-pants&amp;murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastdane.com%2Fwale-corduroy-easy-chino-save%2Fvp%2Fv%3D1%2F1573017662.htm%3FcolorId%3D11005" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Save Khaki United 8 Wale Corduroy Easy Pants</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best corduroy pants to splurge on: <a href="https://www.thomaspink.com/us/product/corduroy-trouser/21200084B3X" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Pink Shirtmaker Corduroy Chino</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best lightweight corduroy pants: <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biipgf_110119_best-corduroy-pants/https://www.prana.com/p/sustainer-cord-pant/M43183418-DKMP-34.html?mid=paidsearch&amp;eid=google&amp;gid=6&amp;nid=CPCS_Search_Brand_Products_8.1.19&amp;oid=Sustainer_Cord_Pant&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_6DP-8O15QIVCINaBR1fUQ6UEAAYASAAEgIct_D_BwE" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow">Prana Sustainer Corduroy Pant</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best corduroy pants on a budget: <a href="https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=EHFxW6yx8Uo&amp;mid=38710&amp;u1=biipgf_110119_best-corduroy-pants&amp;murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marksandspencer.com%2Fus%2Fregular-fit-corduroy-trousers-with-stretch%2Fp%2FP60176336.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow">Marks &amp; Spencer Regular Fit Corduroy Trousers with Stretch</a></strong></li></ul><p class="tagline"><p><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a><br><br>Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>.<br><br>Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks">Insider Picks</a> team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.</br></br></br></br></p></p>

The best men's corduroy pants

<p class="source"><span>Irene Jiang/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Read on for Irene's In-N-Out review.</p><p>Hello! Welcome to The Drive-Thru. I'm Kate Taylor, and I'll be offering a rundown of the biggest stories in retail every Friday. If someone forwarded you this email or it is your first time reading for some other reason, <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/drivethru">you can subscribe here!</a> </p><p>This week, I can finally share the details of an investigation I've been working on for more than a month. Read on for the details, plus more on shopping, fast food, and a delightful return to In-N-Out. </p><h2>Inside black McDonald's franchisees' struggles </h2><p class="source"><span>Samantha Lee/Business Insider</span></p><p>I've spent the last month talking to McDonald's franchisees and poring over leaked internal documents from the company and franchisee groups. It was a difficult story to write, and I am indebted to people who talked to me. Here are some takeaways: </p><ul><li><strong>Black franchisees, on average, make less than white franchisees. And, the disparity has been growing. </strong>In 2012, the cash-flow gap between the averages was less than $24,600, according to leaked documents from the National Black McDonald's Owners Association. In 2017, it reached $60,600. Two franchisees say the gap has since grown to about $68,000.</li><li><strong>McDonald's franchisee count is shrinking, with black franchisees being hit particularly hard. </strong>Franchisee count went from 2,100 to about 1,700 during Steve Easterbrook's time as CEO from 2015 to this November. The number of black franchisees went from 261 to less than 200. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-steve-easterbrooks-franchisee-ceo-2019-11">Read the deep dive on Easterbrook's impact on franchisees here</a>.</li><li><strong>There are many systemic reasons why black franchisees are struggling. </strong>Lack of generational wealth, alleged discrimination from McDonald's consultants, and higher costs are just a few of the issues. </li><li><strong>Many black franchisees are fed up.</strong> "We have said for many, many years as African American operators, there's two standards. There is one for us and there's one for our general market operator," Ken Manning, who sold his McDonald's locations in 2017, told me.</li><li><strong>McDonald's new leadership team is leaning in on diversity and corporate ethics messaging. </strong>On Monday, McDonald's announced it had elected WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to its board of directors, a move that Chairman Enrique Hernandez Jr. said underscores the company's "commitment to diversity at all levels." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-new-ceo-chris-kempczinski-tackles-values-ethics-2019-12">Read the inside story on new CEO Chris Kempczinski's work to push a renewed emphasis on corporate values here.</a></li><li><strong>On Wednesday, McDonald's announced it had created a new role focused on franchisee diversity.</strong> The title: "vice president of operator diversity." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-creates-new-operator-diversity-position-2019-12">Read my scoop here.</a> </li></ul><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-black-franchisees-earn-less-than-white-counterparts-2019-11">Read the full investigation here.</a> And, feel free to reach out with your thoughts at ktaylor@businessinsider.com - especially if you're a McDonald's employee or franchisee. </strong></em></p><h2><strong>How Chipotle's new CEO turned the chain around</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><strong><p class="source"><span>Robin Marchant/Getty; Shayanne Gal/Hollis Johnson/Business Insider</span></p></strong><p>I also finally published my look into Chipotle's turnaround! In November, I talked to the chain's CEO, CFO, and CTO about how the company pulled out of its downward spiral over the last year.</p><p>The most interesting thing about the turnaround, to me, was CEO Brian Niccol's focus on Chipotle's second make line, which the company renamed the digital make line earlier this year. </p><p>"Once you actually get into the business, you realize, well jeez, not only is there opportunity to continue to take a different point of view on food, with the real cooking, the real ingredients, the idea of giving everybody access to that - but it's like, wow, we've got the second make line," Niccol told me. </p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-ex-taco-bell-ceo-brian-niccol-turned-around-chipotle-2019-12">Read the full profile on Niccol - who used to be Taco Bell's CEO! - here.</a> </strong></em></p><h2><strong>Coca-Cola's CEO talks regrets</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><strong><p class="source"><span>Benoit Tessier/Reuters</span></p></strong><p>Shoshy attended this year's Beverage Digest Future Smarts conference and got the scoop on some of Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey's regrets.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coke-ceo-james-quincey-biggest-regret-since-becoming-ceo-2019-12">On the topic of his biggest regrets,</a> Quincey said: "I wish I'd just paid attention to the truisms and gotten on with it even faster."</p><p>And, Quincey had some more concrete regrets as well. When asked whether his company waited too long to launch a new sparkling water, Quincey cited the company's existing sparkling water offerings such as Dasani Sparkling drinks, but then added, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coke-ceo-sparkling-water-aha-brand-2019-12">"We should have done it a lot sooner."</a></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coke-ceo-sparkling-water-aha-brand-2019-12">Read Shoshy's full story on Coke's plans on sparkling water here.</a></strong></em></p><h2><strong>The saga of the cocaine Santa sweater</strong></h2><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cocaine-Santa-let-snow-Sweatshirt/dp/B082JJ347X/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&amp;keywords=cocaine%2Bsanta&amp;qid=1576074817&amp;sr=8-12&amp;customId=B078RXFXST&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1">Amazon</a></span></p><p>This week, Walmart pulled a controversial sweater that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-pulls-christmas-sweater-santa-cocaine-2019-12">appeared to show Santa Claus doing cocaine.</a> </p><p>However, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colombia-threatens-to-sue-walmart-cocaine-santa-sweater-2019-12">the Colombian government said that apologizing was not enough,</a> and it is demanding compensation from Walmart over the product description's reference to "quality, grade A, Colombian snow," saying it's an "offense to the country."</p><p>Meanwhile, the sweater and others like it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-cocaine-santa-sweatshirt-remains-amazon-2019-12">are still for sale on Amazon.com,</a> highlighting the challenges the e-commerce giant faces as it builds out its marketplace of third-party sellers.</p><p><em><strong>Read more about the saga <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-pulls-christmas-sweater-santa-cocaine-2019-12">here</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colombia-threatens-to-sue-walmart-cocaine-santa-sweater-2019-12">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-cocaine-santa-sweatshirt-remains-amazon-2019-12">here</a>. </strong></em></p><h2><strong>The rise of the digital Santa </strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><strong><p class="source"><span>YouTube/Welcome Santa</span></p></strong><p>Bethany reports on how digital services and apps are offering virtual chats with Saint Nick this holiday season.</p><p>"The kids are so used to it. They FaceTime with their grandparents and they talk to everybody through video calls anyways, so this is a totally natural way for them to be able to interact with Santa," said Meredith Lueck, cofounder of Welcome Santa, a service that helps kids video chat with Santa. </p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/santa-apps-services-kids-not-at-mall-2019-12">Read the full, festive story here. </a></strong></em></p><h2><strong>Taste test of the week: Irene revisits In-N-Out </strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><strong><p class="source"><span>Irene Jiang/Business Insider</span></p></strong><p>Irene is on the West Coast this week and took the opportunity to stop by In-N-Out. The burger was as good as ever, but the fries disappointed. </p><p>Irene's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/in-n-out-review-double-double-animal-style-fries-2019-12#i-walked-back-to-my-hotel-basking-in-the-afterglow-of-an-extraordinary-meal-debating-whether-itd-be-rash-to-move-to-la-just-for-the-sun-and-the-in-n-out-38">take</a>: "I walked back to my hotel basking in the afterglow of an extraordinary meal, debating whether it'd be rash to move to LA just for the sun and the In-N-Out."</p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/in-n-out-review-double-double-animal-style-fries-2019-12#i-walked-back-to-my-hotel-basking-in-the-afterglow-of-an-extraordinary-meal-debating-whether-itd-be-rash-to-move-to-la-just-for-the-sun-and-the-in-n-out-38">Read the taste test here. </a></strong></em></p><h2>Everything else you need to know </h2><ul><li>Away's CEO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/away-ceo-steph-korey-steps-down-lululemon-coo-new-ceo-2019-12">stepped down days after an explosive exposé</a> of the company's culture. </li><li>Shoshy talked to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sneaker-resale-expert-tips-breaking-into-market-2019-12">27-year-old about how he makes millions of dollars reselling sneakers.</a></li><li>Áine analyzed how Sears' <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sears-rise-fall-retail-world-last-decade-2019-12">rise and fall explains the decade of the retail apocalypse</a>. </li><li>Costco admits it<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-ceo-addresses-thanksgiving-website-crash-stopped-shoppers-2019-12"> "left something on the table"</a> with its Thanksgiving website crash. </li><li>Build-A-Bear says its "Frozen 2" toys <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/build-a-bear-workshop-cuts-revenue-forecast-blames-frozen-2-2019-12-1028751958">aren't selling as well as expected!</a> </li><li>The cocaine Santa shirt is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-cocaine-santa-sweatshirt-remains-amazon-2019-12">still available on Amazon,</a> even though Walmart pulled it from its site. </li><li>IHOP is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ihop-opening-new-fast-casual-chain-called-flipd-2019-12">opening a fast-casual chain. </a></li><li>We got our <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyonce-posted-first-look-adidas-collaboration-ivy-park-2019-12">first look</a> at Beyoncé's new Ivy Park collab with Adidas. </li><li>I am calling it - the worst tweet of the decade <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worst-tweet-of-decade-vita-coco-urine-tweet-2019-12">was the Vita Coco pee jar incident.</a> Fight me on Twitter about it at <a href="https://twitter.com/Kate_H_Taylor">@Kate_H_Taylor. </a></li></ul><p><em><strong><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/drivethru">First time reading The Drive-Thru? Subscribe here!</a></strong></em></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-ceo-gen-z-transforming-the-35-billion-company-workplace-2019-12">Mars CEO explains how Gen Z is transforming the $35 billion company's workplace</a></h3>

The Drive-Thru: McDonald's black franchisees struggle, Chipotle stages a comeback, and we revisit In-N-Out

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_submarine_Severodvinsk">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p><p class="caption">The Russian Yasen-class nuclear-attack submarine Severodvinsk</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Western officials are increasingly concerned about Russian sub activity.</strong></li><li><strong>Part of that concern is about Russian subs interfering with undersea cables that support telecommunications.</strong></li><li><strong>US sanctions announced Monday target Russian firms linked to undersea spying efforts.</strong></li></ul><p>Russia has been investing heavily in its submarine fleet over the past decade and a half, restocking its fleet with more sophisticated and more capable boats that are more active than at any time since the Cold War.</p><p>That activity has worried Western officials, who have particular concern for what those subs might be doing around the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-increased-naval-activity-threatening-undersea-cables-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">undersea cables that link</a> the US, Europe, and countries around the world, carrying 95% of communications and over $10 trillion in daily transactions.</p><p>Now the US government is targeting that undersea capability by putting sanctions on Russian firms and individuals that work with the country's powerful FSB, the security and intelligence agency <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/29/fact-sheet-actions-response-russian-malicious-cyber-activity-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sanctioned in 2016</a> for interfering in the US election that year.</p><p><span>The US is pursuing "an ongoing effort to counter malicious actors working at the behest of the Russian Federation and its military and intelligence units to increase Russia's offensive cyber capabilities," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0410" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a>. "The entities designated today have directly contributed to improving Russia's cyber and underwater capabilities through their work with the FSB."</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Telegeography</span></p><p class="caption">Europe's network of submerged cables in detail.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The Treasury said the sanctions were in response to "malign and destabilizing cyber activities," like 2017's <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-military-was-behind-notpetya-cyberattack-in-ukraine-cia-concludes/2018/01/12/048d8506-f7ca-11e7-b34a-b85626af34ef_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NotPetya</a> cyberattack and cyber intrusions of the US energy grid, which could allow future attacks.</span></p><p><span>Among the firms sanctioned on Monday was Divetechnoservices, which, since 2007, "has procured a variety of underwater equipment and diving systems for Russian government agencies, to include the FSB," the Treasury Department said.</span></p><p><span>"Further, in 2011, Divetechnoservices was awarded a contract to procure a submersible craft valued at $1.5 million for the FSB," according to the release.</span></p><h2><span>'The 21st-century, underwater equivalent'</span></h2><p><span>Undersea espionage is not new. In 1972, specially equipped US submarines tapped a Soviet communications line off Russia's Pacific coast <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/operation-ivy-bells-2013-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as part of Operation Ivy Bells</a>, which remained secret until information about it was leaked to the Soviets in the early 1980s.</span></p><p><span>One of the subs that took part, the now retired USS Parche, is the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-most-decorated-warship-sub-uss-parche-used-for-spy-missions-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most decorated ship in the Navy</a>, though most of its missions remain secret. The Navy currently operates the USS Jimmy Carter, an advanced Seawolf-class sub that's believed to be <a href="http://cryptome.org/nsa-fibertap.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">modified</a> to tap undersea cables.</span></p><p>"Just as the Russians have specialized submarines for this, we do too," Magnus Nordenman, the director the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said in an interview earlier this year, citing the Carter specifically. "And it's certainly something that we did during the Cold War too."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Lt. Cmdr. Michael Smith</span></p><p class="caption">Officers and crew on the Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter looks on as the sub transits the Hood Canal on its way home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, September 11, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Russia's navy is smaller in numbers than its Cold War predecessor, but <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-submarine-warfare-increasing-focus-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its subs have grown more sophisticated</a>, departing from the previous approach of lots of ships of varying quality. "T<span>hey are taking a page from our playbook, which is go for quality instead," Nordenman said.</span></p><p><span>Those <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-submarine-activity-increasing-around-uk-and-in-north-atlantic-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increasingly active</a> subs - and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-losharik-sub-spooking-nato-2016-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their potential</a> for clandestine operations - have stoked new concern among Western naval officials.</span><span></span></p><p><span>In 2015, US officials said increased Russian undersea activity could have been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-increased-naval-activity-threatening-undersea-cables-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efforts to locate those cables</a>. At the end of 2017, Stuart Peach, then chief of the British <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">defense</keyword> staff, said the "vulnerability of the cables that criss-cross the seabeds" was "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-britain-says-west-must-defend-undersea-cables-from-russian-navy-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a new risk to our way of life</a>."</span></p><p><span>US Navy Rear Adm. Andrew Lennon, commander of NATO's subs forces, said in December that Russian underwater activity around those cables <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-increased-naval-activity-threatening-undersea-cables-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared to be unprecedented</a> and that Moscow "is clearly taking an interest in NATO and NATO nations' undersea infrastructure."</span></p><p><span>Growing reliance on telecommunications and the internet has made that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-shows-extent-of-undersea-internet-cables-that-russians-could-cut-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sprawling cable network</a> more valuable, even as the cables themselves remain vulnerable to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/undersea-international-internet-cables-cut-in-africa-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sabotage</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ships-anchor-cuts-internet-cables-to-jersey-jt-2016-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accidents</a>.</span></p><p>"Intercepting and disrupting the opponent's communications has sort of been part of warfare since the beginning of time," Nordenman said earlier this year. "And this is the 21st-century, underwater equivalent."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/life-us-navy-submarine-military-training-armed-forces-2016-9">Everything you've ever wanted to know about life on a US Navy submarine</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

The West is worried about Russian subs lurking around undersea cables, and the US is sanctioning companies helping them do it

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A mysterious accident with one of the US Navy's most sophisticated subs hints at a long history of submarine spying

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Australia's new submarines are still 2 decades away from delivery, but the Aussies are already looking out for spies

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How the US Navy's nuclear-powered submarines have quietly dominated the seas for 67 years

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