The ‘Old’ U.S. Nuclear Attack Submarine Russia and China Don't Want to Fight
The Los Angeles–class submarines can still pack a punch.
Kyle Mizokami [2]
Although intelligence gathering has long been a role for submarines, starting in the 1990s the U.S. submarine fleet began using an Army phrase, “intelligence preparation of the battlefield,” to describe intelligence gathering in support of operations on the ground. Lacking a underwater enemy to fight, American submarines could linger off the coastlines of potential adversaries, collecting electronic data and conducting surveillance operations. The Los Angeles class was at the forefront of this effort, and USS Annapolis was refitted with a photonic mast featuring cameras instead of a traditional periscope mast.
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