U.S., French, U.K. Nuclear Submarines Rendezvous In Scotland

The unusual multinational submarine gathering comes at a time of unprecedented tensions in Europe around Russia’s war in Ukraine.
byApr 28, 2022 9:37 PMThe U.K. Royal Navy’s main submarine base in Scotland appears to currently be hosting something of a small multinational submarine meet. Yesterday, U.S. Navy’s Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Indiana was spotted heading in the direction of Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde. That came a day after one of the French Navy’s Rubis class submarines, another nuclear-powered attack type, the specific identity of which is unknown, was seen arriving in the area.None of the navies involved appear to have said anything specifically about the convergence of these submarines at Clyde. The base is home to the bulk of the Royal Navy’s submarine force, including its Vanguard class ballistic missile submarines and Astute class attack submarines, both of which are also nuclear powered.The USS Indiana’s stop there is to “strengthen cooperation between the United States and United Kingdom” and “demonstrate US capability, flexibility, and continuing commitment to NATO allies,” the Navy said, according to a report yesterday from U.K. Defence Journal. Indiana had left its homeport at Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut for what the Navy described simply as “routine operations” in January.Virginia class submarines, among other American types, regularly make stops in Clyde, which is one of a limited number of allied ports in Europe with the ability to handle visiting nuclear-powered submarines. French Rubis class submarines have called at the Royal Navy base before, including one spotted there in October 2021, but their presence is a much rarer occurrence. There were reports that the French boat that visited in October had its towed sonar array removed at the Royal Navy base for some reason.The back-to-back arrival of American and French submarines at Cylde could very well be just a coincidence. At the same time, the activities of submarine forces worldwide are typically relatively secretive affairs, so unusual public movements, such as American, French, and almost certainly British nuclear submarines all now being present at Clyde, often draw attentio …

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