Top tweets: Russia’s new stealth submarine

Naval Technology lists five of the top naval technology tweets of August 2022, based on data from GlobalData’s Aerospace, Defense & Security (ADS) Influencer Platform.

Top Tweets are based on the total number of interactions (likes and retweets) received on tweets from more than 180 naval tech professionals tracked by GlobalData’s ADS influencer platform in August 2022.

The most popular tweets on marine technology in August 2022: top five

1. HI Sutton’s tweet about Russia’s new stealth submarine

HI Sutton, a defense analyst, shared an article about Russia’s Rubin submarine design bureau, showcasing its latest advanced submarine concept, the Arctic. The new ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) represents the next generation after the Borei class and is also an insurance policy against the involvement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Ukraine, the article elaborates. The new boat is called Arcturus and has a radical design that features an angled outer hull with sloping sides and mixed lines. It also has a chine running down its side that resembles an airplane, the article further noted.

The angled outer casing is similar to the Type-212CD built by Germany and Norway, and to some extent the British dreadnought class as well, as the article points out. The angled outer hull is built against active sonar and is expected to be accompanied by obsolete passive sonar camouflage. This included mounting the machines on the rafts to isolate the noise. The boat is also expected to have anechoic coatings outside the pressure hull, which are used extensively on Russian submarines.

Username: HI Sutton

Twitter handle: @CovertShores

Likes: 560

Retweets: 193

2. Dan Lamothe’s tweet about the Pentagon using seas to ship weapons to Ukraine

Dan Lamothe, a military journalist, shared an article about the Pentagon expanding its use of maritime shipping to send weapons to Ukraine, according to US defense officials. The move came after the US relied heavily on planes to get the weapons and ammunition to Kyiv as quickly as possible, and during the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the article said. The US Department of Defense significantly expanded the sea initiative in the spring by offering Ukraine howitzer artillery and other heavy weapons.

Steven Putthoff, the deputy chief of operations for the US transport command, explained that when the US began supplying the Ukrainian army with howitzers, they realized they needed more ammunition. As a result, they decided to use more sea transportation to offer their support, the article details. The Biden administration has approved $12.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the invasion began on Feb. 24 this year and pledged an additional $2.98 billion in assistance on Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Username: Dan Lamothe

Twitter handle: @DanLamothe

Likes: 171

Retweeted: 42

3. Sebastian Bruns’ tweet about the US Navy decommissioning warships

Sebastian Bruns, a maritime strategist, retweeted an article by retired Navy Captain Jerry Hendrix about the planned retirement of more than 30 US Navy warships over the next 16.5 months, or 13.5% of their entire fleet. The US Navy called on Congress to operate the daily ships while cutting down 39 warships is strategically unwise, Hendrix tweeted. Instead, it’s time to invest more in maintenance facilities as many ships are within their service lines, he added. According to an administrative statement, the list included five cruisers with guided missiles and nine coastal combat ships. However, Congress is likely to block part of the Navy’s FY2023 decommissioning plan, the article said.

The inactivation schedule was expected to begin with the decommissioning of USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR-300), USNS Fisher (T-AKR-301), and USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193) on October 31, 2022. Meanwhile, the last decommissioned ships included the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) and the USS St. Louis (LCS-19).

Username: Sebastian Bruns

Twitter handle: @naval_gazing

Likes: 110

Retweeted: 53

4. Gabriele Molinelli’s tweet about the BAE Adaptable Strike Frigate

Gabriele Molinelli, a journalist, tweeted about the images of the BAE Adaptable Strike Fregate concept, which revealed unsurprising but welcome details. Features included rooftop container space and an interesting rear end, Molinelli tweeted. The frigate also showed reuse of Type 26 lines in the forward superstructure, bridge or mast, he added. The stern, on the other hand, offered a launch and recovery area, as well as a large garage for boats and drones with side doors.

According to Molinelli, the five 40-foot containers on the roof have a lot of potential. For example, the US Army should soon deploy TYPHOON, in which the containers could house an MK41 launcher for Standard Missile (SM)-6 and TOMAHAWK. The SM-6 can be fired from the same launcher that is embarked on large unmanned vessels, Molinelli added.

Username: Gabriele Molinelli

Twitter handle: @Gabriel64869839

Likes: 107

Retweeted: 17

5. Xavier Vavasseur’s tweet about the French making another bid to build submarines for the Australian Navy

Xavier Vavasseur, a naval reporter, shared an article on French President Emmanuel Macron’s offer to build four new submarines for the Australian Navy to avoid a capacity gap created by the AUKUS deal to acquire nuclear-powered boats . Sources confirmed the offer was made by Macron while he was hosting Mr Albanese in Paris in July 2022, the article said. The critical meeting was intended to mend bilateral Australia-France ties as Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected the $90 billion French-designed submarine project.

Macron argued that Australia’s proposed attack-class submarine in the first five years of design work made it the most advanced diesel-electric submarine in the world. However, the submarines are not being built in Adelaide, Australia, but at the shipyard of the French shipbuilder Naval Group in Cherbourg, where the infrastructure was already in place. The French offer comes amid the MoD’s work on recommendations on the future of Australia’s submarine programme, due to be handed over to the government in March.