Submarines

Airplanes, boats and people have long been used to smuggle drugs, but drug dealers are now using another form of transportation -- submarines.The subs aren't exactly as high-tech as the ones from "The Hunt for Red October" but Mexican and American authorities say they are effective enough.The Mexican Navy caught a Colombian drug sub this week -- packed with an estimated 5.8 tonnes of cocaine. That's about a quarter of all the cocaine estimated to enter Canada in a year.On a tip from the U.S., the Mexicans found the sub 200 kilometers ...

coalition of conservative evangelical leaders wants to enlist 1 million Christians to sign a statement questioning whether human-caused global warming is a real threat.The "We Get It!" campaign is the latest development in an ongoing disagreement among evangelicals about climate change."Our stewardship of creation must be based on biblical principles and factual evidence," the statement says. "We face important environmental challenges but must be cautious of claims that our planet is in peril from speculative dangers like manmade gl ...

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has registered the reduction of combat duties of Russian submarines, while the duties of nuclear submarines became more frequent in such countries as the USA, the UK and France.Today about 20 percent of Russian ballistic missiles (624 warheads in all) have naval deployment. By 2015 their number may increase up to 30 percent due to the decommissioning of land-based carriers. China possesses such ships, and India will have them at its disposal, however, they are not included in the research, t ...

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Royal Navy's new Astute-class submarines will be using Thales UK's non-hull penetrating, optronic mast. The state-of-the-art electro-optic system will allow greater flexibility in boat design and provide improved surface visibility without giving away the position of the submarine. The optronic mast will be powered by Wind River (NASDAQ:WIND - News) VxWorks mission-critical real-time operating system (RTOS), it was announced today. The Astute submarines will patrol the world's oceans with minimum risk ...

You couldn't blame Earl Johnson if he wanted to stay in Thaxton, Miss., this week.If nothing else, just imagine the cost of filling up an RV with gas for a 1,600-mile trip.But despite the warm temperatures and comforts of his own bed in tiny Thaxton (pop. 150) - not to mention a thinner wallet after paying for gas - Johnson said nothing will stop him from packing his bags for Manitowoc.Johnson, 72, is one of about 120 people scheduled to take part in the 28-Boat Reunion, scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, May 1-4, at the Wisconsin ...

The St. Marys Submarine Museum in St. Marys, Ga., offers a glimpse of life below the waves. The museum's exhibits trace the history of submarine warfare in the United States, with a special emphasis on World War II.Manager John Crouse said the mysteries beneath the sea have always exerted a pull on human beings."Mankind was trying to go under the water since the B.C.," he said. "Initially it was by individual contraptions. Then in the 1800s, foreign countries like Russia, Germany and Britain started getting into it. The United States ...

Washington, : Engineers have tested designs for an "active skin" for planes and submarines, which can change at a flick of a button and provide lesser turbulence.According to a report in New Scientist, Dimitris Lagoudas at Texas A&M University, US, and his team, developed the new designs.Turbulence is a big problem for engineers as chaotic air flow sets up unstable vortices and patterns in gases and liquids, increasing friction and drag."Giving craft skin than can tweak its surface to impose order on these currents could dramatically ...

HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - Anticipating a showdown with Iran, Israel decides secretly to deploy a submarine off its arch-foe's coast.But how? The quickest route from Israel's Mediterranean coast is via the Suez Canal, which runs through Egypt and which the classified vessels shun. So the submarine is hidden in the belly of a commercial tanker, which delivers it to the Gulf.Such is the plot of an Israeli thriller, "Undersea Diplomacy." Does it hold water? Perhaps not. Then again, the author, Shlomo Erell, is no mere novelist. He's an ex ...

More than 40 years ago, there was a British heavyweight boxing champion called Henry Cooper who could do everything -- except take a punch.Cooper was big, powerful, fast and had a dream punch himself that could and did devastate world champs. But he also had a glass jaw. And whenever he was up against any real world-class powerhouse, they blew him away. That is the problem facing the gigantic nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy in any future war against China over Taiwan or if they have to operate dangerously close-in a ...

Colombia's biggest drug smuggling ring is using submarines to smuggle cocaine into Mexico for eventual delivery in the US, Spain's EFE news agency reported Tuesday.The Norte del Valle cartel has set up plants in the Colombian jungles for building submarines and hundred of vessels are now smuggling the contraband to Mexico for US destinations, Admiral James Stavridis, chief of US Southern Command, told Mexican daily Milenio.The subs surface several kms off the Mexican coast, from where speedboats bring the drugs ashore, he said. The fi ...

Russia expects to sell at least three submarines to Venezuela in a deal to be inked when President Hugo Chavez visits next month, Russian news media reported Friday.The Interfax news agency and the daily Kommersant cited unnamed military-industrial officials as saying that the subs would be diesel-electric models, of the ''Varshavyanka'' class.''As of today, work to prepare the contract has practically been completed. The contract's signing will likely be timed with the visit of ... Chavez to Moscow, which is expected in May,'' the of ...

The Royal Thai Navy will push the government to buy submarines and new aircraft during a visit to the main naval base by Prime Minister and Defence Minister Samak Sundaravej. Navy commander Sathiraphan Keyanont yesterday said official itineraries would be submitted to the Defence Ministry for consideration as Mr Samak had limited time.The prime minister is scheduled to visit the navy soon. However, the date of his visit has yet to be set.Adm Sathiraphan said the navy would brief Mr Samak on its missions, including the submarine procur ...

Crocodiles and alligators behave like sophisticated submarines to dive, surface or roll sideways without flippers or fins, researchers have discovered. Biologists in the US found that the aquatic reptiles manoeuvre silently by turning their lungs into internal flotation tanks.Using their diaphragm, pelvic, abdominal and rib muscles, they shift air towards the tail for diving and towards the head for surfacing. Moved to the left or right of the body, it helps the creature to roll.Modern submarines use a similar system to adjust their b ...

Chinese demand for commodities has triggered a crisis in the Australian navy, whose submarine fleet is suffering from a critical crew shortage as skilled technicians are lured into higher paying jobs by the booming mining industry.Joel Fitzgibbon, Australia's defence minister, acknowledged on Monday that the navy was suffering an acute manpower problem."Our people and skills shortage is probably the single biggest challenge facing the Australian defence force, and of course the service suffering most is the navy, where retention and r ...

Sailors leaving for high-paying jobs in Australia's booming mining sector mean only three of the Navy's six submarines can put to sea at any one time. "It's becoming a ghost fleet," The Australian newspaper on Monday quoted one officer as saying. "We are losing our crews. It feels like the Mary Celeste."More than a third of submariner positions are unfilled and the shortage is likely to get worse as mining companies step up efforts to lure technicians away."The Navy is suffering the biggest challenge given the strength of the mining i ...

A recruitment crisis in the Australian Defence Force has led to a shortage of qualified submariners, with the navy able to properly crew only three of its six submarines.The nation's mining boom and the demanding life of submariners have made it difficult to recruit or retain crews, leading to a 37 per cent shortfall in sailors.Salaries of higher than $80,000 have failed to lure new recruits, News Limited newspapers reported.The deficit has forced the navy to slash the number of sailing days.Despite the problem, the Defence Department ...

For the first time, researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated that microscopic "two-faced" spheres whose halves are physically or chemically different - so-called Janus particles - will move like stealthy submarines when an alternating electrical field is applied to liquid surrounding the particles.A paper describing the research, published in the Feb. 8, 2008, edition of Physical Review Letters, advances knowledge about how potential "smart" materials - think of tiny engines or sensors - can move around and res ...

Janus particles, which take their name from a Roman god with two faces, are microscopic 'two-faced' spheres whose halves are physically or chemically different. Now, U.S. researchers have shown that some of these Janus microparticles can move like stealthy submarines when an alternating electrical field is applied to liquid surrounding them. This could lead to new kinds of self-propelling microsensors or means of targeted drug delivery. You can see above how these particles "move perpendicular to the applied electric field direction w ...

Capt. Andy Hale has just worked out and is still in a sweaty T-shirt and shorts as he stands in the battle command center. He is watching a flat screen display that shows what's happening outside on the bow and the aft.His billion-dollar submarine - the U.S. Navy's newest twist on underwater warfare - is hovering just below the surface off the Pacific island of Guam as a submersible disappears into the dark waters, carrying a team of commandos.The Ohio is the first of a new class of submarine created in a conversion of 1970s vessels b ...

Drug smugglers in southern Florida are using submarines to dive under the radar of law enforcement.The subs are capable of moving about the ocean without being detected by radar or sonar, and can transport up to 15 tons of cocaine at a time.Members of the Coast Guard say they've always suspected the illegal submarines existed, but only recently captured their first one near Key West.They're currently examining it for clues and say dozens more probably exist. ...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy told his Brazilian counterpart here Tuesday that France was willing to sell conventional submarines and fighter jets to Brazil.Sarkozy told reporters after meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in French Guiana, a French overseas territory bordering Brazil, that the project was part of a "global partnership" with Brazil not limited to military sales.The French leader said France was ready to transfer technology to Brazil "to be able to sell submarines and fighter jets" to the South ...

The Indian Navy has set the ball rolling for acquisition of new warships and submarines.India has made it clear that it wants more muscle at sea and has kick-started the process of acquiring six new hunter-killer submarines and seven new frigates.Of particular significance is its decision to go in for a new line of submarines, which will for the first time give India an assured capability to attack targets on land from under the sea.Request for information have recently been issued to the French DCNS, Spanish Navantia, Russian Rubin a ...

The resumption of flights for Russian strategic bombers made NATO express serious concerns on the matter. In addition, NATO closely watches tests of a new Russian submarine. This news made "the most democratic country in the world" see that Russia is an equal rival for NATO. The NATO command is seriously concerned about the surprises that Russia makes.When Russia's strategic aviation recommenced flights in the areas of its traditional patrolling the Pentagon and European headquarters were shocked to learn the news. Russian aircraft ha ...

Washington: Scientists at Purdue University claim to have developed a technology that could represent a pollution free energy source for a range of potential applications, ranging from golf carts to submarines and cars to emergency portable generators.The technology produces hydrogen by adding water to an alloy of aluminium and gallium. When water is added to the alloy, the aluminium splits water by attracting oxygen, liberating hydrogen in the process.The scientists say they are developing a method to create particles of the alloy th ...

PEARL HARBOR - Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is getting a big boost with the homeporting of three of the newest class of submarine and a $30 million dry dock improvement project, an official said yesterday."We're frankly ecstatic that we can begin our long overdue modernization years ahead of the current schedule," said Kerry Gershaneck, a spokesman for the Pearl Harbor Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.Gershaneck's observations came on graduation day for 117 shipyard apprentices, and echoed sentiments by others on the futu ...

VLADIVOSTOK, August 3 (RIA Novosti) - Japan will finance the scrapping of three Russian nuclear submarines decommissioned from the Pacific Fleet under a joint project with Russia, a senior Japanese diplomat said Friday.The three Victor class vessels will be dismantled under the Star of Hope program for the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines in Russia's Far East, which was adopted in 2003 during a visit by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Russia."A contract signed at the Zvezda military shipyard Augus ...

SEVASTOPOL, August 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia would like to increase the number of submarines in its Black Sea Fleet, but has so far been held back by Ukraine, Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Masorin said. "In the future Russia's Black Sea Fleet [based in Ukraine's Crimea] should have a brigade consisting of 12-15 diesel submarines," Masorin said. The fleet currently has two diesel subs."We have been asking Ukraine to transfer a sub from the Northern Fleet to the Black Sea Fleet, but we have yet to resolve the issue," he said.Ma ...

Larsen and Toubro, the diversified engineering conglomerate, is planning to build submarines as part of its defence projects venture. The company is planning to demerge the defence division into a separate entity.Sources close to the development said L&T is in talks with a couple of foreign firms to develop required expertise to participate in the Indian Navy's prestigious Project 75 and 76 to make underwater vessels.The project is one of Navy's 30-year sub-building programme. It aims to build 24 such vessels to meet challenges across ...

By A. Craig CopetasThe luxury-submarine business is sometimes hard to fathom."If you can find my submarine, it's yours," says Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich. That's all the reclusive owner of the Chelsea Football Club has to say. An artist's rendering shows U.S. Submarine's Seattle 1000 luxury sub.The ocean floor is the final spending frontier for the world's richest people. Journeying to see what's on the bottom aboard a personal submersible is a wretched excess guaranteed to trump the average mogul's stable of vintage Buga ...

Russia and Venezuela by year's end are executing an agreement under which five diesel-powered Russian submarines of the Varshavyanka series would be sold to the Venezuelan Army, Russian military sources said."The order has been received and the contract is almost ready. It will be initialed by year's end," a defense industry source who spoke under condition of anonymity told Interfax on Thursday.The source said Russia would deliver subs of the Varshavyanka series, project 636 (Kilo class, according to the NATO classification), which M ...

India's navy will acquire six new submarines and 33 ships, the top admiral said Saturday, a day after India decided to invite bids for combat jets to upgrade its air force's capability."Our interest is not restricted to the Indian Ocean," Adm. Sureesh Mehta told reporters in the eastern city of Calcutta. He did not elaborate, but said "we need a vibrant navy" to safeguard India's economic interests.India has 7,516 kilometers (4,670 miles) of coastline.Mehta said it would take about six years for the navy to acquire the six new submari ...

President Hugo Chavez, of Venezuela, who is beginning a visit to Russia later today, may sign major contracts to purchase new military hardware of Russian manufacture. First and foremost, Caracas is interested in submarines.However, such a deal, if concluded on the eve or Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the United States, may prove one more irritant in relations between Moscow and Washington. So one may well expect that Chavez will certainly discuss future contracts for the purchase of submarines and air defense systems, b ...

Russia could sell up to 40 fourth-generation diesel submarines to foreign customers in the next seven and a half years, the state-run arms exporter said Wednesday. "Analysis of the demand on foreign markets shows that 30 to 40 new Russian submarines could be sold by 2015," Rosoboronexport said in a statement posted on its Web site. Russia has ensured high export potential in this segment of the submarine market by developing state-of-the-art Project 636 and Project 677 diesel submarines.The Project 636 Kilo-class submarine is thought ...

MiFID has already had a huge impact in Europe - particularly on the conference and event management scene. And as my fellow bloggers Chrisses Skinner and Pickles have been regularly pointing out here on the Finextra Communities, it is going to have a huge, though uncertain, impact on market practices in the global capital markets in the coming years.One thing I've noticed is the colourful reaction from banks positioning themselves to take advantage of the new opportunities it gives them to compete in the area of execution and trade re ...

MOSCOW, June 18 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuela is planning to procure up to 10 modern diesel submarines and several Tor-M1 air defense missile complexes from Russia, a source at a Russian think tank said Monday.Russian business daily Kommersant said last week that during his visit to Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez could finalize a deal to purchase Russian diesel submarines for the Venezuelan Navy. The contract reportedly is for the supply of five Project 636 Kilo-class diesel submarines and four state-of-the-art Project 677 Amur ...

Shaun BentonThe second of the South African Navy's three new submarines arrived at its home base in Simonstown Thursday.The 30-member crew of the S102 were welcomed by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, describing them as the "cream of the crop".The submarine travelled directly to Simonstown from the port of Rota in Spain, following its launch from Emden in Germany, escorted by the SA Navy's combat support vessel, SAS Drakensberg.The arrival of the SAS Charlotte Maxeke at the naval base of Simonstown was described by Minister Lekota as ...

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 (Bernama) -- The Dewan Rakyat was told today that Malaysia bought two Scorpene submarines to ensure the regional maritime area is safe and passable by merchant ships.Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said if Malaysia wanted to play a role at the regional level, surely the country's national defence should be strong to face any eventualities."But what's important is that Malaysia is already known as a maritime country. It's not strange for us to have two submarines that meet our country's requirement w ...

SEVERODVINSK - Russia plans to build eight nuclear submarines of the Borei class. "We plan to build seven subs of the Borei class under the armaments programme and the eighth - in 2015," Deputy Defence Minister and chief of the armaments department Alexei Moskovsky told reporters. ...

EVERODVINSK. - Eight Project 955 Borei strategic nuclear submarines will have been assigned to the Russian Navy by 2017, Deputy Defense Minister and armaments chief, General of the Army Alexei Moskovsky said."Under the armaments program, seven Project Borei nuclear missile submarines are to be built by 2015 and another by 2017," Moskovsky told the press in Severodvinsk on Sunday.The construction of the Alexander Nevsky submarine of the same project is to be finished in 2009 and the Vladimir Monomakh nuclear submarine is to be built in ...

By AUDREY McAVOYPEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - The Navy will send three aircraft carriers to waters off Guam for large-scale exercises late this summer, the outgoing U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said. The Valiant Shield war games will resemble exercises held near the U.S. territory last June. Those brought together some 28 ships, 280 airplanes and 22,000 troops.Adm. Gary Roughead, announcing the exercises in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, said the Navy learned a great deal from last year's large-scale exercises and wanted t ...