Feature
Robot mini subs, navy seal launches, high-tech espionage: the submarine of the 21st century has arrived

by Jason Lee Jason Lee

Common wisdom in this age of door-to-door combat dictates that the U.S. submarine fleet is of diminishing utility–after all, there are no terrorists hiding underwater. But common wisdom does not so easily apply to the USS Jimmy Carter, a giant Seawolf-class nuclear submarine modified into a spy ship. The submarine, commissioned in February, will serve as a stealthy weapon near enemy shores: tapping into undersea fiber-optic cables, covertly delivering Navy Seals into enemy ports, and, if necessary, directly attacking enemy ships and land-based targets.

Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!

0 Comments


138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.

Innovation Challenges



Popular Science+ For iPad

Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page



Download Our App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed


February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif