submarine

After the Titan millionaire submarine disaster, China plans to take more rich tourists 1,000 meters under the sea

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The depths ofto Mariana Trench or exploration from the deep ocean It has always been a thing for scientists and remotely controlled machines. China wants it to stop being so and already has an ambitious plan in motion: taking wealthy tourists to 1,000 meters deep, where sunlight does not reach and where there is no turning back for an engineering failure. The project comes three years after the Titan tragedythe OceanGate submersible that imploded in June 2023 while I was visiting the remains of the titanic in which its five occupants died. Far from stopping its efforts, China is moving forward with a proposal that, unlike the Titan, is backed by decades of naval engineering developed with the support of China. Four highly sought-after seats. Ye Cong, director of the China Naval Scientific Research Center, counted to ChinaDaily that “after more than four years of research, engineers have finalized the structural design” and that, once the prototype is built, “they will carry out sea trials and then improve the design based on the results.” The submersible will have enough space to accommodate four peoplepilot included, so, to begin with, the availability of places is very limited. This shortage of vacancies is expected to contribute to skyrocketing prices for filling each seat. One of the most complex problems of the small submarine has already been solved: the panoramic viewfinder. Your designers they describe it as “one of the most difficult structural codes to decipher on a deep-sea submersible.” And it makes sense since at 1,000 meters deep the pressure is about 100 times greater than on the surface, and that window has to withstand it without giving way. An unprecedented leap into the abyss. This is not the first submersible that Chinese engineers have operated. However, such andhow do they count in South China Morning Post The new projects that are being tested far exceed the depths at which current submersibles operate, which do not go below 20 meters deep. They are used for lakes, reservoirs and shallow coasts, so going from there to 1,000 meters is multiplying the operating depth by 50. The same naval engineering center that is now building this new generation of manned mini-submarines already built The Huandao Jiaolong 1 and 2, two tourist submersibles with capacity for seven passengers and a limit of 40 meters. However, on that occasion, immersion operations were suspended due to regulatory restrictions, but everything learned then has been applied to the new design. China plunges into the field of underwater exploration. The West has been designing submersibles for decades for deep dives. Companies like Deep RoverTriton and U-Boat Worx have been manufacturing submersibles over 1,000 meters since 1985 and until now had no Chinese competition in that segment. The new project developed by the China Naval Scientific Research Center changes that scenario supported by the previous experience of the Jiaolongthe Deep Sea Warrior and the Fendouzhe, three ships that last year completed more than 300 dives around the world and accounted for more than 50% of all manned deep-sea expeditions on a global scale. Ye Cong assured the Chinese news agency that the submersible: “will be a valuable asset for cruise lines, high-end tour operators and oceanographic researchers. It will offer the most demanding travelers an unforgettable experience in ocean exploration.” The prototype should be ready before the end of 2026, with the commercial debut expected before 2030. Much more than a tourist “toy”: it is a key strategy. This submersible is not just a mere product intended for tourist use of millionaires with adventurous concerns. It is part of China’s strategy to become strong in the blue economy, the sector of economic activities linked to the sea, a developing sector in which China seeks to play a leading role in the future. The Asian giant already leads manned deep-sea exploration and wants that this technological advantage is amortized in the form of a private business for their companies. After the Titan catastrophea good part of the luxury underwater tourism industry came to a screeching halt. China is the first to step on the accelerator again in this area, and this project is supported by State resources, which gives it a considerable advantage over projects that, like the Titan, are developed with private funds and investors. In Xataka | There is a new chapter in the Titan submarine tragedy: the memory card of its camera survived the implosion Image | CSSC

the day the US stole a Soviet nuclear submarine 5,000 meters deep

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In the 1970s, a gigantic American ship sailed slowly through the Pacific while several Soviet ships they watched him a few meters away, taking photos and listening to every conversation. On deck, the sailors talked loudly about rocks on the seabed and collected samples so that everything seemed routine, without anyone suspecting that, right under their feet, one of the most unusual operations of the entire Cold War. An impossible robbery. At the end of the 60s, in the middle of the Cold War, the United States secretly located the Soviet submarine K-129 sunk to more than 5,000 meters deep in the Pacific, a distance that made any recovery attempt practically unfeasible. Even so, the strategic value it was hugesince the submersible carried nuclear missiles, codes and key technology that could tip the balance at a time of nuclear parity between superpowers. With that goal in mind, the CIA launched the Azorian Projectan operation so ambitious that for years only a small circle within the Government knew of its existence. Context. In reality, the mission, which lasted more or less six years, had begun in 1968, when the K-129 loaded with ballistic missiles disappeared without explanation somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The situation was not entirely strange if we think that, at that time after the Cuban Missile Crisisboth American and Soviet submarines patrolled the high seas with nuclear weapons on board, prepared for possible war. Model of the sunken and deteriorated submarine K-129 The sinking. There are reports indicating that it was due to a mechanical failure, such as the missile’s engine accidentally starting, while the Soviets suspected for a time that the Americans had acted in bad faith. Be that as it may, and after two months, the Soviet Union abandoned the search for the K-129 and the nuclear weapons it carried, but the United States, which had recently used Air Force technology to locate two of its own submarines sunken, located the submarine 2,400 kilometers northwest of Hawaii and 5,030 meters deep. According to the declassified history of the project by the CIA decades later, “no country in the world had managed to recover an object of this size and weight from such depth.” Sherman Wetmore, chief engineer of the Glomar Explorer, looks at an oil painting of the ship refloating the Soviet submarine The great theater of lies. Once Washington found its location and in order to hide the true purpose, one of the more elaborate covers of history: an alleged underwater mining mission led by the eccentric millionaire Howard Hugheswhose reputation made any extravagant project credible. As? The enormous was built Hughes Glomar Explorerpresented to the world as a ship capable of extract manganese nodules from the seabed, while in reality it hid inside a secret system designed to capture the submarine. The operation was so convincing that even influenced markets and universitiesfeeding for years the illusion of a new mining industry that was never actually the objective. Details of the construction plan of the Glomar Explorer (reproduction), from 1971. In the lower central part of the ship, you can see the plans of the so-called “lunar pool”, into which the claw could introduce the submarine The giant claw. The heart of the mission was, possibly, the most exciting part of an already incredible story. It was a device hidden under the boat: a gigantic mechanical “claw” capable of descending kilometers to the ocean floor, hugging the hull of the submarine and raising it through a complex system of pipes and cables. The entire process had to be executed out of sight, using an internal opening in the ship (the called “moon pool”) that allowed working completely hidden, even under the constant surveillance of suspicious Soviet ships, but they couldn’t prove anything. There is no doubt, the operation required extreme precision, withstanding colossal stresses and maintaining the ship’s position in the open sea for days, something that in itself already represented an unprecedented technological challenge. Everything (almost) ready. In the summer of 1974, after years of preparation, the CIA managed to reach the submarine and hooked it with the claw, at which point he began to slowly raise it towards the surface, in an operation that lasted days and kept the entire crew tense. However, halfway through the ascent, the structure gave way and much of K-129 fell back to the ocean floor, leaving only a recovered section. Even so, they managed to rescue remains of the helmet and bodies of several Soviet sailors, who were buried with honors at sea, while the real loot (the missiles and secret codes) was shrouded in uncertainty and absolute secrecy by the United States, since many of the details remain classified today. “We neither confirm nor deny.” The biggest twist in history came when the operation came out in 1975 after leaks and thefts of documents linked to the business cover, forcing the US Government to face a most delicate diplomatic situation. However, instead of admitting or denying the theft of a Soviet nuclear submarine more than 5,000 meters deep, Washington adopted a response that would go down in history: “We neither confirm nor deny”a formula designed to avoid direct tensions with Moscow and which has since become a standard in intelligence matters. That calculated silence It encapsulates the essence of the entire operation: a gigantic mission, almost impossible on paper, visible to everyone in appearance, but whose true purpose and results remain, to a large extent, hidden from the general public. The legacy. Although he Azorian Project did not recover the entire submarine, it left a deep mark on history of espionage and engineeringamong other things because it demonstrated that it was possible to operate at extreme depths and execute missions of a unprecedented complexity. Of course, it also demonstrated the extent to which the Cold War promoted radical technical solutions and operations that bordered on the improbable, in a race for gain strategic advantage at any price between both sides. Decades later, it remains one … Read more

studies a huge submarine cable with distant Ireland to stop being an energy island

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Spain may have emerged as one of the EU states that more and better have understood and adopted the energy transition towards renewables, but there is an unquestionable geographical reality: The Iberian Peninsula is an energy island which has a problem called France. A bottleneck that prevents Spain from exporting its enormous surplus of solar energy, so the European Commission wants to correct it with ambitious connection goals for 2030. How? Looking at the sea that surrounds the peninsula in search of partners “to lend a helping hand” to solve this limitation: across the Mediterranean with two gigantic connections to Italy and also towards the Atlantic, with a cable between Spain and Ireland. The future cable between Spain and Ireland. The planned route would link the northern coast of Spain, specifically Asturias, with the southern coast of Ireland, with an estimated length of between 1,000 and 1,100 kilometers, as collects The Energy Newspaper. Although there is no defined route yet, the infrastructure will have to navigate considerable depths in the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea. Go ahead that the agreement signed between Spain and Ireland It is a Memorandum of Understanding to study the feasibility of an underwater electricity cable within the framework of the WindEurope 2026 congress held in Madrid signed by the Spanish vice president Sara Aagesen and the Irish minister Darragh O’Brien. Why is it important. Because both Spain and Ireland share a structural problem: they are one of the least interconnected electricity markets in Europe and are classified as “energy islands” by the EU, which limits their ability to export renewable surpluses and reinforce their security of supply (friendly reminder: the blackout). From the point of view of energy security, more interconnection means less dependence on imported fossil fuels and more resilience in the face of shortages. This cable would diversify Spanish export routes, a detailed priority objective in REE Electrical Planning. The energy logic of the project rests on the complementarity of renewable resources: Spain would export solar surpluses and Ireland would provide electricity generated in its offshore wind farms. Both technologies have generation profiles decoupled in time, so the exchange is technically valuable to stabilize both electrical networks: when the sun shines in Spain, it can power Dublin, when Atlantic storms sweep the north, its wind turbines can sustain Spanish industry. Context. Spain currently has barely 3,000 MW of interconnection capacity, which represents a ratio of 2%, according to REE dataon its installed mix of approximately 150 GW. That is to say, it fails to meet the minimum target of 10% set by the EU for 2020 and has to work a miracle to reach the 15% planned for 2030. This chronic deficit limits the capacity of the Spanish system to export the growing surpluses of wind and solar energy. The project arises at a time of maximum urgency for energy independence after the gas crisis. Recent war conflicts have led the EU to accelerate the processing of large electrical interconnections between European markets as a tool for collective energy security in search of self-sufficiency with its own resources. Initiatives like the plan REPowerEU They have these cross-border interconnections as one of the levers with absolute priority. Map of transmission and storage projects. ENTSO-E Main connections in Spain. A brief summary of the very few electrical connections of the Spanish state with other EU states: Existing: Spain–France (Pyrenean land interconnection), with a current capacity of approximately 3,000 MW through the Pyrenees and Spain – Portugal, through various bidirectional land high voltage lines that make up the Iberian market. Under construction or approved: the submarine cable of the Bay of Bizkaia between Spain and France, scheduled to enter service in 2028, will add 2,000 MW of additional capacity with France. The wire Fontefríabetween Portugal and Galicia, will provide about 1,000 MW of exchange. Projected (under study or preliminary phase): Apollo Link between Spain and Italy, of 2000 MW and entering service in 2032. Iberia Link between Spain and Italy of 1,200 MW. Trans-Pyrenean land connection through Navarra and Aragon, blocked by the French government. How are they going to do it?. Technically, the project would be executed using a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable, the standard technology for long-distance underwater interconnections, due to its lower energy loss in transportation compared to alternating current. There are direct and operational precedents of a similar scale, such as the recent Celtic Interconnector between Ireland and France. After signing the Memorandum of Understanding to study the viability of an underwater electricity cable that links both states, the project must be technically and economically evaluated jointly by Red Eléctrica and EirGrid, the operators of both states. They will then present it to the European authorities for possible inclusion in the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), which would give it access to European funding and accelerated administrative procedures. ENTSO-Ethe association of European network operators, publishes every two years the Ten-Year Network Development Planthe technical reference framework to prioritize and evaluate this type of projects. Yes, but. The project is in its earliest phase, which means that it has everything ahead of it and a submarine cable is a major technical and economic infrastructure. A cable of more than 1,000 kilometers in length implies an estimated investment that would exceed 2,000-3,000 million euros, a construction period of several years once approved and logistical challenges in North Atlantic waters. Furthermore, the route through Asturias would require reinforcing internal transport networks to cross the Cantabrian Mountains to connect with the large solar generation centers in the interior of the peninsula. In Xataka | The submarine cables belonged to the teleoperators, and now the big technology companies are controlling them In Xataka | The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it Cover | ENTSOE

95% of intercontinental internet traffic goes through submarine cables. China has just proven that it can cut them at 3,500 meters

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The world is connected through the “invisible”, almost omnipresent and seemingly omnipotent internet. But it turns out that 95% of data traffic runs through cables that, although not visible, are very tangible: the submarine fiber optic cables that run around the world. This strategic infrastructure is inherently vulnerable due to its vast extent in unmonitored environments. Until recently, threats were limited to random accidents in shallow waters, but sabotage are the order of the day. In this scenario, China has just marked a technical milestone that is a warning to sailors: has tried successfully a submarine cable cutter who plays in another league. Thus, it is capable of cutting with high precision and operating at depths of up to 3,500 meters. The tool. The system that China through its Haiyang Dizhi 2 scientific vessel is an electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA), a compact device that integrates the hydraulic system, the electric motor and the control unit in a single piece, a combo that as explained The South China Morning Post allows you to get rid of the external oil pipe common in this type of system. The Ministry of Natural Resources of China explains for the Chinese media that last Saturday, April 15, its first mission in deep waters was carried out. This is not the first deep underwater cable cutter we have seen from China, in fact it has them to cut even deeper seabeds: the China Naval Scientific Research Center (CSSRC) and the State Key Laboratory of Deep Sea Manned Vehicles also developed a little over a year ago a vessel that uses a diamond coated grinding wheelcapable of operating at depths of 4,000 meters. Why is it important. We have already glimpsed in the intro that currently, practically the entire of intercontinental data traffic travels over submarine cables. He Center for Strategic and International Studies gives an example of its importance: in the financial environment, approximately 22 trillion dollars move per business day through these systems. Any disruption can unleash chaos on entire countries, leading to digital isolation, collapsing financial systems, degrading military capabilities… much more than a simple cyberattack. Underwater cables are inherently vulnerable due to their exposure and with these types of systems not even depth is a guarantee. Furthermore, repair at a depth of 3,500 meters is slow and expensive, requiring specific vessels that are not plentiful. context. Since 2024, China and its vessels have become common suspects in cases of alleged sabotage. Two examples: is in the Baltic and is in waters near Taiwan. These events have generated growing concern in NATO on the security of these essential undersea cables from hybrid warfare tactics. China, for its part, justifies this development as part of its scientific research and deep-sea mining program through the Chinese Academy of Sciences: the ability to cut cables is necessary for the recovery of stuck equipment, cleaning marine debris, and preparing the seabed for deep-sea mining. However, it is inevitable to think about the duality of its functions. chow they do it. In 2020, a team of engineers from Lishui University, in the coastal province of Zhejiang, opposite Taiwan, developed a device for cutting underwater cables by drag (one of several patents in recent years made in China) and in the patent application The team said that “The traditional cutting method requires first detecting the position of the cables, then excavating and recovering them to cut them. The process is complex, a lot of expensive equipment is needed, and the cost is too high. A fast and low-cost cutting device for submarine cables is needed to perform this task.” These new tools seek to solve this as they operate directly on the cable on the seabed without the need for extraction. In the 30-day mission of the Haiyang Dizhi 2 vessel, in addition to testing the cutting tool, they also tested an autonomous underwater vehicle called Hai Ma, recovered 16 self-developed measurement probes and deployed China’s first deep-sea winch with 11,000 meters of coaxial cable. Yes, but. The fact that there are patents and tests on tools to cut marine cables at great depth and efficiency does not mean that they have been used in these incidents, although it does indicate an interest in cutting them. China has a known official position, as we saw last year when a similar tool came to the fore. At that time Liu Pengyu, declared that the device is used in marine scientific research and that both the United States and several European countries have similar technology. Likewise, it highlighted the importance that China gives to protecting underwater infrastructure and its commitment to the international community to protect them. In Xataka | The submarine cables belonged to the teleoperators, and now the big technology companies are controlling them In Xataka | The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it Cover | seatools and CCTV

Two gigantic submarine cables between Spain and Italy, among the large European electrical interconnection projects

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The European Union is immersed in a full energy transformation at two levels: the transition towards renewable sources and a structural change deep, so that success depends less on each country’s individual generation and more on the ability to move that energy efficiently across borders. In this framework, the European Network of Electricity Transmission Network Operators (ENTSO-E) works on a continental grid that eliminates technical bottlenecks. An example: the energy island called the Iberian Peninsula. The objective is for energy to flow from areas with surplus to others with deficit, preventing it from being trapped without a commercial outlet due to lack of transportation capacity. With that logic, the ENTSO-E just published its complete portfolio of the Ten-Year Network Development Plan 2026 with almost 200 transmission projects, 22 of them completely new. Among these novelties there are two particularly important for the Iberian Peninsula: they connect Spain with Italy. The cables. Apollo Link and Iberia Link are two high-voltage direct current submarine cable projects that would cross the Mediterranean to connect the Iberian Peninsula with northern Italy. They are independent of each other but share the same mission: to create a direct electric highway between an area with great renewable generation capacity such as Spain and one of the industrial regions with the highest electricity consumption in Europe, northern Italy. None of the projects has support from the transport network operators of each state, Red Eléctrica and Terna, respectively, but rather They are initiatives of private investors of Italian origin whose identity has not been revealed. Why is it important. The emerging continental grid is vital for the decarbonization of the continent as it allows the full use of renewable energy surpluses: Spain is one of the leaders in solar and wind energy (Italy stands out in solar, but not so much in wind) and this interconnection makes it possible that when there is excess production in the Iberian Peninsula, that clean energy can supply Italian demand instead of being left without a commercial outlet due to lack of transport capacity. The foreseeable net flow would be predominantly from west to east, although the connection would also allow energy to be imported from Italy in times of shortage on the Peninsula. But for the Iberian Peninsula it is even more relevant: this future east-west corridor allows its surpluses to be evacuated to the rest of Europe, thus ending its limited interconnection capacity. And also something essential: this connection provides security of supply (as evidenced the blackout) and the possibility of coupling markets to reduce electricity prices for the final consumer. Context. The Iberian Peninsula is considered an energy island within Europe. Its interconnection capacity with France round 3,000 MW, far below of the 15% target of installed capacity established by European regulations. And this has consequences: in times of high renewable generation, prices become negative within the peninsula and surplus energy cannot be exported. In times of scarcity, it cannot be easily imported either. This is just one of the projects that seek to end the energy isolation of the peninsula: they are also on the table the Bay of Biscay submarine cable planned for 2028 and included in all PCI lists since 2013. And under construction is a new northern interconnection of Portugal with Galicia which will add an extra 1,000 MW of exchange capacity. On the other hand, the trans-Pyrenean projects in Navarra and Aragon they are still blocked and with no date on the horizon to unclog them. Retail. Some technical curiosities of both cables: Apollo Link is the more ambitious of the two. It consists of an interconnection between Spain and northern Italy with a capacity of 2 GW planned to enter service in 2032. It would implement the most modern standard for long-distance underwater transmission for bidirectional control and minimize losses, bipolar HVDC technology with VSC converters. It would operate with the standard adopted by the European industry of 525 kV, facilitating interoperability. Its capacity allows it to supply several million homes. According to its promoters, it would generate more than 300 million euros annually in net social benefits. Iberia Link shares the same technology and operating voltage, but has a lower capacity: 1.2 GW. What distinguishes it is its length: 1,034 kilometers of submarine cable between southern Spain and northern Italy, which would make it one of the longest underwater electrical links in the world. It has no published entry into service date. Specifications of both cables. TYNDP map Yes, but. That they are included in the TYNDP 2026 is the prerequisite to qualify for the status of Project of Common Interest that opens the doors to community financing and an accelerated regulatory framework, but for the moment the situation of both is “under consideration”, which means that they are in the study phase and do not yet have European regulatory approval: they will have to pass the cost-benefit analyzes of the ENTSO-E to take the first step to materialize (we will know in the last quarter of 2026). And furthermore, they do not have the support of state operators, nor permits or approved layout because they are in preliminary phases. Likewise, the history of blocking similar projects invites caution. But even if they became a reality, these projects would only partially mitigate the electrical isolation of the peninsula: they are only 3.2GW of the 10-15GW of total interconnection necessary to truly influence the European market. In Xataka | The submarine cables belonged to the teleoperators, and now the big technology companies are controlling them In Xataka | The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it Cover | ENTSOE

It turns out that there is a Soviet submarine at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea releasing radiation for 40 years

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On April 7, 1989, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-278 Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea after an uncontrolled fire fruit probably short circuit in the electrical panels of compartment 7, which led to a massive and uncontrollable deflagration because the atmosphere was critically enriched with oxygen due to failures in the air regeneration system. Of the 69 people on board, only 27 survived. It wasn’t just any submarine: it had a double titanium helmet that allowed him descend to unreachable depths for his rivals of the time. Its cutting-edge technology hid a dangerous core: a nuclear reactor and two plutonium warheads that have since lain at the bottom of the sea, 180 kilometers southwest of Bear Island, in the Svalbard archipelago. And according to the most complete study carried out to date, published a few days ago in the scientific journal PNASthe Komsomolets remains an active source of radioactive contamination in the Arctic. The discovery. In 2019, a Norwegian research team went down with the Ægir 6000 underwater robot to thoroughly inspect the submarine using cutting-edge technology. As they approached the ventilation tube they found a visibly distorted column of water, as if it were smoke, as you can see in the video immediately after this block. It is a leak with intermittent behavior. They took samples and the results were overwhelming: concentrations of Cesium-137 800,000 times the normal radiation of seawater in the area and Strontium-90 400,000 times. Both isotopes are direct products of nuclear reactor fission. The analysis shows that the radiation comes from the propulsion system (the nuclear reactor) and that the reactor fuel is in the process of corrosion with the environment. Why is it important. The good news is that this radioactive leak does not come from the nuclear warheads: two torpedoes with atomic warheads. For now, that threat is under control: the Soviets sealed the torpedo compartment with titanium plates in the early 1990s and judging by analysis, the sealing continues to work because they have not detected weapons-grade plutonium in the marine environment. The bad news is the reactor. It does not explode or disappear, but simply the zirconium cylinders that protect the uranium and plutonium are corroding, leaking these isotopes into the sea in a slow and invisible leak that is diluted in the ocean. Fortunately, samples taken in relatively close areas show that dilution is rapid, as they return values ​​close to normal. In fact, the hull is full of sponges, corals and anemones and its samples contain low traces of cesium-137, but without detectable damage. Context. Man-made radioactivity in the oceans has three main sources according to the International Atomic Energy Agency: the atmospheric nuclear tests of the 60s and 70s, the Chernobyl accident and the authorized discharges from the Sellafield and La Hague reprocessing plants, in the United Kingdom and France respectively. The sunken nuclear submarines, where the Komsomolets would enter, have a marginal contribution. Their importance is more qualitative than quantitative: they are point sources, localized and that tend to worsen over time. After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, the Soviet Union came under great international pressure. When the Komsomolets sank three years later, Moscow organized inspection missions with MIR submersibles. When he confirmed that the warheads had been in contact with sea water, he acted: in 1994, with the economy in free fall and western funds involvedRussian technicians they sealed the cracks of the torpedo compartment with titanium plates. Since 2007, Norway has undertaken regular monitoring of the wreck as part of its nuclear safety responsibilities in the Arctic. Current risk status. For now the nuclear warheads are contained, their sealing works and there are no signs of weapons-grade plutonium in the water. The reactor is the active problem now: the fuel is corroding, the emissions are real, and the research team does not understand why they are intermittent or what the rate is. Any attempt to recover or physically manipulate the submarine would probably be more dangerous than leaving it where it is, since if the radioactive materials reached the atmosphere, the contamination could reach land with worse consequences than today. . A nuclear laboratory under the sea. The research team has two goals ahead: to understand why the leak is intermittent and whether that corrosion rate is accelerating over time. Inadvertently, the Komsomolets is now a natural laboratory to study what happens to submerged nuclear reactors in the long term. Information that is not trivial, given the number of nuclear devices that sleep on the seabed. In Xataka | Russia’s most advanced nuclear submarine was a secret. Until Ukraine has revealed everything, including its failures In Xataka | The Soviet Union needed to save millions of people from hunger so something was invented: the art of making sausages Cover | Karina Victoria

The last thing was a Navy submarine for 130,000 euros

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The Spanish Navy embarked on the path of renewal some time ago, one in which the old glories are left without a place and must make way for new generations. Within this strategy, Spain put up for sale last year one of the last submarines of the S-70 family, a Tramuntana which for almost 40 years was the backbone of the country’s submarine force. The price? Little more than what it costs Xiaomi SU7 Ultraand it is an important step in the cycle of weapons renewal in which Spain finds itself. What you pay. The S-74, baptized ‘Tramontana’, was the fourth of the Navy’s S-70 series submarines. Based on the French designs of the Augustaleft the shipyards of the old Navantia in 1984 and served the Navy since 1985. With about 68 meters in length, capacity for 60 crew members, four torpedo tubes and a propulsion system with a double diesel engine of 3,600 HP and an electric engine of about 3,500 kW, the submarine could last up to 45 days without surfacing. After participating in numerous exercises and the occasional international deployment, his moment came in February 2024. After 38 years of service, and after a stretch in his useful life while awaiting the ddeployment of the first S-80the Tramontana was decommissioned and immobilized at the docks of the Cartagena Military Arsenal, ready to await its fate. What you take. In May of last year, the BOE published a resolution detailing the sale of the Tramontana. As is usually the case with this type of sales, it is not about anyone arriving and being able to get hold of a military submarine: the operation aims to serve as scrap metal. The base price was set at 138,468.53 euros and whoever was interested had to leave a provisional deposit of the base price: 27,693.70 euros. The final deposit will also be 20% of the amount reached in the auction. Is it easy to sell one of these things? Not at all, and if not… Ask the Prince of Asturias. The legendary Spanish aircraft carrier that was once the spearhead of the Navy also went up for auction after completing service. After having to repeat them with succulent discounts because no one wanted it even for scrap, he undertook a last trip to the Aliaga ship cemetery in Türkiye, where it ended up scrapped. In fact, the BOE already contemplates in these operations that, if no one opts for it, three additional auctions will be held, one every seven days and with a 15% discount compared to the previous auction if the previous one is void. Emblematic. For some it will be sad, but when something so enormous reaches its life cycle, there are only two alternatives: keep it as an element of maneuvers for training or auction it to recover money and have it scrapped. Unlike the aircraft carrier, the S-73 Mistral submarine has already been acquired by a scrapping company in Cartagena. A third option is to display it, but it is something much easier to do with a plane than with a submarine (although there are some, of course, as a museum ship). Scrapping. Speaking of the Mistral, after decommissioning it in 2021 after 35 years of service, it sold for 150,000 euros to a scrapyard that dismantled the vehicle to recover the valuable metals inside. The starting price was slightly lower than that of the Tramontana: 136,078.53 euros. Inflation affects everything. If we get philosophical, it is a bitter end for a submarine that, for decades, acted as a protection element in the Mediterranean. He participated in several NATO missions, but perhaps the most remembered operation was when he patrolled the waters around the Perejil islet in the dispute with Morocco in 2011. The S-73 Mistral, to get an idea of ​​the size Renewal. In the most pragmatic sense, it is still a 40-year-old submarine, so it didn’t make much sense to sell it to other nations (especially when looking for clients for the S-80newer and whose sale would help defray the costs of development). Because Spain has been creating for years – not without a few problems – its new fleet, the aforementioned S-80. They represent a generational leap in absolutely all their capacities, and they held out for the S-74 as long as possible until the arrival of the S-81 Isaac Peral. Now, the only one of the veteran submarines operational is a S-71 Galerna which keeps alive that strategy of at least two ‘live’ submarines at a time in terms of defense. And when the next units of the S-80 begin to arrive, the easiest thing is for the S-71 to have the same fate as its brothers the Siroco, the Mistral and the Tramontana. It’s still the weapons cycle, which can be stretched to a certain point, but when the time comes… better to get some money than have a dead asset. Images | José María González, Alberto Hernandez In Xataka | The new fear of Western fleets is not nuclear. They are conventional submarines armed with surprise and a flag: China

The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it

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It has been at the bottom of the sea for more than two decades, forgotten. But now, finally, the TAT-8, the first fiber optic cable that crossed the Atlantic and connected us to the Internet, is being removed from its place. And to understand the importance of this, it is worth telling its story, since perhaps the Internet would not be as we know it without this cable. The cable that started it all. On December 14, 1988, AT&T, British Telecom and France Telecom developed TAT-8, the acronym for Trans-Atlantic Telephone 8. It was the eighth transoceanic cable system between Europe and the United States, but the first to use optical fiber. Before him, transatlantic cables ran on copper, with very limited capacity. With the TAT-8, voices and data traveled converted into pulses of light through glass threads thinner than a hair. Just like account Wired in its report, at the inaugural event, writer Isaac Asimov connected by video call from New York with audiences in Paris and London to celebrate, in his own words, “this inaugural voyage across the sea on a ray of light.” Why was it so important? When it came into operation, the Internet was still too technical a concept for the general public. But the TAT-8 literally built the highway on which everything later circulated. The curious thing is that in just 18 months it already reached its maximum capacity, so this forced new cables to be laid as soon as possible, especially after the outbreak of the world Wide Webelectronic commerce and in a context in which the Internet became increasingly relevant. By 2001 the TAT series had already reached 14. Disconnection. Just like account In the middle, in 2002, the TAT-8 suffered a breakdown, and repairing it was not worth it, it was that simple. With more modern and higher capacity cables already operational, it made no sense to invest in their recovery. It went offline and was abandoned at the bottom of the Atlantic, where it has remained for more than two decades. Now they are taking it out of the sea. According to collect Wired, a specialist company called Subsea Environmental Services is physically recovering the cable with its vessel MV Maasvliet. It is one of the few companies in the world whose entire business consists of recovering and recycling retired submarine cables. The operation involves dragging a flat hook across the seabed, waiting hours until tension is felt in the cable, and then hoisting it aboard meter by meter. The workers they explain As the ocean floor is an increasingly crowded space, and recovering old cables frees up routes for new ones. What is done with the remains. The TAT-8 is not thrown away. Fiber optic cables contain high purity copper, steel and polyethylene, all recyclable materials with market value. Copper, especially, is a valuable resource and may become scarce in a few years. And according to the International Energy Agency, in less than a decade could be scarce if the industry does not find new sources. On the other hand, the steel of the cable will end up being converted into fences, and the plastic, processed in the Netherlands, will be transformed into pellets to manufacture non-food packaging. In fact, just as they count At Wired, you may soon be using shampoo in a bottle made from remains of the first fiber optic cable to cross the Atlantic. Sharks. Curiously, the TAT-8 is at the epicenter of one of the legends that has lasted the longest in this sector: that sharks bite internet cables. Just like share In the middle, it all started with a test prior to the TAT-8, the Optican-1, which ended up failing due to problems in its insulation. A Bell Labs engineer appeared at a conference with shark teeth that had supposedly been removed from the damaged cable. The story spread instantly. As well as point At the time, AT&T even included four pages on protection against shark bites in its press kit for TAT-8. Actually, there has never been consensus about whether the sharks really caused that damage. Subsequent tests in aquariums, where they were starved to see if they would bite into wires with electric fields, did not yield any clear patterns. At least the outcome of all that testing and debate was positive, as engineers added a layer of steel between the insulation and the fibers, which improved the cable’s overall resistance to abrasions and damage of all kinds. Cover image | What’s Inside? In Xataka | In 1901, a Spanish man had one of the ideas of the century: invent the remote control before television

An “invisible” Russian submarine has set off alarms in the Arctic. Europe’s response: Atlantic Bastion

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The launching of the Khabarovskthe new and ultra-quiet Russian submarine capable of deploying nuclear torpedoes Poseidonhas reactivated a fear that had been latent for decades in cities like London: the possibility that the naval balance of the Atlantic is once again tilting in favor of Moscow. The response from the United Kingdom has been forceful, and it is called Atlantic Bastion. Submarine warfare. Although the public image of the Russian threat usually revolves around research vessels like Yantarsuspected of mapping and potentially manipulating underwater cables and pipes, European specialists know that what is truly disturbing lies much further down. Russia has spent decades reducing the acoustic signature of its submarines to levels that they border on invisibilitycombining new propulsion systems, composite coatings and virtually undetectable cooling pumps. In this environment, where silence is power, a ghost submarine with nuclear capacity alters not only the sea routes, but the very heart of the strategic infrastructures that connect Europe with the world. UK reinvents itself. Faced with the resurgent threat from Khabarovskthe Royal Navy has launched what they have called as Atlantic Bastiona plan designed to restore British strategic advantage in its own and allied waters. Its origin is not new and it we have counted before: the United Kingdom has been monitoring the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap (GIUK gap) since before the creation of NATO, and the Second World War already demonstrated that controlling that maritime corridor was essential to prevent enemy forces from slipping into the North Atlantic. But what used to be destroyers and acoustic sweeps is becoming a hybrid framework that combines Type 26 frigates equipped with new generation sonar, aircraft P-8 Poseidon capable of patrolling thousands of kilometers and, above all, swarms of underwater drones equipped with artificial intelligence. According to the Ministry of Defensethis architecture aims to detect, classify and follow any enemy submarine that tries to penetrate British or Irish waters, and to do so constantly, autonomously and with an unprecedented range. The algorithms arrive. The core of the project will be Atlantic Neta distributed network of autonomous underwater gliders equipped with acoustic sensors and guided by artificial intelligence systems capable of recognize sound signatures with a level of precision that until a few years ago was little less than the preserve of science fiction. Unlike the SOSUS of the Cold War, based on gigantic fixed hydrophones placed on the seabed, the new generation will be mobile, expandable and adaptable to the routes and behaviors of increasingly soundproof submarines. The ultimate ambition is to deploy hundreds of cheap, persistent units that together create aa surveillance mesh much harder to evade. The metaphor is revealing: if finding a silent submarine is like searching for a needle in an oceanic haystack, modern technology makes it possible to exponentially multiply the number of searching hands. Khabarovk The technological challenge of hunting shadows. However, even with this technological revolution, experts warn that detecting new Russian submarines will continue to be an extremely complex undertaking. Since the 1980s, Moscow has drastically reduced lacoustic emissions of its fleet, which requires combining passive and active sensors and complex configurations such as bistatic sonar, where one vessel emits a pulse and another collects the echo. These techniques require coordination, multiple platforms, and significant sensor density, something that Atlantic Bastionaims to provide but it is still far from being deployed on a full scale. The arrival of the Type 26 frigates, designed to be the flagship of British anti-submarine warfare, is fundamental to this purpose, as is the cooperation with Norway and other allies that are also strengthening their capabilities in the North Atlantic. The Russian Bastion Puzzle. Even if Atlantic Bastion managed to limit the presence of Russian attack submarines in the Atlantic, there is one dimension that no Western system can solve: Russian strategic submarines already they don’t need to abandon its own bastion in the Arctic to threaten Europe or the United States. Its intercontinental ballistic missiles can hit targets thousands of kilometers without moving from the Barents Sea or the White Sea, protected by layers of defenses and favorable geographical conditions. There they play a hiding place lethal where the West cannot penetrate without significantly escalating the conflict. The paradox is clear: the United Kingdom can reinforce its waters and monitor every meter of the GIUK gapbut it cannot deny the Russian nuclear capacity deployed in its natural refuge, a reality that frames the entire British effort within a logic of containment rather than domination. An underwater chess. If you want, Atlantic Bastion ultimately represents the recognition that underwater competition has returned with a vengeance, now fueled for digital capabilitiesdistributed sensors and autonomous platforms that transform the nature of ocean surveillance. The North Atlantic once again becomes a stage silent maneuvers where Russia and the United Kingdom measure their technological resistance in an environment reminiscent of the Cold War, but with algorithms and autonomy as new weapons. A career that is not decided by great battles, but by the ability to listen better, process faster and anticipate invisible movements. In this theater of shadows, the advantage is not whoever shoots the most, but rather whoever is able to detect first (already happens in Ukraine). Thus, Atlantic Bastion aspires to return that capacity to the British, although the contest that is opening now does not look like it will be brief nor simple: In the depths of the Atlantic, the prelude to the next era of strategic rivalry between Russia and the West is underway. Image | SEVMASH/VKONTAKTE In Xataka | A Russian submarine has appeared off the coast of France. And Europe’s reaction has been surprising: have a laugh In Xataka | Russia’s most advanced nuclear submarine was a secret. Until Ukraine has revealed everything, including its failures

to develop its own nuclear submarine

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Brazil takes almost half a century pursuing an ambition that no other Latin American country has managed to pursue: developing its own nuclear-powered submarine. This objective takes shape around the “Alvaro Alberto”, a project that combines specialized infrastructure, technology transfer and a naval nuclear program that launched late 1970s. It is not an operational submarine nor an immediate advance, but it is a plan with specific pieces in place that explain why the country has located itself in a terrain reserved for very few countries in the world. The official documentation It places its launch in 2023. It is a work forecast within the program calendar, not a closed guarantee. The initiative aims at a submarine significantly more complex than the diesel-electric propulsion ones used by the region. It is a platform that will combine its own nuclear reactor with combat systems and sensors derived from those used in conventional submarines of the Riachuelo classdeveloped from the Scorpène family, but adapted to a hull of greater length and displacement. It is a conventionally armed attack submarine, with nuclear propulsion but without nuclear weapons, in line with nonproliferation commitments assumed by Brazil. Nuclear propulsion would allow operation without the need to go to the surface to recharge batteries, extending the range and discretion in prolonged missions, and according to data released by Nuclepthe state company that manufactures part of the hull, the design will be around 100 meters in length and 6,000 tons in displacement. Half a century to reach a Brazilian nuclear submarine The Brazilian nuclear submarine project is better understood if we go back to the seventies, when the Navy started its own program to master the fuel cycle and develop nuclear technology applied to propulsion. That effort was born with the idea of reduce external dependencies and guarantee that Brazil could advance in sensitive areas without being conditioned by foreign suppliers. Over time, the Marinha Nuclear Program was consolidated, which laid the foundations for designing a naval reactor autonomously. That line of work is what, decades later, leads to the current attempt to build a nuclear-powered submarine. The current structure of the project is not understood without the PROSUBthe program signed with France in 2008 that drove the construction of shipyards, docks and specialized workshops in Itaguaí. Thanks to that agreement, Brazil incorporated technologies from the Scorpène family and formed teams capable of producing advanced conventional submarines. The Riachuelo class units served as an industrial and operational learning stage, showing that the country could undertake a complex construction process. This journey is what allows us to consider the transition towards a nuclear-powered submarine developed in Brazilian territory. A Riachuelo-class submarine The concept of Blue Amazon summarizes the importance that Brazil gives to its maritime space, an area of ​​millions of square kilometers where strategic resources and key routes are concentrated. Surveillance of this environment requires means capable of operate for long periods without depending on stopovers or frequent recharges. The infrastructure developed in Itaguaí, together with the support network deployed on the coast, provides the logistics base for that type of operations. In this framework, the Navy considers that a nuclear-powered submarine would provide the necessary autonomy to reinforce its presence in the South Atlantic. Before there is an operational submarine, Brazil must demonstrate that it can safely integrate a naval reactor, and that work is done at LABGENEa ground module that reproduces the key systems of the future “Álvaro Alberto”. The prototype incorporates a pressurized water reactor of national design and uses fuel produced by the nuclear program itself under international supervision. Testing the plant on land allows failures to be identified and performance optimized without the risks that would entail doing so inside the hull. This phase constitutes the most demanding technical element of the project. The current situation of the “Álvaro Alberto” reflects a balance between what has already been built and what has yet to be completed. On the one hand, Brazil has a defined design in its master lines, an industrial chain cpeaceful to produce sections of the submarine and nuclear development that progresses within the facilities planned for it. On the other hand, the final integration of the reactor, propulsion systems and hull will require time, testing and independent supervision. The program advances with a gradual logic, typical of a project that aspires to a technological level unprecedented in the region. If the project is completed, Brazil would become part of the small group of countries capable of operating a nuclear-powered submarine, a leap that would have a clear impact on the naval balance of the South Atlantic. It would also be the first ship of this type in Latin America, a circumstance that reinforces the strategic weight of the program and explains the sustained interest of the Navy. This progress, however, is conditioned by political continuity, non-proliferation commitments and the costs associated with maintaining such a specialized industrial chain for decades. The result will depend on the country’s ability to sustain that effort in the long term. Images | Brazilian Navy (CC BY-SA 2.0) In Xataka | The shortest launch in history: a million-dollar luxury yacht sank just 200 meters from the dock

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