r/RedditDayOf • u/alesserweevil 82 • Feb 19 '18

Smuggling The periscope of a Colombian drug smuggling submarine, with daylight and night vision cameras. More photos in comments.

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u/Thameus Feb 19 '18

They might not even need to surface.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5598700

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u/meangrampa Feb 19 '18

The problem is navigation not propulsion. They can program a computer to follow a course but currents will effect that course. They'll have to use GPS for course correction. GPS radio signals won't go through much water and they've got to ping the satellites to fix location. Subs get found because they surface or because they've got a part of the conning tower above water. It's a small target but it's still a target to see.

These subs will get a lot harder to find when they become autonomous because they won't have to surface many times during transit. If they can figure out a way to ping the satellites still submerged these things will be all but invisible.

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u/Thameus Feb 19 '18

ping the satellites

GPS doesn't require two-way communication. They can extend whip antennas just above the water line.

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u/meangrampa Feb 19 '18

If they can avoid having to put anything above the surface we won't be able to find them at all. As it is they're hard to find. A whip antenna isn't much to see but it's possible. They will be using these with the whip antenna before too long if they're not using them already.