If you want detailed information, I suggest you google for it. But I shall attempt a short response to each question.
1. Submarines are boats that submerge, the original stealth warship. Submarines are mostly propelled by diesel electric. Since their engines run on electric batteries for a short period, most diesel electric submarines snorkle when running on their diesels. When snorkeling a submarine is noisy, when on batteries they are quiet. Some of the newest diesel electric submarines have air independent propulsion, an add-on fuel cell or Stirling engine. The AIP allows a submarine to travel further underwater than using the batteries with much more silence than snorkeling. Submarines are mostly armed with torpedoes, some have long range missiles to sink suface vessels, a few have tomahawk missiles for longer range strikes against land targets.
2. There is no advantage over nuclear propulsion, even the AIP equipped submarines have limited range, although much more range than running on batteries. Nuclear propulsion allows the submarine to stay deep for the entire cruise, only going to periscope depth to either use the periscope or to receive radio signals.
3. Attack submarines are used to sink enemy shipping, whether commercial or military. Submarines are also useful for covert operations landing elite forces to scout behind enemy lines. Some submarines have ballistic missiles which attempt to hide near their ballistic missile launch
position for most of the cruise.
4. AIP equipped diesel electric submarines are the rage currently. Some submarines are smaller and don't have the range or the weapons load of the larger submarines.
5. Every shipbuilder claims theirs is the quietest. Go figure.
6. You should be able to find details of specs at
www.naval-technology.com for most of the submarines in the world today. Too many to list in a short response.
Canada's Navy has a very good ASW capability. They patrol the Strait of San Juan de Fuco between the Olympic penninsula of Washington state and Vancouver Island. Canada plays the game of attempting to find American submarines departing and arriving our submarine base near Brementon, Washington, and likewise American submarines attempt to run the strait without being discovered.
You can take this to the bank. If Canadian frigates were very successful in discovering American nuclear propelled ballistic missile and attack submarines, new QUIETER American design submarines would be in the cards.
The average cost of a diesel electric submarine is around $300 million American, similar to the price of a well armed frigate. The average cost of a nuclear propelled submarine is closing in at $2 billion American. This should explain why America, United Kingdom, France, China, India, and Russia have nuclear propelled submarines.
). The South Koreans are also accomplished SSK operators.
