Today’s military submarines often run on nuclear power, which keeps them from having to put into port every few days for fuel. So how long can they stay at sea?
Nuclear reactors are amazing pieces of technology. They’re clean sources of energy, generate tons of power around the world, and keep American aircraft carriers and submarines at sea. U.S. subs’ nuclear power plants are among the components that make them such marvelous machines. Sure, there’s the ability of military submarines to essentially stay underwater indefinitely, use sound to navigate the world’s oceans, dive to depths that would crush most anything else manmade, and launch cruise missiles while submerged. But it’s the nuclear reactor that lets these impressive metal tubes stay at sea between 15 and 20 years before they need to return to port to refuel.
The submarines in the U.S. Navy’s bigger-than-you-think submarine fleet are built to be in service for nearly half a century. The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarines are being replaced with newer Virginia-class boats, but they’ve been in service since 1976, meaning they’ve only needed to refuel two or three times throughout their entire lifespan.
