Sub 2000, as seen in Undersea Warfare magazine. U.S. Navy
Popular Mechanics: Here Is the Advanced Attack Submarine the U.S. Navy Never Built
The submarine, never built, would have been smaller than other subs and a mothership to drones.
A previously unpublicized design for the U.S. Navy shows an advanced attack submarine that could operate unmanned undersea vehicles remotely and conduct “spy” missions on the seabed floor. The unnamed design was never built, but it could hint at the future direction of the U.S. submarine fleet.
The sub design was discovered by open source intelligence Twitter account Intellipus and published online by researcher and author H.I. Sutton, author of the Covert Shores submarine blog and World Submarines: Covert Shores Recognition Guide. A mockup of the design was featured in a 2000 magazine article written by Rear Admiral Malcolm Fages. At time of publication Adm. Fages was the U.S. Navy's director of the Submarine Warfare Division.
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WNU Editor: This design was conceptualized around the year 2000 .... when aviation drones were first being explored and developed by the U.S. Air Force. My guess is that the US Navy wanted something similar .... but in the end decided to back away (probably because of the high costs involved).
