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Article: Undersea Espionage: Nuclear vs. Fast Attack Subs
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- Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, andSecurity
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Undersea Espionage: Nuclear vs. Fast Attack Subs
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JUDSON KNIGHT
In developing its submarines, the United States has tended to pursue technical, rather than numerical, superiority. Such was the case during the Cold War, when the United States led in nuclear submarine development while the Soviets marshaled a much larger submarine fleet. After the Cold War concluded, Washington was faced with the possible threat of non-nuclear submarine deployment by third world nations.
U.S. Submarines
During the Cold War, there were two principal types of U.S. submarines, the fast attack submarine (SSN) and the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), nicknamed the "boomer." ...