Astute vs. Virginia: Which Submarine is Superior?

A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for conventional submarines.

The idea for a nuclear-powered submarine was first proposed in the United States Navy by the Naval Research Laboratory's physicist Ross Gunn in 1939. The Royal Navy began researching designs for nuclear propulsion plants in 1946.

Construction of the world's first nuclear-powered submarine was made possible by the successful development of a nuclear propulsion plant by a group of scientists and engineers in the United States at the Naval Reactors Branch of the Bureau of Ships and the Atomic Energy Commission.

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