Perhaps its a case of the yin meeting the yang, but two new warships are entering service this month, one for the US Navy and the other serving with the Russian Navy. For the US, the Navy formally commissioned the nation’s seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) – USS Detroit (LCS 7) – on the Detroit River, officially placing the ship designed and constructed by a Lockheed Martin-led industry team into active service. More information on the ship and its capabilities can be found here: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2016/october/161022-rms-us-navy-commissions-newest-littoral-combat-ship.html?__prclt=1Ex7kode

On the other side of the ledger, and loitering beneath the waves is the Podmoskovie, which was commissioned way back in 1986 as a Project 667BDRM Delfin-class (NATO: Delta IV) SSBN designated K-64, colloquially known as a “boomer”. Over the course of nearly two decades, the massive submarine was modified to conduct special missions. But exactly what those missions might be remains somewhat of a mystery. According to The National Interest, “Podmoskovie and her sister BS-136 Orenburg—a former Delta III SSBN—are roughly analogous to the U.S. Navy’s secretive USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)—which is a highly modified Seawolf-class boat. Carter is roughly 100ft longer that her two Seawolf-class sisters with the addition of a Multi-Mission Platform (MMP), which allows the submarine to launch and recovery of various unmanned vehicles and support special operations forces. Podmoskovie is thought to be similar in concept—but the Russians are not exactly keen on sharing those details for obvious reasons.”

More information on the Podmoskovie can be found here: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-super-secret-spy-submarine-returns-sea-18171?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Early%20Bird%20Brief%2010.26.2016&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief