Submarine navigation

Submarine navigation underwater requires special skills and technologies not needed by surface ships.

Operating in stealth mode, they cannot use their active sonar systems to ping ahead for underwater hazards such as undersea mountains, drilling rigs or other submarines.

Surfacing to obtain navigational fixes is precluded by pervasive anti-submarine warfare detection systems such as radar and satellite surveillance.

Surfaced submarines entering and leaving port navigate similarly to traditional ships but with a few extra considerations because most of the boat rides below the waterline, making them hard for other vessels to see and identify.

Submarines carry an inertial navigation system, which measures the boat’s motion and constantly updates position.