US submarine equipped with silent engine
The US Navy has tested a new generation engine on a submarine that makes no noise at all.
As part of the modernization trials, a new magnetohydrodynamic drive (MHD) was installed on the Virginia-class submarine USS Montana, which does not emit any sound during operation.
Currently, the submarine’s appearance and characteristics are being kept secret, but it is known that the propulsion system is located inside the hull, which means there is no traditional propeller. According to British experts, the only external signs of the modernized USS Montana are probably horizontal large-diameter water intake holes in the bow.
The technology of the magnetohydrodynamic engine began to spread in the middle of the last century, but it has not been developed to date. The drive is based on superconducting magnets that create a magnetic field that maintains traction. The engine has no moving parts and does not create waves, and is therefore completely silent. Such a submarine is harder to spot on passive sonar.
