How Seafloor-Crawling Subs on Wheels Could Change Ocean Warfare

Submarine warfare is deadly enough, especially considering that they carry some of the nuclear arsenal.

Now consider a radical proposal Robert Ballard recently gave at a U.S. Navy symposium: submarines with wheels that crawl on the seafloor.

It's an idea that has been dormant for at least 30 years, but the the gist is this: If subs can roll around at the bottom of the sea, in terrain that would normally threaten to puncture their hulls, then they could hide out in places where that terrain reflects radio waves and live invisible for a month at a time.

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