What You Need to Know: Submarines have evolved to become faster, stealthier, and more maneuverable with each iteration. The five fastest submarines include the British Vanguard-class, China's Shang-class, Russia's Yasen-M-class, and the U.S. Navy's Virginia and Seawolf classes.

-The Vanguard-class boasts impressive depth and speed, while the Shang-class highlights China's growing naval capabilities.

-Russia's Yasen-M class stands out for its hypersonic missile capacity.

-The Virginia class is a versatile successor to the Los Angeles-class, and the Seawolf class, despite its high cost, remains the fastest and most advanced submarine, posing a significant threat to adversaries.

Seawolf to Shang: The Fastest Submarines Patrolling the Oceans

Submarines may be an older technological platform, but each iteration gets better than the last. 

Submarines are meant to be stealthy. More than that, though, subs must possess a high degree of speed and the ability to dive fast. They also must be highly maneuverable. 

The list below, while far from comprehensive, uses those qualities to determine the five best fast submarines in the world.

5. Vanguard-Class Submarine

Once the greatest naval power in the world, the British Royal Navy today is a shadow of its former glory. Nevertheless, the British still possess some capabilities that make them competitive at sea. The Vanguard-class nuclear-powered submarine is an excellent heir to the legacy of the great imperial navy that came before it. 

Designed to fight the Cold War, these boats for now are still the primary submarine of the Royal Navy. 

A Vanguard-class submarine displaces just shy of 16,000 tons when submerged. She’s powered by one Rolls Royce pressurized water-cooled nuclear reactor that supplies steam to two sets of General Electric geared turbines delivering 27,500 horsepower to one shaft. 

Her speed is a respectable 28 miles per hour. She can also dive in excess of 1,300 feet. The numbers don’t lie. The Vanguard class is a solid sub. 

4. Shang-Class Submarine

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy is steadily advancing its submarine capabilities to rival those of the Americans, Russians, and other advanced navies. The nuclear-powered Shang-class leads the way. 

The Shang class has a 7,000-ton displacement and can carry around 100 crewmembers. Its top cruising speed is about 30 knots, or 34 miles per hour, and these boats can dive down to 2,296 feet.

As for this submarine’s maneuverability, one analyst has written that, “China can ensure that [the Shang-class] submarine has a breakthrough in underwater navigation performance, and the nuclear power propulsion system has sufficient power to match the hull tonnage. Under better circumstances, [the Shang-class] is entirely possible to achieve relatively excellent underwater speed and underwater maneuverability.” 

3. Yasen-M-class Submarine

Russia may be more of a continental power rather than a maritime power, but the Russian Navy can build some remarkable underwater systems. 

The Yasen-M class is especially impressive. Recently, the Russians converted this class of “tough” Russian subs (as Business Insider labeled them in 2023) into hypersonic missile carriers, making the Yasen-M the only active submarine in the world capable of deploying these next-level weapons. In June, the Russians deployed one of these boats in a flotilla to Cuba, skirting the U.S. Eastern seaboard in the process. 

The Yasen-M can cruise up to 35 knots (40 miles per hour) and can safely dive to about 1,968 feet. She displaces around 13,800 tons. 

In all, the Russians have one of the speediest, most lethal undersea platforms in existence today. Americans underestimate the Yasen-M at their own peril.

2. Virginia-class Submarine

When America went looking for a replacement for the iconic Los Angeles-class attack submarine, it first landed on the highly complex but expensive Seawolf class. 

Sadly, that submarine’s cost and the lack of a Soviet enemy made Congress rethink its decision to make the Seawolf class the new primary attack submarine for America’s Navy. Sent back to the drawing board, the Navy produced the Virginia class. 

A Virginia-class submarine goes about 28 miles per hour. Because the boats are relatively new, the Navy is not as forthcoming with certain design details. For example, the Navy is coy about this sub’s maximum operating depth, listing it as “more than 800 feet.” It carries 15 officers and 117 enlisted personnel as well. 

A highly maneuverable and fast submarine, the Virginia-class is one of the finest attack submarines ever built. 

1. Seawolf-class Submarine

Now for the blue label of modern submarines, the U.S. Navy’s Seawolf class. As noted above, this boat was meant to replace the Los Angeles-class attack subs beginning in the early 1990s, until Congress got cold feet. 

At roughly $4.3 billion per unit, one can hardly blame them. But given the kind of threat environment the U.S. faces today, a fleet of these submarines might have been the best long-term investment the Navy could have made.

Alas, there’s no going back. The Navy currently possesses only three of these submarines, and there are no plans to reconstitute the production line. Besides, the Navy prefers the Virginia-class submarine, which, while a versatile and fast boat as you just read, has limits to its speed and maneuverability that the Seawolf class does not share.

This boat can go in excess of 35 miles per hour. The Seawolf class is highly maneuverable and can dive up to 2,000 feet, with a maximum crush depth ranging from 2,400 to 3,000 feet beneath the waves. 

The Seawolf-class submarine threat is widely believed to keep the Chinese and Russians up at night. It is not only the fastest submarine in the world today, it is also the best submarine ever built. 

Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock.

From the Vault

Russia Freaked Out: Why the U.S. Navy 'Unretired' the Iowa-Class Battleships

Battleship vs. Battlecruiser: Iowa-Class vs. Russia's Kirov-Class (Who Wins?)