Which Country's Military Controls The Most Submarines?

Submarines may not be as eye-catching as fighter jets or as massive as aircraft carriers. Yet submarines, sometimes called boats, are plenty capable of causing destruction. As weapons that control sea lines of communication, they serve as strategic nuclear deterrents and are armed with missiles that can take out enemy ships. In one modeling exercise, a diesel-powered sub even "sunk" a $6 billion aircraft carrier. Because they are extremely difficult to detect, the U.S. Navy has given them the nickname "The Silent Service."

Many nations do not publicize the exact number of boats in their submarine fleets for national security. However, there are several reliable sources that comb through the data that is available to give us good estimates of how many boats each country has. Time and again, the United States has been shown to have more submarines than any other nation, with 71 boats in total. Let's dive in to what that fleet entails and what other countries are close behind the United States.

The U.S. fleet includes 53 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), and four guided missile submarines (SSGN). The Los Angeles-class is the oldest type of boat in service, and there are 23 operating today. The initial submarine of this class was first deployment back in 1976, and they're expected to stay in service until the 2030s. These subs are in the process of being phased out and replaced by Virginia-class submarines, of which there are currently 23 commissioned. 

Three Seawolf-class submarines are also used by the U.S. Navy. Although it was originally planned to have 29 boats of this class, the end of the Cold War made such a huge fleet of attack boats unnecessary. They were also very expensive to produce, so the U.S. government pivoted to creating more Virginia-class submarines instead. The U.S. Navy is building roughly one new submarine per year to round out the fleet.

There is also the nuclear missile-carrying Ohio-class, of which there are 14 boats in service. Each one of these subs was designed to be able to carry a maximum of 24 submarine-launched ballistic nuclear missiles, although this has since been dropped to 20 under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Four other Ohio-class subs have been converted from ballistic missile platforms into conventional land attack and special operations units as well. The U.S. Navy also has plans to phase out the Ohio-class subs with the new Columbia-class boats starting in late 2030 or 2031.

The second-largest submarine fleet is operated by the Russian Navy, which keeps a fleet of 64 boats. This includes 16 SSBNs, 11 SSGNs, 14 SSNs, and 23 diesel-electric attack submarines. In August 2024, Ukraine announced that it had destroyed one of Russia's submarines in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Estimates suggest that China comes in third on the list of the countries with the most submarines with at least 61 boats in its fleet. This includes six SSBNs, six SSNs, and 48 diesel-powered or air-independent-powered attack submarines. This is up from the 56 submarines that were previously reported just two years prior, and the U.S. Department of Defense released a report saying it expects the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to have 80 submarines by 2035.

These three countries by far have the most submarines, although several others have a considerable amount. Iran is next on the list with 25, followed by Japan and South Korean with 24 and 22 submarines, respectively. Meanwhile, India has 18, North Korea and Turkey both have 13, and Greece has 10. Still, none beat out the U.S., which tops the list.