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Old 04-02-09, 03:58 AM   #5
bottomcrawler
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TLAM, it's a bit difficult reading white text on a light-grey background.

What I meant, however, was not a complete AIP system for all propulsive need, but rather a "crawl" system, so that you can save your stored oxygen and keep the batteries fully charged for bursts of speed, and not waste them just swimming about at a few knots.
You don't need 4.4 MW to propel the sub at 2-3 kts! Imagine instead a system capable of, say, 100-200 kW. Using your numbers, that would mean no more than 20-40 tons. But I also think that your numbers relate to stand-alone units with all subsystems included. In a large array, some parts are likely only needed once or a few times, lowering the total weight.
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