Chinese Navy At least the Type 039B/C submarines are fitted with photonics masts.
French Navy The
Marine Nationale's new nuclear attack submarines, the
Suffren class, comes with an optronics mast with the following sensors: • High resolution day camera • 3rd generation
MWIR camera in 3-5 μm band •
Low light level camera (LLLTV) for night use in the visible spectrum with anti-glare system •
Laser rangefinder The mast is manufactured by
Sagem (now
Safran). The same mast can be found on the export oriented conventional attack submarines made by
Naval Group. The Elektropribor Central Research Institute has also developed the
Parus-98 photonics mast for the conventional
Lada-class submarines and the export market (
Parus-98E).
United States Navy In 2004, the
United States Navy began fitting photonics masts to s. According to the US Navy: In
Virginia-class boats, traditional periscopes have been supplanted by two Photonics Masts that house color, high-resolution black and white, and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms. With the removal of the barrel periscopes, the ships’
control room has been moved down one deck and away from the hull’s curvature, affording it more room and an improved layout that provides the
commanding officer with enhanced
situational awareness. ==References==