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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Technology
Charlie Jones

Batman-style £1.3m submarine with folding wings and adaptive lighting goes on sale

A manta ray-shaped armoured private submarine worth £1.3million has gone on sale.

The Kronos Submarine, which looks like something out of a Batman movie, can accommodate ten passengers and is suitable for commercial, rescue and combat operations.

Suffolk and UAE-based Highland Systems say the hybrid vessel “brings a whole new concept into the production of submarines across the world."

The futuristic hydrodynamic design features folding wings for transportation and "an innovative hull design which significantly reduces fuel consumption, increases maximum speed, and provides superior stability."

At nine metres long, the Kronos can hit 80kmph on water and 50kmph under the waves.

The Kronos submarine can be towed by a standard road vehicle when out the water (Highland Systems / SWNS)

It can reach depths of up to 250 metres and has an air supply that would last for 36 hours.

A hybrid propulsion system - diesel and electric - generates 1,200 horsepower, and gives 54 hours travel time.

The interior has adaptive lighting, air conditioning and an automated life support system.

Plans for the craft also suggest torpedoes could be carried for military applications.

The company say the Kronos would be made in the UAE, but a delivery date has not yet been announced.

The submarine can go as deep as 250 metres (Highland Systems / SWNS)

Highland Systems also make a unique superyacht called 'trimaran', which can accommodate up to six guests on board along with six crew members including the captain.

But Highland Systems don't limit themselves to watercraft, also producing a wide range of wheeled vehicles, all looking more futuristic than the last.

Submarines have been an important part of military conflict since the early 20th Century up until now.

Earlier this year the Russian Navy deployed a new super-submarine which is capable of destroying coastal cities.

The 600-foot long Belgorod weighs 30,000 tonnes and is equipped with six 80-foot long Poseidon nuclear torpedoes.

Its astonishing size makes the Belgorod the largest submarine to have been built in the last four decades, while the Poseidon is the largest torpedo ever built anywhere in the world and is twice the size of a usual submarine-launched ballistic missile.

One of Britain's top nuclear subs, HMS Audacious arrived in Gibraltar earlier this year as tensions ramped up between Putin and the UK.

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