A 2,017-ton German submarine emerged off the northern tip of Scotland during a recent military exercise, giving British commandos a staging platform to reach shore by inflatable boat, climb the coastline, and direct the guns of a 401-foot Portuguese frigate at targets inland. The drill illustrated how allied forces carry out covert landings from submarines in contested coastal terrain.

The exercise brought together a mix of allied military units, combining submarine operations with overland commando movements in a realistic training scenario. Scenarios like this are increasingly common as NATO focuses on combined arms coastal tactics.

Separately, the Australian Naval Institute flagged risks about vulnerable procurement networks underpinning nuclear submarine programs, a warning that creates new urgency to long-term procurement planning for Australia's future submarine fleet. Analysts say supply chain resilience will be a deciding factor as Australia works toward standing up its submarine capability.