Your #3 isn't completely accurate. Nuclear attack submarines have a primary tactical role in that they're expected to destroy enemy ships and submarines with t

Your #3 isn't completely accurate. Nuclear attack submarines have a primary tactical role in that they're expected to destroy enemy ships and submarines with torpedoes. In peacetime they spend a lot of time shadowing vessels belonging to other countries collecting emissions and position data. And the land attack role isn't really about deterrence - that's what the boomers are for. Though I agree if you want to operate subs in far-flung seas you pretty much have to go with nuclear propulsion. Diesel subs (of which AIP are just the latest iteration) just don't have the legs. They're also not magical, as some people seem to think. You can detect them.