African Countries With Submarines: Full List

Only Algeria, Egypt and South Africa list submarines in service. Fleet sizes, classes, delivery dates, the Libyan exception and what the counts leave out.

Only three African countries with submarines are listed as operators today: Algeria, Egypt and South Africa. Libya’s Soviet-built Foxtrot boats are reported as non-operational, and no other African navy appears in the operator lists checked for this article. Between them the three operators list thirteen boats: six Kilo-class from Russia, four German-designed Type 209 boats in Egypt and three Heroine-class boats in South Africa. This article counts them, explains the method and shows where the numbers need care.

Method and Data Sources for African Countries With Submarines

The count covers crewed, diesel-electric attack submarines that a navy lists in its inventory. Boats on order, museum hulls and midget craft are excluded. Each entry is labelled in service, non-operational or reported, and a rumour is never counted as a boat.

Figures come from navy and builder announcements and from trade press, mainly defenceWeb and Naval News, plus Army Recognition for Algerian reports. The annual IISS Military Balance and the SIPRI arms transfer database could not be consulted for this piece, so readers who need audited yearly counts should check the latest editions. Several details below are dated, and the status of a boat can change at the time of publication.

Overview Table of African Submarine Fleets

Country	Class	Boats	Delivered or commissioned	Status
Algeria	Kilo, Project 877EKM	2	1987 to 1988	In service, refitted
Algeria	Kilo, Project 636E	2	2010	In service
Algeria	Kilo, Project 636	2	9 January 2019	In service
Egypt	Type 209/1400mod	4	December 2016 to July 2021	In service
South Africa	Heroine class (Type 209/1400mod)	3	2005 to 2008	Listed; availability limited, refit under way
Libya	Foxtrot	2 hulls listed	1970s and 1980s	Non-operational

Algeria: The Largest African Fleet

Algeria has the biggest fleet among African countries with submarines, with six Kilo-class boats from Russia. Two Project 877EKM boats, Rais Hadj Mubarek and El Hadj Slimane, arrived in 1987 and 1988. Two Project 636E boats followed in 2010, and the Project 636 pair Ouarsenis and Hoggar was commissioned on 9 January 2019 at Mers El Kébir, according to defenceWeb.

Published class data for the Project 636 give a length of about 72.6 metres, a submerged displacement near 3,076 tonnes, a crew of 52 and six 533 mm torpedo tubes. The design can launch Kalibr-family cruise missiles in export form. Algeria has not published the loadout of its own boats, and Army Recognition notes the claim is unverified for Algerian service.

Further orders are reported but unconfirmed. Army Recognition relayed an August 2023 report that Algeria would receive two more improved Kilo boats, with no official confirmation or delivery date. The 2019 defenceWeb report likewise said two additional 877EKM boats had apparently been ordered. If either order existed and were delivered, the fleet would reach eight. For the wider force, see the Algeria military strength ranking.

Egypt: Four German-Designed Boats

Egypt operates four Type 209/1400mod boats, S41 to S44, all built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Kiel. Egypt signed for the first two in 2011 and exercised an option for two more in 2015, according to Naval News.

Deliveries ran from December 2016 for the first boat and August 2017 for the second. The third boat was handed over in April 2020, and the fourth in July 2021. Each is about 62 metres long, displaces roughly 1,450 tonnes surfaced and 1,600 tonnes submerged, and carries a crew of 30.

Older Chinese-built Romeo-class boats appear in some reference works, but their current condition has not been publicly confirmed, so they are not counted. Egypt’s naval purchases sit within a wider procurement pattern covered in the site’s review of Egypt’s biggest defence deals and the Egypt military strength profile.

South Africa: Three Boats and a Long Refit

South Africa’s three Heroine-class boats are Manthatisi (S101), Charlotte Maxeke (S102) and Queen Modjadji I (S103). They were built by the German Submarine Consortium, now part of TKMS, and commissioned between 2005 and 2008. The class displaces about 1,454 tonnes surfaced and has eight 533 mm tubes with 14 torpedoes, according to a defenceWeb fact file written in 2008.

Readiness has been the problem. At a June 2025 briefing, Armscor said Manthatisi’s mid-life update planned for 2022 had not started, Charlotte Maxeke’s 2015 refit was never finished and Queen Modjadji I’s 2016 refit had not begun. The defenceWeb report also put the Navy’s 2023 estimate for the full upgrade at R3.8 billion.

A contract with Babcock Ntuthuko Engineering followed in October 2025. Phase one covers Charlotte Maxeke and Queen Modjadji I, costs R136 million and was 29 per cent complete in June 2026, with completion expected in November 2026 and phase two from December 2026, as defenceWeb reported. The three boats are due to leave service between 2038 and 2040. The reports do not state how many boats are currently able to dive.

Libya and the Countries Without Submarines

Libya received six Soviet Foxtrot-class boats between 1976 and 1982. Reference listings say four were decommissioned before the 2011 civil war and the last two, Al Khyber and Al Hunain, were non-operational by 2016, with no routine patrols since 1984. That is why Libya appears as a former operator and is not counted among current African countries with submarines.

No other African navy is listed as a current operator in the lists consulted. Navies such as Morocco’s, Nigeria’s and Tunisia’s operate surface ships and patrol craft but do not appear with a submarine. Procurement talk is not evidence of a boat, and none is counted here.

Regional Patterns and What the Numbers Do Not Show

Two of the three operators sit on the Mediterranean and Red Sea approaches, and the third on the Cape route. All thirteen listed boats are diesel-electric, and the supply base is narrow: Russia for Algeria and Germany for Egypt and South Africa. The wider supplier picture is set out in the review of arms suppliers to Africa.

A hull count does not equal capability. South Africa shows the gap: three boats on paper, with sustainment funding that has lagged for years. Weapon loadouts, crew training and sea days are rarely published, and Algeria’s missile fit is unconfirmed.

Recent changes are small. Egypt completed its programme in 2021, Algeria added two boats in 2019, and South Africa is mid-refit. No new African submarine delivery is confirmed in the sources checked, and any reported order should stay in the reported column until a navy confirms it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which African country has the most submarines?

Algeria has the most, with six Kilo-class boats: two Project 877EKM delivered in 1987 and 1988, two Project 636E delivered in 2010 and two Project 636 boats commissioned in January 2019. Further orders have been reported but are not confirmed.

Which African submarines are the newest?

Egypt’s S44, the fourth Type 209/1400mod boat, was handed over by TKMS in Kiel in July 2021. That is later than Algeria’s pair commissioned in January 2019. South Africa’s Heroine-class boats were commissioned between 2005 and 2008.

Are South Africa’s submarines operational?

The boats are on the Navy’s inventory, but the reports checked do not say how many can operate. Two are in a phase-one refit under a contract awarded in October 2025, and the third has waited for its mid-life refit since 2022. They are due to retire between 2038 and 2040.

Does Nigeria or Morocco have submarines?

Neither appears as a current submarine operator in the lists consulted. Only Algeria, Egypt and South Africa are listed as current operators, and Libya as a former one. Any report of a future purchase should be treated as unconfirmed until a navy or builder announces a contract.