Meh, most combat ships in the navy are gas turbine powered. Linux is used in plenty of places. That whole project is overblown. If the bow went the other way, it wouldn't be thought of as"futuristic"
USS Albacore, the first teardrop-shaped submarine. Before nuclear submarines, submarines spent most of their time on the surface and had surface ship hulls with a pointed keel and bow. USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, was built that way as well. USS Albacore, which was not nuclear powered, was built as an experimental craft, designed to be fast and agile underwater. Albacore had an control system set up for a single pilot, using an aircraft-like yoke. The pilot even wore a seat belt.
Albacore performed quite well, and the Skipjack class nuclear submarines (1959) were modeled on Albacore. All later US (and Soviet) nuclear submarines followed that general shape. But the single pilot approach was not retained.
That one made series production, ten being made. I wouldn't be surprised if the USS Albacore design team learned something from the British experience with hunter-killer submarines.
Specifically: "keeping the 700 long-ton mass steady and making it perfect for researching wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data."
The problem with research ships is that they float on the surface, and the surface moves. Flipping the ship up like that turns it into a much more stable platform.
He talks about the ship design a little bit, and about his research.
There's an impressive clip in there, starting around 16:16, about one time off Hawai'i, when 80' blue-water swells started coming in from some far-off storm. The ship nearly stays in place as the waves engulf it, leaving only 15' above the water.
