Which of the following is NOT a mission of submarines?

Submarines possess a range of strategic missions, but humanitarian assistance typically falls outside their primary operational focus. While submarines are highly capable vessels designed for stealthy underwater operations, their missions revolve more around military objectives such as intelligence gathering, direct combat, and strategic deterrence.

Counter-drug operations, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and mine warfare represent active roles that submarines can undertake, aligned with their capabilities in stealth and offensive action. For instance, submarines can engage in ISR to gather critical intelligence without detection, support national security objectives through mine warfare, and assist in counter-narcotics operations by utilizing their stealthy nature to monitor shipping routes used for drug trafficking.

In contrast, humanitarian assistance usually requires on-scene support, logistics, and direct engagement with communities for relief, capabilities that are not typically associated with submarine operations, as they are generally focused on stealth and strategic military objectives rather than direct involvement in human welfare operations.