Project Valour-IT 2007 Fund Drive

Donations arranged through the link to the top right.

The Future of Underwater Warfare

As I noted the other day, there is currently only one submarine design project underway to support future submarines in the United States, and it involves reducing the cost of the Virginia class. While it is very successful, that it is the only design project currently being funded by Congress should concern citizens, and more specifically the Navy more than it appears to. Putting aside the workforce factors, which is no small thing, current events internationally point to underwater warfare playing a larger portion of the attention of the US Navy at sea.

Submarine exports are up, and not just in Asia, but also in Europe, Africa, and South America. It is noteworthy both China and Russia are spending enormous sums of money fielding not only new attack submarines, but ballistic missile submarines as well, while India is about to field its first nuclear submarines.

Innovation is up. While AIP is a favorite topic, it isn't the only area where underwater technology is improving. The US Navy has achieved the promise of modularity in its submarine force in the very near future, and there are also major advancements in new sonar systems, communication technologies, and fielding unmanned platforms from submarines. While there is no question the SSGN and Virginia class represent a great deal of innovation in submarine technology, when it comes to new ideas and future designs, Europe is moving at a faster pace.

Submarine technologies in the future appear to be heading in three directions, the large submarine, the small submarine, and the combination of both.

Future Large Submarines are currently in development Brazil, China, France, Great Britain, Russia, India, and the United States are all in some stage of designing or producing a new nuclear submarine, either attack or ballistic, and in some cases both. While it appears India and China are working off of older designs, the leaked plans to the internet of the future Russian submarines show there is still a great deal of design ingenuity left in the Russian industry. Universally, new designs are not simply power plants, electronics, and a combination of torpedo tubes as we saw at the end of the cold war, rather underwater payload delivery systems designed to move deployable cargo in the form of manned and unmanned specialized mission packages. It is noteworthy that while India is looking into a design based on the Akula II, it is also seeking smaller deployable manned midget submarine designs for special operations, as well as endurance based UUV systems that can deploy from their new Akula II style nuclear submarines.

On the other end of the spectrum, the HDW Type 210mod and Fincantieri/Rubin S1000 both represent small (between 1000-1300 tons submerged) submarines designed specifically for littoral anti-submarine warfare. Both countries are seeing a growing market. Low cost, low manning requirements, decent weapon loads, and AIP technology combine to offer nations an alternative sea control capability along coast lines in defense against enemy surface and subsurface platforms.

The most interesting future submarine design outside the United States is the SMX designs coming out of DCN. In the spirit of the BAE high/low alternative future concept submarine designs recently unveiled at DSEi 2007, DCN is working on modular capabilities alternatives to its new "three-in-one" base model. For those not familiar, the "three-in-one" SMX design includes a larger base submarine as a combat command platform with 2 smaller combat lethal operation submarines that can attach/detach from the base submarine mothership. Additionally the SMX design is focused on building interchanging modular systems that can be loaded/unloaded from the mothership organically, or transferred to the smaller operation submarines.

The question is, what is driving innovation?

There is a prevailing theory in some corners that just like the last half of the 20th century was devoted to land warfare, specifically in Europe and the Middle East, the next half century will be devoted to securing national interests by sea. While Imperials and Colonization may be dead in the west, there are always lingering issues that lead to desire for stronger military capability. While military conquest by China over Taiwan is a popular theory among those who think war drives decisions, lets assume for a minute a few alternatives that are not driven by all out war.

Should the Wall between North Korea and South Korea come down in 2009 just like the Wall came down dividing Germany in 1989, how will the Korean peninsula then look in 2029? Is there any reason not to assume it wouldn't look similar to Germany in 2009? By the same token, what then would we make of regional island dispute between Japan and a unified Korea?

What about the very near future? Next year Saudi Arabia is going to tender bids for a new submarine, and there are going to be several potential sellers from Russia, to China, to Europe, and perhaps beyond. If Saudi Arabia decides to buy 3 advanced submarines, it is likely other regional players like the UAE and Iran might decide to buy some of its own. That in turn could lead to interest by smaller players for the smaller, cheaper submarine designs being introduced.

With submarines on the market at costs of $250 million or less, and the importance of transportation at sea increasing for emerging economies, new designs are creating new challenges for traditional submarine powers in the west, particularly the United States. If a nation like Venezuela is fielding 6 or more smaller AIP submarines for the same cost we are fielding one Virginia class, the balance of power over a small body of water like the Caribbean Sea can shift quickly. The ability of the US to rapidly produce a counterweight to a regional buildup requires investment in designs today so they are mature tomorrow if needed, something Congress and the Navy don't seem too concerned with right now.

This discussion focused specifically on the manned platforms being designed, but the reality is, no Navy is yet to field on any large scale unmanned systems. We know unmanned systems will impact future warfare, or do we? If we believe unmanned underwater weapons are the future, then the question needs to be asked, where is the funding for design efforts and what is the US Navy waiting for?

Yet Another Pirate Tale Off Somalia - Updated

It was reported yesterday that yet another ship was hijacked off the coast of Somalia, the North Korean ship MV Dia Honga Dan. Boarded by 8 gunmen, the crew of 22 was overpowered, until they decided to fight back...

The crew of a ship hijacked from Somalia overpowered their attackers Tuesday and regained control of the vessel, officials said.

About two dozen crew members of the North Korea-flagged vessel were able to fight off the eight gunmen who had seized the vessel late Monday, and the crew was piloting the ship back to the war-battered city's port in Mogadishu, said Andrew Mwangura, program coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Program, which independently monitors piracy in the region.

He said first reports that the vessel was from South Korea were incorrect, and that the crew numbered about 22, instead of nearly twice that number as earlier reported.

An international watchdog reported this month that pirate attacks worldwide jumped 14 percent in the first nine months of 2007, with the biggest increases off the poorly policed waters of Somalia and Nigeria.

Keep an eye on Eagle1's place, he will no doubt have all the details from his seemingly unlimited sources of that regions security as yet another saga of piracy off Somalia unfolds.

Update1: CDR Salamader has the rest of the story involving the USS James E Williams (DDG 95). It is noteworthy that now there are forces from SNMG1 and SNMG2 in the Indian Ocean.

Project Valour-IT 2007 Fund Drive

Not a blogger? Looking to support Valour-IT? Copy the text below, customize as desired, and send as many emails as you can, print newsletters, and spread the word. The following is my latest alert to my Masonic brothers. Yes, there are still Masons under the age of 35...



Brothers,

The Project Valour-IT 2007 Veteran's Day Fund Drive Begins Monday October 29th and goes through Veterans Day, November 11th. The Navy goal this year is $60,000 (my blog is supporting the Navy). The fund drive goal is $240,000 total. For those unaware, Project Valour-IT is an ongoing effort by Soldiers' Angels to provide voice-controlled and adaptive laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field.

Valour-IT is an IRS-certified non-profit (donations are tax-deductible) and is non-political. Regardless of ideas about how/why war is being waged, the fact is that people are wounded and need our help. Valour-IT is about supplying that help, not about endorsing or opposing the reasons why it's needed.

Last year Valour-IT raised over $230,000 dollars. This year, need among the wounded hasn't changed, with as many as 100 laptops going out each month.

Brothers, we need help getting the word out. Email all your friends and family, call your radio station, email the local talk host, write your local newspaper, inform the local TV personality, and when possible connect with local business and organizations that would be willing to get involved and help raise money for this worthy cause. If that is beyond your desire or capability, and you would prefer to give $1 or more instead, that is ok too!

Information will be updated each day of the fund drive at my blog, where you can donate via the image provided in the top right hand corner:
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/

Official Links:

Official Site: history and background on Valour-IT, official donation info
http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=project-valour-it

Bulletin Board: general competition info, tech help, team planning, announcements, etc.
http://www.chaoticsynapticactivity.com/valouritphpBB/posting.php

Auction Site: donated items for sale
http://sablogs.com/cgi-bin/valourITauctions/eAuction.pl

Project Blog: background, interesting links, daily donation tracking, public relations
http://www.valour-it.blogspot.com/

If you would prefer to support another service in this drive, official links to the Team Leaders is provided below, and donations can be arranged through the links made available on those sites.

Army:
http://www.blackfive.net/

Navy:
http://chaoticsynapticactivity.com/

Air Force:
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/

Marines:
http://www.sablogs.com/

Thank you for your support.

5th Fleet Focus: Addressing the Pirate Menace

I was going to wait until next week before pointing out the increased naval activity off the east coast of Africa in regards to pirates, but events have drawn my attention to the region sooner. On Monday, Eagle1 posted an article about a Japanese Tanker hijacked at sea on Sunday off the coast of Somalia. Later on Monday we learned that the USS Porter (DDG 78) engaged the pirates while they were in international waters, sinking to skiffs ties to the hijacked vessel hull.

It appears that fog of war played into the incident, as it is reported the USS Porter (DDG 78) was unaware of the nature of the cargo on the hijacked Japanese-owned, Panamanian-flagged ship the Golden Mori. I'm not going to bother with much of the details of the incident beyond what Eagle1 is reporting, because the DoD is working to schedule a press conference with the Captain of the USS Porter (DDG 78) on Tuesday, where the fog of war will clear on the incident.

However, new details are being reported that the hijacking took place off the Socotra Islands, and the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) is shadowing the vessel. More interesting is news that the Somalian government has given permission to the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) to enter Somalian waters to pursue the hijacked vessel. As far as I am aware, this is the first time the government of Somalia has given the international coalition permission to hunt pirates.

Last week France dispatched the frigate FS Guépratte to Somalia to escort UN chartered ships supporting the World Food Program in Somalia. The USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) is also in the region, however I do not believe the LSD has any Marines onboard. However, on October 16th, the 22nd MEU completed 2 weeks of training in Kuwait and reconstituted aboard the Kearsarge Strike Group amphibious ships. This would free up the ships to offer Marines for any operations against the pirates and the hijacked ship. USS Porter (DDG 78) is part of the Kearsarge Strike Group.

Although the Enterprise Strike Group is in the theater, and while the USS Arleigh Burke is part of the Enterprise Strike Group, it is unlikely the USS Enterprise would move away from Iraq to deal with pirates. However, the USS Forrest Sherman, also part of the Enterprise ESG, has been operating off the east coast of Africa in support of AFRICOM and is available.

Finally, the USS Wasp (LHD 1) is in theater as well. The USS Wasp (LHD 1) is also not carrying Marines, but does offer an alternative for moving aircraft around the region in MAG elements that would be supporting either Iraq, or operations off Somalia.

The US Navy has a number of assets available regionally that can support virtually any operation against pirates. I'm not going to go into detail, but there are at least 4 US and allied nuke subs in the region, and they bring a number of SOF options into play. If I was the pirates onboard the Golden Mori, I don't think I would be sleeping well tonight.