Foreign Entanglements: Able Archer 83

On this week's episode of Foreign Entanglements, Nate Jones and I go over the latest from National Security Archive...
 
For more on maritime aspects of the exercise, see here.

A Bad Morality and a Bad Philosophy

This is fascinating stuff, as much for the blood and gore of Age of Sail naval warfare as for the legal complications associated with impressed Americans in the War of 1812:

At Plymouth we heard some vague rumors of a declaration of war against America. More than this, we could not learn, since the utmost care was taken to prevent our being fully informed. The reason of this secrecy was, probably, because we had several Americans in our crew, most of whom were pressed men, as before stated. These men, had they been certain that war had broken out, would have given themselves up as prisoners of war, and claimed exemption from that unjust service, which compelled them to act with the enemies of their country. This was a privilege which the magnanimity of our officers ought to have offered them. They had already perpetrated a grievous wrong upon them in impressing them; it was adding cruelty to injustice to compel their service in a war against their own nation. 

But the difficulty with naval officers is, that they do not treat with a sailor as with a man. They know what is fitting between each other as officers; but they treat their crews on another principle; they are apt to look at them as pieces of living mechanism, born to serve, to obey their orders, and administer to their wishes without complaint. This is alike a bad morality and a bad philosophy.

Long Range Navy ISR - Smart Choices

General Atomics Mariner

I had started a reply to a comment from Hokie_1997 in Galrahn's post below, but it became too long, so I'm using the blogger's prerogative to reply here.

The Triton's flight is a very positive development towards filling current and projected gaps in long range Navy scouting. That said, despite the significant money and time the Navy has put into this program, I'm not sure it's the right choice.  Here are the 4 primary reasons I like a maritime variant of the MQ-9 over the Triton:
1) Capability - The range delta between the Reaper and Guardian is fairly significant, but the MQ-9 is no slouch; compare about 4,000 NM/20 hrs endurance for the MQ-9 vs. 11,000 NM/31 hrs for Triton.  At one point, General Atomics was developing an even longer-ranged maritime variant for the Navy's BAMS competition that had a 49 hour endurance.

Hokie pointed out that extreme range was imperative for operating in the Pacific.  Yes that ocean is vast, but between Japan, Guam, Hawaii, Midway, Australia etc. we have enough friendly airfields to cover that water with the shorter-ranged platform (not that the mid-Pacific is very important in any sort of foreseeable fight).  Moreover, pure range/endurance isn't necessarily the most desire trait for maritime ISR (see #4).  In addition to an acceptable range for most maritime ISR scenarios, Reaper has about twice the payload, including:
2) Weaponization - Finding a target in the middle of the open ocean is great.  But during combat, if we don't have enough ships, subs and long range missiles to engage the target the Triton finds (and we don't), then so what?  The Reaper can find, fix, and finish a maritime target with one platform.  The ability to drop a dozen Hellfires or 2 ship-killing 500 lb precision guide munitions would be of value in both low and high end war-at-sea scenarios.
3) Compatibility - The military has so many combat-proven General Atomics planes flying now that we have developed a huge supporting infrastructure.  In addition to just platform acquisition costs, for any given beyond-line-of site unmanned aircraft system, there are costs associated with satellite bandwidth, ground control stations, launch and recovery elements, maintenance, and associated processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) systems for the intelligence the aircraft collects. Furthermore, the Reaper is a much more tactically friendly aircraft able to beam down full motion video and other sensor data to distributed tactical forces, performing much more like a current P-3 is able to tie a theater asset to tactical surface/ground units.  The Tritons are designed to provide ISR collection to theater and higher level staffs, but don't do much for individual ships at sea and Marines operating far ashore.
4) Maybe the most important attribute for any program these days: Cost - the Navy can buy more than ten MQ-9s for the cost of one MQ-4C.  Capability is one thing, but one airframe can only do one patrol at a time.  We can cover more ISR orbits while achieving efficiencies in training, PED infrastructure, and maintenance with more vehicles.  Interestingly, the Eurohawk project was recently canceled for cost reasons.

Bottom line: I hope Triton is a success, and I hope we don't bust the airborne ISR budget in the process of acquiring it.  But if the program falters technically or runs over budget, the Navy should quickly shift fire to a marinized MQ-9B or C.  As an added bonus, the Sea Avenger is designed to be operated from the land or carriers (it's one of the contenders in the Navy's UCLASS competition).  The Navy is essentially broke and it's time to make tough, smart choices with positive long term consequences. I'm just not sure the Triton passes that test.

The opinions and views expressed in this post are those of the author alone and are presented in his personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Department of Defense, the US Navy, or any other agency.

Camo Gray and Never Underway

USS Freedom (LCS 1) in what is becoming a rare sight - somewhere besides a pier or dry dock.

On May 21, 2024 USS Freedom (LCS 1) got underway from Singapore but was forced to return to Changi Naval Base approximately eight hours later due to an engineering casualty.

The new casualty is related to the incident in late April when ship's force detected a seawater intrusion in the port combining gear. Ship's force suspected a failed reduction gear seawater cooler as the source of the intrusion. At that time the ship had requested that an outside activity (shipyard) be made available to inspect and repair the port combining gear lube oil seawater cooler and either repair or replace the seawater cooler tube bundle.

On Tuesday evening ship's force inspection revealed rust on two of the reduction gear casings.  Bearing temperatures remained normal, and downstream lube oil samples remained clear during system operations.  The Navy is working to re-clean the sumps with hot oil, replenish filters, and resume operations.

When I heard about the first problem back on April 29th, it was suggested I should probably consult EN 1&C. Good advice, from 4-3 here (PDF).

EFFECTS OF WATER AND ACID IN OIL.—Water in the oil is extremely harmful. Even small amounts soon cause pitting and corrosion of the teeth. Acid can cause even more serious problems. The oil must be tested frequently for water, and periodic tests should be made for acid content. Immediate corrective measures must be taken when saltwater is found in the reduction gear lubricating oil system.

Occasionally gross contamination of the oil by saltwater occurs when a cooler leaks or when leaks develop in a sump. The immediate location and sealing of the leak is not enough. Additional steps must be taken to remove the contaminated oil from all steel parts. Several instances are known when, because such treatment was postponed—sometimes for a week or less—gears, journals, and couplings became so badly corroded and pitted that it was necessary to remove the gears and recondition the teeth and journals. Saltwater contamination of the lubricating oil may also cause bearing burnout.

Water, in small amounts, is always present within the lubrication system as a result of condensation. Air which enters the units contains moisture. This moisture condenses into water when it strikes a cooler surface and subsequently mixes with the oil. The water displaces the oil from the metal surfaces and causes rusting. Water
mixed with oil also reduces the lubricating value of the oil itself.

When the main engines are secured, the oil should be circulated until the temperature of the oil and that of the reduction gear casing approximate the engine room temperature. While the oil is being circulated, the cooler should be operated and the gear should be jacked continuously. The purifier should also be operated to renovate the oil while the oil is being circulated and after the oil circulation is stopped until water is no longer discharged from the purifier. This procedure eliminates condensation from the interior of the main reduction gear casing and reduces rusting in the upper gear case and gears.

Generally, lubricating oil will be maintained in good condition if proper use is made of the purifier and settling tanks. However, if the purifier does not operate satisfactorily and does not have the correct water seal, it will not separate the water from the oil. You can check for the presence of water by taking small samples of oil in bottles, and allowing the samples to settle. These samples should be taken from a low point in the lube oil system.

Samples of lubricating oil should be tested at every opportunity for acid, water, and sediment content at a naval shipyard (or other similar activity). With continuous use, lube oil increases in acidity, and free fatty acids form a mineral soap which reacts with the oil to form an emulsion. As the oil emulsifies, it loses its lubricating quality. Once the oil has emulsified, the removal of water and other impurities becomes increasingly difficult. When the formation of a proper oil film is rendered impossible, the oil must be renovated.

Sometimes, when a ship from the reserve fleet is placed back in commission, the rust preventive compound is not removed completely. The residue of this compound may cause serious emulsification of the lubricating oil. Operating with emulsified oil may result in damage to the bearings or the reduction gears. Since it is extremely difficult aboard ship to destroy emulsions by heating, settling, and centrifuging, you must make sure that emulsions do not occur. At the first indication of an emulsion, the plant should be stopped and the oil renovated.

Finally, because all I can do is laugh, or cry, at this point, the following talking points on the USS Freedom (LCS 1) deployment to date have been provided by a friend whom shall remain nameless.

"Due to her reliance on contractor maintenance, combined with additional and unexpected opportunities to repair equipment well before the expected maintenance intervals, FREEDOM is actually stimulating the American marine repair industry. Further, due to the travel costs involved with sending technical support teams from the United States, FREEDOM is further supporting the American airline industry. I don't like to think of things breaking as a bad thing - but rather as an opportunity to support our partners in industry and the American economy writ large."

It is going to be very difficult for LCS to prove itself in an overseas deployment if the ship can't get off the bleeping pier.

MQ-4C Triton Takes Flight

ALMDALE, Calif. (May 21, 2024) Two Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicles are seen on the tarmac at a Northrop Grumman test facility in Palmdale, Calif. Triton is undergoing flight testing as an unmanned maritime surveillance vehicle. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman by Chad Slattery/Released)

From Danger Room.

The MQ-4C Triton took off today for the first time from a Palmdale, California airfield, a major step in the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program. Northrop Grumman, which manufactured the 130.9-foot-wingspan drone, said the maiden voyage lasted an hour and a half. The Navy even announced it via Twitter.

“First flight represents a critical step in maturing Triton’s systems before operationally supporting the Navy’s maritime surveillance mission around the world,” Capt. James Hoke, Triton’s program manager, said in a statement.

If the Triton looks familiar, it should. It’s a souped-up version of the Air Force’s old reliable spy drone, Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk. The Navy’s made some modifications to the airframe and the sensors it carries to ensure it can spy on vast swaths of ocean, from great height. (It’s unarmed, if you were wondering.)

The idea is for the Triton to achieve altitudes of nearly 53,000 feet — that’s 10 miles up — where it will scan 2,000 nautical miles at a single robotic blink. (Notice that wingspan is bigger than a 737's.) Its sensors, Northrop boasts, will “detect and automatically classify” ships, giving captains a much broader view of what’s on the water than radar, sonar and manned aircraft provide. Not only that, Triton is a flying communications relay station, bouncing “airborne communications and information sharing capabilities” between ships. And it can fly about 11,500 miles without refueling.

Read the rest at Danger Room.

The Navy has taken a very patient approach to large unmanned systems, too slow for some. With the MQ-4C Triton the Navy decided to go with a mature hardware design and take on the risk with the software. Despite the June 2012 crash in Maryland of a Global Hawk used for developing the Triton, I think everyone can agree the Navy has done a great job with the BAMS program.

Some will cite how the US Air Force has stepped back from the Global Hawk in favor of the U-2. That makes sense when the vast majority of US Air Force Global Hawk missions were being flown in dedicated missions to monitor specific targets, something the U-2 has been doing effectively for decades - and is still capable of doing at less cost. But over vast oceans, that 11,500 mile range at ten miles up role is much better suited for an unmanned aircraft because the platform's role is constant surveillance of a broad area, not dedicated surveillance of a specific area.

Thus the name: Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS).

Between X-47B carrier launch and MQ-4C Triton, the US Navy has achieved major successes with two of the most important new Navy programs being worked on today in a span of just over a week. Northrop Grumman is having a good month.

When you count the first vertical takeoff of the F-35B earlier this week, the Department of the Navy is having a good month too.