Posted on 04/14/2016 10:03:27 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
It’s just a guess but IMO we very likely have small, stealthy drone subs.
No idea if such drones can replace the utility of quiet conventional subs.
trump should sell this idea to PA and the rest of rust belt
My Uncle Ron was on diesel subs during the Vietnam War. They did things that nuclear subs could not be used for. In some ways it seems strange that the Navy stopped using them.
How would we control them remotely? Satellites? Isn't signal and power degradation a problem underwater?
Slow comms via sound and ultra-low-frequency rf.
When faster data is needed pop loose a tiny transponder to float to the surface with a thin tether of optical fiber back to the boat. The rf device would only need to be the size of a marble... data transfer via the large NRO satellites in geo orbit 23,000 miles out. Power output from the device would be far less than a milliwatt since the big NRO birds can hear anything and so nearby ships would be less likely to notice the signals.
Anyhoo, that’s my guess as a computer and radio geek :-)
< Insert humorous caption here >
If it's about batteries, I bet Tesla is behind this new interest in conventional submarines. If it is about (politically-favored) Tesla, then funding for conventional submarines will go through Congress faster than Donald Trump can insult a competing candidate, especially if they guarantee that GE gets part of the business.
Long wave radio may fare better..
It was called high tech for the sake of high tech. Everything had to be high tech.
We need convention AC carriers too. Waaaay cheaper to build and operate, same offensive punch and same mission capabilities. Damage control is much easier on a conventional ship.
Interestingly enough, the sub my Uncle was on collided with another sub during a drill. The captain did the wrong thing and surfaced immediately. If one sub had been over the other sub, this could have caused one or the other or both to sink. This mistake cost the captain his job. The dent went all the way through the super-structure to the interior of the sub. Afterwards a sizeable percentage of the crew were so shaken up that many were allowed to transfer out.
My Uncle was happy that since he was a cook, he was allowed to shower frequently. Because they carried a limited amount of water, the rest of the crew was often not allowed to shower for extended periods of time. He was also quite pleased that every month that they went into hostile waters in Vietnam to support special forces or for reconnaissance he got bonus “combat pay”. This was in addition to the extra “hazardous duty” pay he received for being on the sub to begin with. I forget how long he was on subs, but I know it was most of his career in the Navy... I think about eight years. I will have to ask him about it again soon; he is getting old enough that the story of his service could be lost.
They managed to sneak a few of those back into the fleet. Compare the World War II Wasp (CV-18) to the current Wasp (LHD-1)
Length 872' -- 844'
Beam 93' -- 106'
Draft 28'7" -- 26'5"
No angled flight deck and no cats.
When I was stationed in Okinawa running a Mike boat I had to meet a diesel boat and pick up a crewman with an impacted tooth. I met it in the ocean and the man was transferred. When the hatch was opened the stench was awful.
The purpose of a conventional fleet is to manage costs. If you try to make them like the supercarriers, you end up with a Kennedy. Most of the costs, none of the benefits.
Same reason that the conventional subs need to be small coastal defense models. If you want something that looks like a Virginia or an Ohio, go ahead and drop a reactor in it. If you want something that looks like a Bush or a Nimitz, go ahead and drop in a reactor.
"Just what the Hell did Obama do??? I thought you GOP guys were supposed to stop this nonsense?!"
The U.S. has two shipyards capable of building subs - Electric Boat and Newport News. In order to build conventional subs they would have to stop or slow the building of nuclear subs. Is it worth it?
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