Posted on 07/06/2018 8:38:01 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The multi-role combat vessel will act as a "mothership" for unmanned systems. (Illustration: Rafa Estrada)
SINGAPORE: Not long ago, a warship’s superiority was defined by how powerful the guns on its deck were. Then, as weapons evolved, how far its missiles could go.
Now, with wars increasingly being fought hundreds of kilometres apart, it has become a case of spotting the enemy before it spots you.
“We are reaching a stage where who sees first, who sees fastest, actually wins,” Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) head of naval operations Cheong Kwok Chien told Channel NewsAsia in an exclusive interview on Saturday (Jun 30).
And so the RSN saw an opportunity for change.
The Victory-class missile corvettes, for over two decades the “backbone” of the RSN’s strike capabilities, are entering their twilight years. They will hit the end of their operational life in 2025.
Enter the multi-role combat vessel (MRCV), a type of “mothership” that will work in tandem with unmanned machines to see farther and respond quicker. These mission-configurable warships will be introduced after 2020.
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“If we have certain areas we want to watch closely, we can be triggered early to respond,” Rear-Admiral (RADM) Cheong said. “These ships allow us to put eyes forward.”
These “eyes” are actually a network of unmanned drones and vessels that respectively carry cameras and weapons.
“The suite of weapons and sensors that can spread itself over a large area effectively turns the ship from being a point source to an area type of umbrella capability,” RADM Cheong added.
A typical strike package will possibly comprise a pair of MRCVs that each carries three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), so there’s one in the air at all times, and two unmanned surface vessels.
The RSN's missile corvette is the fastest ship in its fleet. (Photo: Facebook/Republic of Singapore Navy)
But the RSN has not laid down specific configurations. There are physical limits to how much the MRCV can carry, and then there’s the cost factor of buying too many unmanned systems.
“Technology is allowing unmanned systems to get smaller, and it helps,” RADM Cheong said. “But there are physical limits to size because out there the wind is quite strong, so you can’t fly a typical hobbyist drone.”
Still, he added that the MRCV will allow the RSN to “bring a CCTV out to sea”. “If you have a whole network of eyes and shooters, you really expand the effective influence of the vessel.”
ALL-ROUND VIEW
While current UAVs can extend a ship’s field of vision by 100km because of their range, RADM Cheong said it’s likely that those on the MRCV can go farther.
“In the future, this range will increase because the control capabilities will improve,” he added. “It’s not very far-fetched to say that easily the ship will have awareness of maybe 150km around it.”
The high-definition capability of the UAV’s camera also adds a whole new dimension to surveillance, far beyond beeping blips on traditional radars. “You can see the colour of the hair of the guy you’re looking at 150km away; that’s possible,” RADM Cheong said.
The multi-role combat vessel will replace the RSN's missile corvettes.
It doesn’t stop there. The RSN wants to hear and recognise him as well.
“The other breakthrough that we will go for is to be able to see different dimensions,” he added. “If you put together facial recognition, voice recognition and sense recognition, not many people can run away from that.”
With information from multiple UAVs and cameras, as well as intelligence from other assets, the RSN intends to put it all together on a single screen.
“More than flying cameras around, it’s quite important for us to stitch together the picture and make sense of it fast,” RADM Cheong said. “No point staring out at beautiful scenery without knowing what you’re looking for.”
“This technology is not earth-shattering,” he continued. “It just takes deliberate effort to make it happen.”
Beyond its superior strike and surveillance capabilities, the MRCV is also more versatile and can go farther than the missile corvette, which was purpose-built for its warfighting capabilities.
For example, the MRCV can undertake counter-terrorism as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions, because it can carry mission-specific cargo like counter-terrorism forces and medical aid.
JOINT MULTI MISSION SHIP
But the RSN’s ship of choice when it comes to HADR is the landing ship tank (LST), which has been deployed at several humanitarian assistance operations including the Aceh tsunami in 2004.
This is because the 141m-long, 6,000-tonne LST is the RSN’s largest ship, with the capacity to carry up to 18 tanks, 20 vehicles and bulk cargo. It also has two 25-foot deck cranes for loading and unloading of cargo.
But the RSN wants to go bigger.
“What we have learnt from a lot of disaster relief missions is that our first wave of aid and supplies that go in really make the difference,” RADM Cheong said. “It’s not about building a conveyor belt, the first guy who reaches there, the first box that you open must save lives. That’s why we need to carry more.”
With that, the RSN will replace the LST with a larger joint multi mission ship (JMMS) that can carry twice the amount of cargo and discharge it better. The JMMS will also be introduced after 2020.
“When you reach the area, you must always remember that there’s no beautiful port for you to come alongside and put the staircase down,” he added. “So, the design of the ship is also how you can bring it to an area with no access.”
This extra space and accessibility are also important during counter-piracy operations. In the Gulf of Aden, Singapore regularly deploys the LST for international anti-piracy patrols.
To that end, the JMMS will be able to carry more and bigger boats to transport boarding teams that repel pirates and keep merchant ships safe.
“When the sea is rough, and the boat you carry is so small, you can’t launch your boys and say please carry on,” said RADM Cheong, who has led counter-piracy operations at the Gulf of Aden.
“Even for a big ship which can carry three to four boats, it’s never enough. It’s always the feeling that you want to do more than what you have brought along.”
Besides boats, the JMMS can also carry larger UAVs and unmanned vessels to do surveillance and fend off pirates. Its longer flight deck also means it can carry multiple helicopters, as opposed to the LST which could only carry two.
As RADM Cheong concluded: “It’s more than just a pick-up lorry.”
BETTER AND SHARPER
Along with the Type 218SG submarine, RADM Cheong said the RSN’s three new vessels bode well for Singapore’s future.
“We have built in a confidence and belief in the younger generation to see that with each generation, we modernise the Navy to make it better and sharper,” he said.
Each acquisition is “very deliberate”, he added, with a lot of hard work going into designing, operating and maximising it. “We are always maximising limited resources, and we never back off from any challenge.”
Source: CNA/hz
Naval War College seminar: In the age of stealthy missiles, stealthy drones, stealthy small boats, satellite and electronic surveillance, is it ethical to put 5,000 young sailors on a super carrier and send it far from home? Face it the era of big capital surface ships is over.
F off. Every other navy in the world is trying to develop fixed wing blue water naval aviation...and armchair admirals in the US are trying to kill them. Keep you Naval thoughts inside the bath tub.
I wonder how well that flotilla would handle a satellite guided, hypersonic delivered EMP warhead?
“Face it the era of big capital surface ships is over.”
Well, you just called down the storm.
Don’t forget, horse cavalry had staunch defenders into the age of barbed wire, machine guns and mustard gas.
The capital surface ship will still be around...just a newer iteration.
Penteconter
Bireme
Trireme
...
Deceres
...
1st grade Ship of the Line
Battleship
Aircraft carrier
Drone motherships
Imperial-class Star Destroyer
Executor-class Star Destroyer
...?
Which must be while China, Turkey and Japan are all busy working on aircraft ‘carriers’.
Heck, even this cute toy is an aircraft carrier, it just carries small, unmanned planes.
CVs and CVNs have been pretty much targets since SSNs were on the scene. The only reason we get away with it is that no-one is strong enough (or wants to) contest us. Yet. In the current environment, they’re an effective power projection platform. In the future environment, they will be the same, except with the added ‘benefit’ of being like having an armored division stationed just north of Seoul.
Is it there to stop the bad guys? Not so much. It’s there to do what it can, and if someone is desperate enough to destroy it, it’s there to let us know when it’s time to launch the bad stuff.
Much like the battleships in Pearl Harbor (sigh).
Don’t forget the Persian Gulf. If Iran is so desperate to try to close the narrow shallow gulf, can the big blue water carriers of the US Navy operate safely within the Gulf? Remember the Iranians have fortified the shores with state of the art Chinese made shore to ship missiles. They have less than a thirty second flight to target. The US Navy will go and fight wherever ordered. Yet IMHO it is possible that if US capital ships are there in force, the Navy faces a debacle worse than Pearl Harbor in less than 15 minutes. Of course Iran would be obliterated but it would be little comfort to the families of the sailors and the cost would be huge. May it never occur.
“Much like the battleships in Pearl Harbor (sigh).”
An apt comparison. Trump’s move into space is what is truly of interest.
The U.S. Navy doesn’t have to operate carriers in the Persian Gulf. From positions off Oman, carrier aircraft can dominate the entire Gulf of Oman and the entire southern Persian Gulf. Carrier aircraft can utilize air-to-air refueling or our base in Bahrain to control the airspace over the central Gulf region. Same procedure works in the northern Gulf with the assistance of Kuwait. And we would have the cooperation of these countries since they would be royally pi**ed at the Iranians for cutting off their major income source. We wouldn’t have to base aircraft in either on of these countries, just sortie them from the carriers and refuel as necessary. Some people are so ready to denigrate the capabilities of carriers that they forget that the aircraft from carriers can have an extended range to the target while the carrier stays out of harms way.
If it comes to the US needing to use force to keep the Gulf open, that is the way it will have to be done, however more expensive it may be. The reality is that big blue water surface capital ships can no longer operate with impunity within the Gulf. As little as three years ago two complete battle groups were on station in the Gulf. It was not wise or ethical then or now to put those sailors in an indefensible situation.
The capital surface ship will still be around...just a newer iteration.
Penteconter
Bireme
Trireme
...
Deceres
...
1st grade Ship of the Line
Battleship
Aircraft carrier
Drone motherships
Imperial-class Star Destroyer
Executor-class Star Destroyer
...?
General Service Vehicle (GSV) - most are larger than 150 Km.
Carries a full compliment of (several hundred) Rapid Offensive Units, Abominator Class (each capable of literally fxxking entire solar systems;
Carries a full load of CAM (Compressed Anti-Matter);
Carries Very Large Displacers (VLD) - capable of removing or inserting most any sort of item from antimatter bombs to fully armored infantry at speed (usually a slow down from 200 lightyears/hr to a more sedate 75 lights before resuming speed. These units are effective at over one light year distant;
Other weapons manufactured as needed by the controlling Mind or Minds (not and AI but a conscious manufactured mind);
Troops and Drones are drawn from the Ship’s compliment of several million individuals.
There’s more but that is classified by Special Circumstance ...
And that is only one Ship ...
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