What frightened the USS Donald Cook so much in the Black Sea?

Voltaire ^ | 8 NOVEMBER 2014

[Lazamataz]

The State Department acknowledged that the crew of the destroyer USS Donald Cook has been gravely demoralized ever since their vessel was flown over in the Black Sea by a Russian Sukhoi-24 (Su-24) fighter jet which carried neither bombs nor missiles but only an electronic warfare device.

On 10 April 2014, the USS Donald Cook entered the waters of the Black Sea and on 12 April a Russian Su-24 tactical bomber flew over the vessel triggering an incident that, according to several media reports, completely demoralized its crew, so much so that the Pentagon issued a protest [1].

The USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) is a 4th generation guided missile destroyer whose key weapons are Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, and capable of carrying nuclear explosives. This ship carries 56 Tomahawk missiles in standard mode, and 96 missiles in attack mode.

The US destroyer is equipped with the most recent Aegis Combat System. It is an integrated naval weapons systems which can link together the missile defense systems of all vessels embedded within the same network, so as to ensure the detection, tracking and destruction of hundreds of targets at the same time. In addition, the USS Donald Cook is equipped with 4 large radars, whose power is comparable to that of several stations. For protection, it carries more than fifty anti-aircraft missiles of various types.

Meanwhile, the Russian Su-24 that buzzed the USS Donald Cook carried neither bombs nor missiles but only a basket mounted under the fuselage, which, according to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta [2], contained a Russian electronic warfare device called Khibiny.

As the Russian jet approached the US vessel, the electronic device disabled all radars, control circuits, systems, information transmission, etc. on board the US destroyer. In other words, the all-powerful Aegis system, now hooked up - or about to be - with the defense systems installed on NATO’s most modern ships was shut down, as turning off the TV set with the remote control.

The Russian Su-24 then simulated a missile attack against the USS Donald Cook, which was left literally deaf and blind. As if carrying out a training exercise, the Russian aircraft - unarmed - repeated the same maneuver 12 times before flying away.

After that, the 4th generation destroyer immediately set sail towards a port in Romania.

Since that incident, which the Atlanticist media have carefully covered up despite the widespread reactions sparked among defense industry experts, no US ship has ever approached Russian territorial waters again.

According to some specialized media, 27 sailors from the USS Donald Cook requested to be relieved from active service.

Vladimir Balybine - director of the research center on electronic warfare and the evaluation of so-called "visibility reduction" techniques attached to the Russian Air Force Academy - made the following comment:

"The more a radio-electronic system is complex, the easier it is to disable it through the use of electronic warfare."

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Yeah, that site seems to be pretty unvarnished Russian propaganda. Interesting if this site has been maintained performing the same function for this regime that it did for the Soviet Dynasty. They’re usually more careful to distance themselves.

[Shimmer1]

And today I heard that Russians will be patrolling in the Gulf of Mexico.

[Lazamataz]

Not only were our systems permanently damaged, but somehow the SU-24 managed to reach into our boat and take the systems out physically. I suspect that is why they needed 12 passes, one of the screws was stripped and that took some time.

[Guenevere]

Bttt

[Guenevere]

Bttt

[LonePalm]

Old Crow Ping

Please let me know if you want on or off the Old Crow ping list.

Take a few deep breaths Laz. I will call BS on the whole story for several reasons.

1) Why would the Russians expose the existence of a TS jamming system in this manner? You have to assume that once a given system is used, its existence, purpose, and parameters are known to the enemy. Does anyone think that we didn't record the entire electromagnetic encounter? We have red switch (wartime only) systems that are ONLY energized inside TEMPEST test facilities.

2) How would they know what happened aboard the Donald Cook? Screens go blank? Go on, pull the other one.

3) Resignations? Really? Didn't happen for several reasons. Anyone think that 10% of the crew are cowards? Anyone think that there were 27 members in a position to resign? Pure BS.

"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[T-Bird45]

“the Atlanticist media”

I wonder what that means

NATO

[RetSignman]

Khibiny is an area which mines for minerals including aluminum ore. Aluminum has been used for years for blocking electronic equipment ie: Radar etc.

[Mechanical jamming is caused by devices which reflect or re-reflect radar energy back to the radar to produce false target returns on the operator’s scope. Mechanical jamming devices include chaff, corner reflectors, and decoys.

Chaff is made of different length metallic strips, which reflect different frequencies, so as to create a large area of false returns in which a real contact would be difficult to detect. Modern chaff is usually aluminum coated glass fibers of various lengths. Their extremely low weight and small size allows them to form a dense, long lasting cloud of interference.

Corner reflectors have the same effect as chaff but are physically very different. Corner reflectors are multiple-sided objects that re-radiate radar energy mostly back toward its source. An aircraft cannot carry as many corner reflectors as it can chaff.

Decoys are maneuverable flying objects that are intended to deceive a radar operator into believing that they are actually aircraft. They are especially dangerous because they can clutter up a radar with false targets making it easier for an attacker to get within weapons range and neutralize the radar. Corner reflectors can be fitted on decoys to make them appear larger than they are, thus furthering the illusion that a decoy is an actual aircraft. Some decoys have the capability to perform electronic jamming or drop chaff. Decoys also have a deliberately sacrificial purpose i.e. defenders may fire guided missiles at the decoys, thereby depleting limited stocks of expensive weaponry which might otherwise have been used against genuine targets.]

Just a guess.

[Mariner]

" one of the screws was stripped and that took some time"

NOW it makes sense!

What will the wily Russian come up with next?

[rbg81]

If the Russians really had this capability, why would they tip their hand in anything other than an actual war?

[HiJinx]

NATO, I would guess.
Media in Atlantic Rim countries?
I went back to see if this came from Pravda or Krasnaya Zvezda.

[2CAVTrooper]

Not an EMP. Would have been more widespread disruption, and any civil aircraft in the area would have been roasted too.

The ships CO probably ordered to radars etc shut down AKA “blackened ship”. Gives the russians less ELINT to look at.

[mylife]

Then Putin unleashed the Sharknado!

[logi_cal869]

We are so screwed.

I disagree....with exceptions, of course.

I just don't understand why Putin would show his hand like this. Not just to us, but to China as well. Perhaps it was a decision by a regional Officer to carry out the EW ops...

[2CAVTrooper]

Set the missiles to home in on the transmitter

[HiTech RedNeck]

It sounds implausible that a basketful of electronics had jammed the Donald Cook.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Also it had to be hackproof itself. To that end all the logic was done in vacuum tubes.

[HiTech RedNeck]

All this fuss is being made over radio countermeasures.

Forget that, how about visual guidance?

[CrazyIvan]

“Every word of this article is true. I was on the USS Donald Duck when it happened.”

We were on the SSN Lamprey and could see it through the sun roof.

[The Duke]

Of course, if mine shrank two more inches, I would officially become a woman.

At a "guilty as Hell" woman at that! ;)