Swedish Sub Sinks The USS Ronald Reagan (Video)

ChicoER Gate ^ | 5/4/10 | Chuck Wolk

[OneVike]

Ever since WWII, America has been a dominant force upon the high seas. We have become so advanced in our military technology that the Soviet Union eventually collapsed, in large part because Ronald Reagan would not back down against them. In honor of his accomplishments and great leadership, congress named the worlds largest aircraft carrier after him, the USS Ronald Reagan.

Thanks to Reagan, America has been able to set the standard for which other nations have wished to achieve. Well it has been 22 years since Reagan left office, and while we have been able to hold our status as the worlds most powerful military force the world has ever seen, those days could be coming to an end. Thanks in large part to the anti military sentiment that prevails in Washington, America is beginning to lose the battle of technological advancement.

What you will see in this video is a report about the Swedish submarine, NemoSaltadSobrius, which cannot be detected by our navy. Even worse, this submarine has reportedly sunk our best and most powerful naval ships in mock war games. Check out this report by Chuck Henry of channel 4 news out of San Diego. Henry reports that the US Navy is attempting to figure out how to detect the Swedish submarine before our enemies can discover the secret of its elusiveness.

I am glad our navy is trying to figure out a way to detect this sub before a rogue nation like Iran or North Korea gets their hands on the technology for it. However, it should be other countries trying to figure out how to stop us and our equipment, not the other way around. Which brings me to the million dollar question, "Why are we even in this predicament"?

Well it begins with the fact that most Americans do not know that the US Constitution explicitly states that the number one job of the United States Government is to secure the borders of America. That's right. The founding fathers knew that it was incumbent upon the government to defend our......

(Excerpt) Continue reading more at ChicoER.com ...

[magslinger]

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[pabianice]

I think this might be more a case of an unglamorous mission (ASW) getting the short end of the stick for decades.

The US Navy pretty much abandoned ASW after the USSR collapsed. IMHO, we are no longer able to do serious ASW against today's SSKs.

pabianice

P-3 Mission Commander (Retired)

[Bean Counter]

That is a periscope shot of USS George Washington (CVN-73), taken by USS Hammerhead (SSN 663) around 1992 (she was decommissioned sometime in 1995) when she popped up inside of our ASW screen during our shakedown cruise. Taking your picture through the periscope simulates firing a warshot that would not have missed, and they fire a green flare at the same time that lets the carrier's OOD know he just got had. Please note the clear and unobstructed view of the Navigation Bridge, the Flag Bridge as well as PriFly...

Whoops.

That picture is a scan of the original print of that warshot, and it was given to me in Newport News by my neighbor and good friend the COB of USS Hammerhead.

In fact our submarines exercise against our own fleet all the time, because it makes for excellent training for everyone all the way around.

[FreedomPoster]

I’m pretty sure we SHIPPED this sub to our waters for war games, on a sort of lease deal. The point being that I don’t think it has serious globe-spanning Blue Water capability.

It doesn’t mean it isn’t a potent, useful weapon. But there are significant limitations to what it can do.

[Tom Hawks]

Now that is one cool picture.

Question to you Bean Counter & pabianice. On my blog ChicoER Gate, I had a reader leave a comment and this is what he wrote;

The US Navy is the largest navy in the world, and on paper, certainly the most powerful. It is also unmistakably the most expensive navy the world has ever seen. Of that there is no doubt.

Now that the Russian navy is all but gone, and the Chinese Navy is still ascending, the American Navy remains the dominant sea power in the world. Yet, as this video proves, our heavyweight navy often has great difficulty handling the little guys. Indeed, if the US Navy were a boxer, one might say that his dominance is due mostly to his sheer size because he punches well below his massive weight. In this era of asymmetrical warfare, of David versus Goliath conflicts, perhaps it is time for America to rethink its naval strategy, lose some weight, and as sports announcers say, "focus more on the fundamentals."

For all the money America spends on its huge navy, it really needs to be much better. Edmund Burke once said, "A nation without the means of reform is without the means of survival." So, too, I would add, is a navy.

OK, my question to you would be, do you think our military is to sophisticated, and that we need to get back to basics so we can meet the challenge of the new era as Defense Secretary Robert Gates alluded to?

[Tom Hawks]

It’s actually not my blog.

The site belongs to OneVike and he runs the site and he has invited me to be a guest writer.

[Bean Counter]

I just posted a unique pic...

[arthurus]

What are the chances that O’Bama will send spies to steal the tech to give it to the Russians and Chinese in exchange for campaign cash? The precedent was already pretty much set in the 90s.

[SJSAMPLE]

I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.

[Straight Vermonter]

I have been hearing essentially this same story since the 1980s.

[ryan71]

I've seen reports concerning the training use of this Swedish sub for the last couple of years but the scenarios are typically putting the Swedish sub only against our surface and air ASW assets.

In your opinion, how effective would a Virginia SSN, assigned to a Carrier Battle Group, be in detecting, tracking and targeting the Swede? Seems to me, our SSN’s would be our best defense.

[bmwcyle]

The BUSY II system is good. The Swedish sub is extremely quiet. The variables are the local of where is the sea you are looking for a sub. The Swedish sub has the advantage. Other factors are intell before the search from other sources from since the Swedish sub left port. It also depends on the quality of the Captains of the submarines and the sonar teams.

[ryan71]

I was in the Navy for the last few years of the cold war. We had a naval enemy to focus on, to prepare and train for.

I can imagine how not having a formidable, cohesive naval enemy could make some to become somewhat complacent. USS Cole?

[BIGLOOK]

Clue the landlubbers in on sub exercises, will ya?

{{{ping}}}

[ryan71]

Seems like there should be tactics we can employ with active sonar to flush out the Swede. SH-60’s with dipping sonar? Bouys? Even DDG’s and CG’s going active. Anything to harrass and cause the Swede to maneuver, change speeds, all while our SSN watches.

[bmwcyle]

I’m not going into it but the modern submarine only uses active sonar at very short duration. As for dipping sonar (the most dangerous to submarines), there is defense against active sonar also water bends sound if the temperature is right. You can hide in the water.

[ryan71]

I’m not suggesting our subs go active. I know that’s a big no no. But I think we could use a list of other active sonar assets to to force them in to a certain area that’s easier to search.

One more...We know the Swede is quiet. Is our SSN equally quiet to the Swede? If so, that has to scare the hell out of them, especially if they’re being pinged to death.

[bmwcyle]

The answer to your question is they are about equal but the real answer is more complex. That is what we can’t talk about.

[SmithL]

There are only two things in the water: Submarines and Targets.

[ryan71]

Your dipping sonar comment reminded me of this, the new AN/AQS-22 airborne low-frequency sonar (ALFS).

http://www.naval-technology.com/news/news68448.html

I gotta think that if we correctly employ all our assets and develop good tactics we can make life extremely difficult for a Swedish sub.

Thanks for the discussion.
(I was an EW, WLR-1’s)