Pacific Submarine Force: A New Era of Warfare

Navy News Stand ^ | Jan. 23, 2004 | Chief Journalist (SW/AW) David Rush, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Official U.S. Navy file photo of Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine, USS Asheville (SSN 758).
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Pacific Submarine Force: A New Era of Warfare
Story Number: NNS040122-16
Release Date: 1/23/2004 10:00:00 AM

By Chief Journalist (SW/AW) David Rush, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- In a January interview, Rear Adm. Paul F Sullivan, commander, Submarine Force Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), said his submariners are ready for 2004.

The attack submarines (SSNs) stationed in Pearl Harbor, San Diego and Guam, as well as the "boomers" (SSBNs) homeported in Bangor, Wash., are ready to play their part in the globar war on terrorism.

Like the rest of the U.S. military, the events of Sept. 11 have had a major impact in the way the U.S. Navy operates.

The impact of the global war on terrorism has changed everything, including submarine warfare. Consequently, a new era of submarine warfare is evolving, according to Sullivan.

“Particularly since Sept. 11, submarines have operated in places that they have not normally operated in,” said Sullivan.

In March 2003, at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), there were 12 U.S. Navy submarines directly involved and two British submarines. Four of the U.S. submarines were COMSUBPAC assets. USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), homeported in Pearl Harbor, was the first U.S. warship to launch Tomahawks into Iraq.

“The day of submarines operating on their own, similar to what I grew up with during the Cold War, is well in the past. Our future depends on the ability to operate in a joint environment," Sullivan said. "That means being able to operate and communicate with not just an Expeditionary Strike Group or Carrier Strike Group, but also to operate with Marines, the Army, and of course the Air Force -- to do that you have to understand joint operations and your role.

“The submarine, in general, plays a significant role in the beginning of a conflict, primarily with battlespace preparation," Sullivan added. "It provides situational awareness for the joint task force commander."

As the environment in which the submarines operate shifts, those going into harm’s way must know how to do it effectively, safely and with the right equipment. Sullivan attributes this success to effective training, new technology and good old-fashioned experience.

“The ability to operate in a littoral environment is extremely important," he said. "It’s a challenge, and it tends to be more difficult because of limited depth and the likelihood that the area might be crowded with surface shipping.

“The acoustics are more complicated because of the effects of temperature, salinity and effects on the ocean bottom," Sullivan continued. "It’s a dramatically more difficult environment, but over the last 10 years, we have made significant advances to be able to do that. We are modernizing our periscopes so we can have better range capabilities, our fire control systems so we can track efficiently multiple contacts in order to provide situational awareness, and sonar systems that can provide immediate ranging."

As the threat of potential competitor nations’ diesel submarines and other sea and land-based adversaries multiply, the ability of the submarine force to respond becomes even more essential in reducing or eliminating such potential threats to military and commercial assets.

Monitoring and making the right move at the right time is something that newly installed technology will help submariners do now, and in the future.

“That’s where you see the advancements with the modernizations from commercial off-the-shelf technology [COTS]. The equipment costs about one tenth what the legacy systems cost, and gives you much more powerful computers that you can update every three to four years,” said Sullivan.

As the need for new technology has increased, the applications have spanned a broad range within the submarine force. “There’s been a lot of advancement in communications, with the high-data rate antennae, updates in the radio room, sonar and new fire control systems - most recently with the BYG-1, which is on USS Columbus (SSN 762) and USS Tucson (SSN 770), in which the software can be changed rapidly based on changes we learn from operating,” said Sullivan.

“We now have a fairly significant pool of submarines that have been modernized to the point that we can take advantage of this technology," he said. "COTS is not a panacea -- you have to be committed to updating the software on a regular basis. The goal is once per year, and you have to be willing to update the hardware every three years.”

No one can say exactly when and where the next operation will take place, but as far as Sullivan is concerned, the attack submarines of the U.S. Pacific Fleet will be there. “No matter what the conflict will be, I believe the submarine will play a significant role in battlespace preparation prior to hostilities. We have the endurance, the flexibility and the ability to be there when needed,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan believes this integration of the submarine force with joint task forces communicating in real-time will help to fill the gap in rapid response warfare.

“The submarine is an extremely capable instrument of military power, with its endurance, flexibility, utility and the ability to stay on station for a long period of time. They can also adapt quickly to emerging situations. The list of attributes is very important for the world we live in and in fighting the global war on terrorism,” said Sullivan.

“Submarines are unique, but we need to be contributing to the joint team. You have to be part of the bigger Navy team and the naval component to joint warfare. If you’re an asset that’s understood and able to be used by the task force commander, you contribute to the greater good on the global war on terrorism or any other operation,” concluded Sullivan.

For related news, visit the Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/subpac.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Ping.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- In a January interview, Rear Adm. Paul F Sullivan, commander, Submarine Force Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), said his submariners are ready for 2004.

The attack submarines (SSNs) stationed in Pearl Harbor, San Diego and Guam, as well as the "boomers" (SSBNs) homeported in Bangor, Wash., are ready to play their part in the globar war on terrorism.

Like the rest of the U.S. military, the events of Sept. 11 have had a major impact in the way the U.S. Navy operates.

The impact of the global war on terrorism has changed everything, including submarine warfare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace through readiness, ping! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[RightWhale]

So, attack subs are now operating right up to shorelines and in shallow water. Water needs to be 100 feet deep or the sail will stick out while the belly is scraping bottom.

[Severa]

They're starting to realize that with the Cold War being over, it's not the Russkies we worry about anymore (at least to a degree anyway) it's the countries they've sold their boats to that we need to keep an eye on...

[blackie]

Peace through readiness ~ Bump!

[Bobby777]

Love the USA's submarines ... always thought it would be cool to serve on them, especially these newer boats ...

[pabianice]

http://www.navlog.org

[Starboard]

As the threat of potential competitor nations diesel submarines...

Running on batteries, diesel boats can be very quiet and therefore difficult to detect.

[LibWhacker]

“The day of submarines operating on their own, similar to what I grew up with during the Cold War, is well in the past. Our future depends on the ability to operate in a joint environment," Sullivan said.

Hmmm . . . Don't know beans about the Navy, but I'm not sure I like this. Wasn't the idea behind submarine autonomy to make our subs hard to find? And now we're thinking of giving that up? In order to chase a bunch of raggedty-a** terrorists around? Don't like it at all. Russia and China are still out there and are still a serious threat, imo.

[BykrBayb]

Wasn't the idea behind submarine autonomy to make our subs hard to find?

My son is on the USS Charlotte (SSN 766), stationed in Pearl Harbor. He tells me that they remain very well hidden, even when assisting other vessels. They even hide from our own vessels. He tells me when he deploys, when he expects to return, and when he actually returns. That's all he can tell me. Although he's in navigation, he always tells me he doesn't know where he's going or where he's been. LOL

[CasearianDaoist]

They are working on a "stealth sail" for the Virginia class. It is shorter (do not know how much) it looks like bump on the top of the hull, has no "wings" and the "periscope" is "photonic" in that it does not pierce the hull and does not use direct optics. (I guess all the the virginias are like that.) I think that they are going to have two types of sails for this new class, a smaller version of the Seawolf sail and this new type of sail.

I, like you seem to think, wonder if they do not need some sort of smaller litorial type of boat. The Navy wants to use sub and helo launched unmanned vehicles to counter this threat. It is worth noting that they do do a lot of ASW war gaming with all of these new classes of subs that are appearing in the navies of regional powers, and with real navies, not simulations. Maybe they know what they are talking about, who knows?

[shaggy eel]

And now we're thinking of giving that up?

,,, don't believe everything you read.

[Az Joe]

Submariners are Gods.

[Calvin Locke]

...to make our subs hard to find?

I read some book that had a quote from a Soviet Admiral about keeping track of their own subs: "We just track the P3s..."

[jungleboy]

Attack subs are 100' sail to keel? wow!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

“That’s where you see the advancements with the modernizations from commercial off-the-shelf technology [COTS]. The equipment costs about one tenth what the legacy systems cost, and gives you much more powerful computers that you can update every three to four years,” said Sullivan.

I recommend the AMD64 processor.
Runs great!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Interesting!

Maybe have a big ship that carries around several of these little guys!

[FreedomPoster]

>>Running on batteries, diesel boats can be very quiet

The joke there is, to get an idea of how much noise a diesel-electric boat makes when running on batteries, go out to your garage, open your hood, and listen to your car battery.

Of course, I don't think it would be much of a joke if you were out there in brown water.

[CasearianDaoist]

You mean the underwater unmanned vehicles? I think that the Littoral Combat Ship and some versions of the planned DDC and CGX may have such a thing. Another interesting idea is to have some supersonic planes deliver them based on long range sonar scans. They are terrible mum about the robots so it is hard to day what they are up to.

I wonder if the submarine force is getting enough money.