Posted on 03/09/2009 7:20:38 AM PDT by boughtwithaprice
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said Monday that Chinese ships shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close to a U.S. Navy vessel in what appeared to be an effort to harass the American crew.
The Obama administration is protesting to the Chinese government. The protest will be delivered to Beijing's military attache on Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
“The Impeccable sprayed one ship with water from fire hoses to force it away “
THAT should do it...
This and Russian bombers approaching Alaska.... Hmmm...
You see this story, Jeff?
Is it a submarine retrieval ship?
Why would you want to let them know that a Los Angeleles or Sea Wolf may be lurking nearby. A periscope photo of one of their ships in its crosshairs would be nice!
I don’t think Obama will handle it. We will have the Ambassador send a letter of complaint
one word: SecDet
Nope. But keep guessing...
Adm. Painter: What's his plan?
Jack Ryan: His plan?
Adm. Painter: Russians(Commies) don't take a dump, son, without a plan.
Admiral Josh Painter: This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.
The Impeccable is not a combatant. She is operated by the Military Sealift Command and is crewed by civilains with Navy Officers. She is an Ocean Surveillance vessel with the specific mission of tracking submarines, and is the quietest ship the US Government operates, outside of our nuclear submarines themselves. She has a very unique, and very quiet hull.
Such ships serve as a stable platform to gather underwater acoustical data. Impeccable was specifically designed to deploy two underwater listening devices called surveillance towed-array sensor system (SURTASS) used to augment the Navy's antisubmarine warfare capability. The SURTASS mission is to gather ocean acoustical data and, through electronic equipment onboard, process and provide rapid transmission of antisubmarine warfare information via satellite to shore stations for evaluation and analysis.
The Chinese know this and this is why they are so touchy about it. Their new subs are likely being tagged by this vessel.
IMHO, they should have armed this vessel for self defense purposes at the very least. A 20mm CIWS or a RAM launcher, and at least a couple of .50 cal machine guns, or better yet the newer 25mm cannons designed specifically for preventing terrorists from getting in close to our ships.
Here she is:
See my post number 112.
Weird looking ship. Thanks for posting all the info! Very interesting!
I was thinking more of a surface ship with real guns just barely visible on the horizon. Instant karma as she steams closer at the first sign of trouble.
This is not quite the challenge it was when China bullied the new Bush administration around and embarrassed the entire country by sending our military plan home in pieces.
These ships are not equipped with the necessary berthing, crew quarters and support a detachment would require., besides, they stay out too long for most sailors.
Can’t do much less than the last incident.
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