Posted on 03/10/2020 1:40:40 AM PDT by blueplum
The robot submarine (and unmanned surface ship) era is now nearly upon us. Chinese naval strategist have stated explicitly that they intend to circumvent their long-recognized weakness in submarine warfare by cultivating undersea AI and by developing highly capable UUVs. America should take notice....
...Lyle J. Goldstein is Research Professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. In addition to Chinese, he also speaks Russian and he is also an affiliate of the new Russia Maritime Studies Institute (RMSI) at Naval War College. You can reach him at goldstel@usnwc.edu. The opinions in his columns are entirely his own and do not reflect the official assessments of the U.S. Navy or any other agency of the U.S. government.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalinterest.org ...
As is common practice for such articles concerning the most sensitive parts of China’s developing military power, this article begins with a lengthy discussion of competing of U.S. Navy systems. It notes in some detail the taxonomy elaborated in the U.S. Navy’s “Comprehensive Plan for UUVs” that was first published about the year 2000. It states that a more contemporary classification allows for both “super small type [超轻型],” as well as “super-large type [超大型]” UUV designs. The analysis assesses that two different American designs have been of great importance. First, it discusses the Penn State-developed Sea Horse [海马], which is credited with achieving a 500 nautical mile range and a five-day operating capability within the relatively large frame of 8.7 meters and weight of 4,500kg. A second effort that impressed the Chinese was the Manta [曼塔], which displaced 50 tons, had a top speed of 10 knots and was reported in this Chinese source to be capable of slinging Mark 48 torpedoes. Since observing USN developments in these foundational platforms, it’s not surprising that Beijing is monitoring American progress in fielding XLUUVs with more than a little interest. This article reports on a U.S. test of a UUV that navigated 1,000 nautical miles and they have noted that these designs can additionally be carried into battle by Virginia-class SSNs. It is also observed that the U.S. Navy will be ready to deploy large UUVs into combat by 2022. …
...First, the analysis says directly that the HSU001 vehicle “attaches emphasis to seabed warfare capabilities [注重坐底作战能力].” Thus, it is pointed out that the vehicle is not especially large, but it has a simple structure and high reliability, enabling it to sit on the ocean floor for extended periods and blend in, while passively observing the surrounding environment. This capability, moreover, is mentioned as a way to cope with the power source issue that is a limitation on most UUVs. It is suggested that such quiet observation missions might go well over 30 days, expanding the PLA’s intelligence capabilities to the limits of the first island chain and even to the “second island chain [第二岛链].”
...A second potentially troubling mission area of the HSU001 discussed in this article concerns “support for special operations [支援特种作战].” The analysis holds that a similarly configured U.S. vehicle can hold 6 frogmen (naval special forces) and operate for eight hours, perhaps working with some kind of “mother ship [母艇].” With “ample space,” as well as reliable communications, navigation and covert surveillance capabilities, the vehicle could attain an outsized role in PLAN amphibious warfare, including for a Taiwan scenario. In that respect, it is likely not coincidental that the same analysis emphasizes “Our country is now energetically developing its special operations capabilities [我国正在大力发展特种作战能力].”
...A third mission area is said to be specifically concerned with rising tensions in the South China Sea area. Here, it is asserted that U.S. forces under the “excuse [借口]” of freedom of navigation patrols are actually threatening China’s strategic submarine bastion. Noting that that PLA surface forces have other priorities, such as training missions, it is also observed that these UUVs are particularly well suited for the ISR challenge in the South China Sea, since they are mostly impervious to weather (at least when fully submerged). They will have the long-endurance patrol capabilities to provide intelligence on adversary movements near Beijing’s reef bases in the South China Seas. Warning against enemy frogman activity, in addition to offensive and defensive mine warfare, are also missions mentioned in this context.
There fixed it
Should work out about as well as their level 4 bio-research lab
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