Free Republic

A South Carolina man believes he may have discovered the plane Amelia Earhart was flying when she vanished over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. Former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Tony Romeo turned his fascination with the legendary pilot into an adventure when he embarked on an ambitious search for Earhart's lost plane. Romeo, who sold his commercial property investments to fund his search, managed to take a sonar image of an aircraft-shaped object on the ocean floor in December. Earhart and her Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra vanished at the height of her fame, a mystery that has spawned decades...

As tensions rose over the weekend between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf, several vessels were “sabotaged” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Both Iranian media and the UAE reported the incident, but 24 hours after it happened, much of what occurred was still shrouded in mystery, with allegations of “explosions” and questions about how severe the “sabotage” actually was. The Saudi energy minister confirmed that two of its oil tankers were targeted in a “sabotage attack.” It took place as the tankers were “on their way to the Arabian Gulf” via the Emirate of Fujairah,...

A few days ago, Aug 23, I sent a post explaining the workings on the navigation bridge of a typical Naval Vessel. A few of my fellow Naval Veterans corrected me on something. We never referred to our Officer on the bridge as the OIC (Officer in Charge). His title was OOD! (Officer of the Day) Sorry, I knew that, but must have had a brain freeze! I also was incorrect on the number of personnel involved on a vessel the size of a CRUISER or DESTROYER. I should have known better! My navigation experience was mostly aboard the USS...

The new sonar device developed by Rafael improves the Dolphin submarines' detection and fighting capabilities. A new sonar system developed by the Israel navy and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. significantly improves the detection capabilities of Israel's fleet of Dolphin submarines. Development of the new sonar took three years, and it has been installed on the navy's submarines for the past two years. Another submarine, the INS Rahav, was added to Israel's fleet at the beginning of the year, bringing its total to five submarines. German company HDW supplied the vessel. A sixth submarine will be supplied to Israel in...

U.S. officials have wrongly allowed the Navy to use sonar at levels that could harm whales and other marine mammals in the world’s oceans, a federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled. The decision Friday by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would scale back the Navy’s use of low-frequency sonar in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean Sea under authority that was granted in 2012.

Police testing new sonar equipment during a training exercise at Foss Lake in Oklahoma discovered five skeletons inside a blue 1969 Chevy Camaro and a 1950s-era vehicle perhaps linked to the early 1960's disappearance of a couple.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says Navy training off the San Diego County coast has been linked to the deaths of at least three dolphins and may be responsible for two more. . . . Environmentalists have called on the Navy to suspend activities involved in the deaths and conduct a transparent investigation. A spokesman says the Navy is continuing its training program in the area.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In one University of Illinois lab, invisibility is a matter of now you hear it, now you don’t. Led by mechanical science and engineering professor Nicholas Fang, Illinois researchers have demonstrated an acoustic cloak, a technology that renders underwater objects invisible to sonar and other ultrasound waves. “We are not talking about science fiction. We are talking about controlling sound waves by bending and twisting them in a designer space,” said Fang, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. “This is certainly not some trick Harry Potter is playing with.” While...

WASHINGTON – Could Ruffles and Granny be in trouble? At 59, Ruffles is the oldest known male orca in the world, one of an estimated 150 orcas known to inhabit Puget Sound and the coast of Washington state. Granny is his 99-year-old mother. Environmentalists fear for the safety of the whales as the U.S. Navy prepares to expand operations in its Northwest Training Range Complex, which stretches from the coast of Washington to Northern California. "They're all very susceptible," said Howard Garrett, president of Orca Network, a nonprofit group based in Whidbey Island in Washington. "The Navy is single-minded. …...

/begin my excerpts N. Korea's Mini-Sub Plated With Sonar-Absorbing Tiles to Evade Detection Ryu Yong-won N. Korea's Shark class and Yugo class mini-submarines are plated with sonar-absorbing tiles to evade detection by our side, and some Yugo class mini-subs carry 533mm heavy torpedoes, it has been revealed. Intelligence sources said on Apr. 6 that, according to investigation by relevant authorities regarding N. Korea's (mini-)submarine, torpedoes and mines, N. Korea obtained Russian technology with which they developed sonar-absorbing tiles and plated their Yugo class mini-submarines with them. The tiles are made of chlorinated rubber with silicon mixed in. N. Korea is...

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Environmental groups are suing the Navy to halt plans for an offshore training range off the Georgia and Florida coasts, saying the military failed to properly assess the threat to endangered right whales. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Savannah.

It is highly likely the recent collision of a Chinese submarine and an underwater sonar array towed by a US warship in the South China Sea was due to misjudgment of distance, Chinese military experts said. The conjecture is in line with the United States view of "inadvertent encounter". The collision occurred last Thursday as the destroyer USS John S. McCain was sailing in the sea, CNN television reported on Friday. Its sonar array, used to listen and locate underwater sounds, was damaged in the incident, but fortunately the sub and ship did not collide, an unnamed military official told...

Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Blog Details Iran Launches Production of 30 Hi-Tech Military Devices The Iranian news agency Fars reports that Iran yesterday launched production of 30 important military tools and equipment, including electronic, telecommunication and radar devices. The Fars report quoted Iranian Defense Minister Brig.-Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar as saying, "The exact and coherent planning by the defense industries, specially electronic industries of the defense ministry, in recent years caused the production of more qualitative and varied products by the defense industries of the defense ministry." "These new production lines and products are related to...

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2009 – The Navy’s ability to harness sonar technology has allowed submarines to navigate more safely in the dark depths of the ocean while also allowing other ships to locate and identify them, said a senior Navy submariner. “Sonar is our only window to the world,” said Navy Capt. Jeffrey Currer, head of the Navy’s Undersea Surveillance Branch. He discussed the various uses of sonar during an April 8 “Armed with Science” webcast on Pentagon Web Radio. The word “sonar” originated as an acronym for sound, navigation and ranging technology. Navy submarines most commonly use “passive...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy and several plaintiffs, including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Cetacean Society International, the League for Coastal Protection, the Ocean Futures Society, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, entered into a settlement agreement to resolve a worldwide challenge to the Navy's testing and training with mid-frequency active sonar. The settlement essentially adopts the long range program for environmental analysis and research that the Navy undertook in August 2005, months before this lawsuit was originally filed. The Navy will continue to implement a variety of protective measures previously developed in cooperation with...

HONOLULU, (AP) -- The Navy has settled a lawsuit filed by environmentalists challenging its use of sonar in hundreds of submarine-hunting exercises around the world. The Navy said Saturday the deal reached with the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups requires it to continue to research how sonar affects whales and other marine mammals. It doesn't require sailors to adopt additional measures to protect the animals when they use sonar. The agreement comes one month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Navy in another sonar lawsuit the NRDC filed.

The US Supreme Court Wednesday ruled the US Navy can continue to use long-range sonar in exercises off the California coast, dismissing arguments that the practice was harmful to whales. "Even if the plaintiffs have shown irreparable injury from the navy's training exercises, any such injury is outweighed by the public interest and the navy's interest in effective, realistic training of its sailors," the court said in a opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts.

<p>It seems that the animal rights morons were trying to get the Navy to stop using sonar during submarine training off the coast of California. It seems they think the sonar is too loud and hurts the sensitive whale ears. Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the Court, calls bullsh*t on that bullsh*t.</p>

The US Supreme Court has removed restrictions on the navy's use of sonar in training exercises near California. The ruling is a defeat for environmental groups who say the sonar can kill whales and other mammals. President George W Bush intervened in the long-running dispute, citing national security interests. In its 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said the navy needed to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats. The court did not deal with the merits of the claims put forward by the environmental groups. It said, rather, that federal courts abused their discretion by ordering the navy...

The Supreme Court, dividing deeply, upheld the Navy’s power to use sonar in military training exercises, even though the technology threatens marine life in the training zone off the Pacific Coast. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., wrote for the majority; there were three full dissents and one partial dissent. The decision, the Court’s first ruling of the Term, came in the case of Winter (Navy Secretary) v. National Resources Defense Council, et al. (07-1239). The Court partially overturned a federal judge’s order against the use of the active sonar at least until the Navy took additional measures to mitigate...