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| Mines Are Coming To The South China Sea; Naval Mine Warfare | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 24 2014, 10:49 PM (824 Views) | |
| Hong Nam | Jul 24 2014, 10:49 PM Post #1 |
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Bought by China
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Mines Are Coming To The South China Sea by ADMIN on JULY 10, 2014 ![]() Look at the players. On one side, we have China, a country boasting an enormous, sophisticated arsenal of mines with a resurgent Navy holding a set of offensive Mine Warfare doctrines that are simply begging to be tested. On the other, we have Vietnam, the Philippines and the rest of the region who are desperately "looking for a win" against the big, expansion-minded regional powerhouse. These tiny regional navies are casting about for any cost-effective means to level a playing field dominated by large numbers of aggressive Chinese combatants and encroachment by grand-scale commercial equipment - rigs, dredges and other craft. The temptation to use mines is going to grow. China will be increasingly eager to restrict outside access to areas full of sea features and "starve out" the small, pesky garrisons that pepper the region. Rather than take the confrontational route of chasing down and halting (or sinking) small resupply boats, China can simply declare a small area "closed", throw mines down, offer one-way flights out to the garrisons and then sit back and watch as the Philippines and Vietnam struggle to decide how to cross into the mined areas. On the other hand, the small, hard-pressed navies of Vietnam and the Philippines would like nothing better than to force China's large fleet to "back off" and to make Chinese agents of commercial encroachment think twice before sending large capital investments into the South China Sea (economically speaking, using a $100,000 dollar mine to disable a billion-dollar exploration rig isnt a bad tradeoff at all). Mines are cheap, can be distributed easily, and might make China think twice about committing their new and shiny Navy to a gritty IED-ridden area. On a larger scale, the smaller countries might gamble with the innate "plausible deniability" of mine warfare, distribute mines freely, and hope that China, if it suffered a loss, would over-react and suffer disproportionate economic and political impact from that over-reaction. Internationalization of the conflict benefits the little guys - and mines are an easy - and maybe the only-way to escalate without suffering a loss. It's all an awfully risky game. Like it or not, mine warfare is coming to the South China Sea. And we all had better be ready, because, when it does happen, it'll be a complex geo-political challenge that could easily cascade into a global crisis. Next Navy Edited by Hong Nam, Jul 24 2014, 10:50 PM.
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![]() Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie - C Sword 90 | |
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| Hong Nam | Aug 12 2014, 01:55 AM Post #2 |
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Bought by China
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Mine and Undersea Warfare for the Future Proceedings Magazine - August 2014 Dr. Joshua J. Edwards and Captain Denis M. Gallagher, US Navy The Advanced Undersea Weapon System will provide the United States with a vital asymmetric advantage in tomorrow's maritime conflicts. A resurgent regional power in the Pacific has grown successively more aggressive in territorial claims to a number of disputed island groups. Unilaterally establishing air-defense identification zones and stoking nationalistic feelings among its population have spiked international tensions in the region as other nations resist this aggressive behavior. In this powder-keg situation, a tactical miscalculation on the part of one aggressor ship skipper results in a collision between opposing warships. Both countries begin mobilizing for war. With significant economic and political interests in the region, the United States decides to intervene in the situation in a way that allows controlled de-escalation without imposing an overt loss of face for any of the countries involved. The United States would like to apply psychological pressure on the aggressor's leadership, while providing a diplomatic off-ramp. The combatant command has directed its Navy component to control the adversary navy's freedom of movement into and out of its main bases. The U.S. Navy component commander is considering options. The Vision Asymmetric combat has been a force equalizer since David defeated Goliath, and its use has allowed less-influential and -equipped nations to defeat some of the most dominant nations of their era. Undersea dominance provides strategic and warfighting advantages vital to our national security. "The torpedo of the future and the offensive mine of the future will be hard to distinguish. The use of distributed networks, autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles, firepower, stealth, and the ability to act quickly with a profound degree of surprise, force, and lethality." - Vice Admiral Michael Connor, Commander, Submarine Forces Contemporary Offensive Mining The military value of a naval blockade is clear. The ability to establish and sustain an effective blockade reduces the capacity for the adversary to influence the United States or allies. It allows for military action without the presence of high-value military forces. Visions Becoming Tangible Vice Admiral Conner recognizes that the United States' and its allies' current and future interests in national security will depend on a survivable, lethal undersea force. Such a force will consist of smart payloads and unmanned vehicles in an affordable manner to satisfy financial and industrial constraints. Technical advances have opened a floodgate of possibilities for asymmetric solutions, and clandestine, unmanned offensive mining is just the beginning. The Advanced Undersea Weapon System (AUWS) is a group of unmanned systems (sensors, effectors, communications, and vehicles) that can be pre-positioned to autonomously and persistently influence the adversary at a time and place of our choosing. This concept provides asymmetric clandestine solutions that will free traditional platforms to be more effectively employed in a capacity for which they were designed. The AUWS provides commanders with unique operational and tactical options in contested waters without regard to air superiority or water depth, freeing them to act aggressively with autonomous inexpensive tools. Its modular design will allow operators to integrate a wide variety of sensors and weapons, thus tailoring the system for specific missions. Concepts of Employment The adversary may attempt channelization of traffic by sending fishing boats and other local ships to discover or create a safe passage. This tactic might have worked for a traditional field in which mines are distributed randomly. In that case, once a ship successfully transits the minefield, it is a safe bet that that route is clear of mines. For the AUWS, however, the torpedoes have a range of several thousand yards and reside on a portable platform (UUV), which can move from location to location. As long as the UUV is in the area and has a torpedo available, there is no safe route for the adversary. The Stigma There is a historical stigma associated with mines that has kept them from being used despite their ability to provide persistent effects for months, act as a force multiplier, and reduce the need for traditional platforms. Traditional arguments against mining include: Multiple sorties are needed to deliver an adequate minefield, restrictions on the rules of engagement, post-operation mine removal requires too much effort, and mines limit our own freedom to maneuver. The AUWS negates all of these shortcomings. This concept fills the gaps with an affordable, asymmetric weapon system to allow traditional platforms the freedom to operate with minimized contention. This capability provides commanders with aggressive and subtle options without endangering lives and high-value vessels. It gives politicians and commanders a clear conscience to employ an offensive capability that will protect the interests and citizens of the United States and its allies. The AUWS is the embodiment of asymmetric thinking from the greatest naval force the world has ever seen. The versatility of this weapon platform is only limited by the imagination of its wielders. USNI - Proceedings |
![]() Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie - C Sword 90 | |
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8:43 AM Jul 11