Countermeasures for drug subs

[u-5075]

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/17515345/detail.html

Robot Ships To Scour Depths For Rogue Submarines
Gene Cubbison, NBC 7/39 Reporter

POSTED: 1:59 pm PDT September 19, 2008
UPDATED: 4:32 pm PDT September 19, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- While enemy submarines may "run silent, run deep," a day is soon coming when they'll be tracked by remote control, by way of small, high-speed Navy robo-craft under the guidance of sailors aboard large warships a safe distance away.

A first-generation Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) is being put through its paces on San Diego Bay just offshore of Naval Base Point Loma, where top Pentagon officials, Navy brass, defense contractors and other dignitaries watch in amazement.

"We've had the perfect marriage of technology, innovation and leadership," says Deputy Asst. Navy Secy. Elizabeth Anne Sandel, who helped bring the USV program to readiness for sea trials.

"Let's take the men out of the loop, take them out of harm's way," Sandel said in an interview with NBC 7/39, "and do the anti-submarine warfare mission separate from the seaframe (warship)."

Bristling with a vast array of electronic, sonar and photographic gear, the USV isn't much bigger than a large sportfishing vessel, weighing about two and a half tons and capable of operating for 24 straight hours at speeds of up to 35 knots.

Its technology is designed to track so-called "quiet" diesel-electric submarines at long-arms-length from its control ship, which lowers the vessel by crane into areas where advanced "intel" has detected the general presence of hostile submarines.

Once on station, the USV -- mainly engineered by San Diego-based SPAWAR -- provides precise coordinates to SH-60R choppers armed with torpedoes, to go in for the kill, if necessary.

The USV has an onboard sound system that features sirens and announcements that can be targeted toward surface craft as well, such as "Unidentified Vessel! Unidentified vessel! You are approaching a United States vessel operating in international waters!

"Your intentions are not understood! You are standing into danger, and may be subject to United States defensive measures! Request you alter course immediately to stay clear of me!"

"As you know, it's a cat-and-mouse game against the enemy," Rear Adm. James McManamon told NBC 7/39. "The real advantage here is, we have the ability to take that cutting-edge technology … and act very quickly."

Eventually, small remote-control drone helicopters being developed by Northrop-Grumman in San Diego will be outfitted with a variety of weapons to "prosecute" -- Navy jargon -- attacks on rogue subs.

According to Vice Adm. Barry McCullough, the robo-boats will be especially helpful to Naval forces in the Arabian Gulf, Northeastern Pacific, and waters around the Horn of Africa.

The first USV system was developed for about $45 million.

Assuming successful sea trials and other certifications, the Pentagon program calls for deploying as many as 32 within the next three years.

[u-5075]

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/ ... 80925.aspx

The Heat Is

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/ ... 80925.aspx

The Heat Is On
September 25, 2008: The U.S. is getting some valuable practice hunting submarines by searching for the increasingly numerous drug smuggling semi-submersible boats carrying cocaine from South America. U.S. anti-submarine aircraft are honing their skills at spotting very small objects at sea by spotting heat.

Between 2000 and 2007, 23 of these drug boats were spotted. But so far this year, over 60 have been seen or captured. The two most recent captures were the result of intelligence information at the source, not air and naval patrols out there just looking for them. These boats are hard to spot (by aircraft or ships), which is why they are being used more often. It's very difficult to pick the boats up with airborne radar, but heat sensors are another matter. The boats engines, and the crew, give off heat, and there are airborne sensors that can detect that. The U.S. Navy will not reveal the range and sensitivity of the infrared (heat) sensors used on its P-3C maritime patrol aircraft, but apparently it's possible to detect these boats from their heat. the P-3C has a cruise speed of 610 kilometers per hour, endurance of up to 13 hours. Flying a few thousand meters up, and with a heat sensor with a range of 5-10 kilometers or so, a P-3C can cover a lot of ocean. But the drug boats come up from Colombia, often 500 kilometers off the Central American coast. That's a whole lot of ocean.

These are not submarines in the true sense of the word, but "semi-submersibles". They are 30-60 foot fiberglass boats, powered by a diesel engine, with a very low freeboard, and a small "conning tower", providing the crew (of 4-5), and engine, with fresh air, and permitting the crew to navigate the boat. A boat of this type is the only practical kind of submarine for drug smuggling. A real submarine, capable of carrying five tons of cocaine, would cost a lot more, and require a highly trained crew.

The semi-submersibles are built, often using specially made components brought in from foreign countries, in areas along the Colombian coast, or other drug gang controlled territory. Russian naval architects and engineers have been discovered among those designing and building these boats. Based on interrogations of captured gang members, these subs cost over $600,000 to construct, and carry up to ten tons of cocaine.

At one point it was thought that as many as half of them were captured or lost at sea. But this is apparently not the case. That's because most of these subs are built for a one way trip. This keeps down the cost of construction, and the cost of hiring a crew (who fly home). That one voyage will usually be for about a thousand kilometers, with the boat moving at a speed of 15-25 kilometers an hour. So the average trip will take a few days. But going to Mexico takes about a week, with additional fuel and crew supplies reducing the amount of cocaine carried.

These subs are not stealthy enough to avoid detection all the time, and the U.S. is working to tweak search radars, and other types of sensors, to more reliably detect the drug subs. The U.S. Navy is also going to try using Predators, equipped with a maritime search radar. The heat given off by these boats is comparable to what a diesel-electric sub puts out when semi-submerged (with just its schnorkel, on top of the conning tower, above water to provide air for the crew and the diesel engine). There is technology that can decrease that "heat signature" and the drug gangs may be able to get help from their Russian technical advisors on that subject as well. And then the U.S. P-3C crews get a chance to defeat the improvement. In any event, the U.S. is gaining valuable experience searching to small objects at sea.