Thursday, April 14, 2016

The U.S. Navy Is Getting Ready For Submarine Warfare

The Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Mexico (SSN 779) transits the Thames River to her new homeport at Naval Submarine Base New London. New Mexico joins Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 4. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Patrick Evans/Released)

Washington Post: Tension on the South China Sea draws concerns. So should submarine warfare underneath.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter is in Asia this week, making stops in India and the Philippines to bolster relationships that the United States could call on in a time of crisis. Discussion has focused at least in part on the South China Sea, where tensions remain high as China has deployed surface-to-air missiles and other equipment and several countries have made conflicting territorial claims.

Security concerns about the South China Sea often focus on the ships that traverse it, including in so-called freedom of navigation operations run by the U.S. Navy and recent efforts by Chinese fishermen and coast guard units to take control of the lucrative fishing business in the region. But another element of maritime security has received less attention: submarines. The Navy’s “Silent Service” rarely discloses its operations, but is part of a diverse and growing international fleet of submersibles that is deployed across the Pacific region broadly and in the South China Sea specifically.

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WNU Editor: The Pentagon is definitely putting the money that they need into their submarine program.


1 comment:

Bob Huntley said...

And when other nations develop sub hunting drones the money spent on the sub program will have been wasted. Another view of planned obsolescence.