The navy last week sword eat from san
diego a flotilla of manned and unmanned
surface vessels and submarines. Crews positioned unmanned aerial
vehicles to support the ships. The
stealth cruiser uss michael mansour, sporting what appeared to be an
experimental communication system on its
flight deck, led the other ships from
destroyer squadron 21 into the pacific
ocean.
What followed was a series of
experiments and mock battles combining
manned and unmanned systems. Robot boats sailing alongside near-shore
littoral combat ships. An attack
submarine launching an underwater drone. UAVS flying overhead the whole time. The
so-called fleet problem was a preview of
the navy's possible future as it
reconfigures for high-tech warfare
against chinese forces.
The people's liberation army is
deploying anti-access, systems including
submarines bombers and missiles that
could make the western pacific a very
dangerous place for american ships. The navy is betting on drones to help
solve the anti-access problem
the service has proposed to add hundreds
of unmanned ships and submarines to its
existing fleet of around 300 man vessels. The idea is for robots to scout for
chinese ships, extending the u.s fleet's
sensor range and helping manned, shooters, destroyers and submarines, stay outside
the pla's own engagement zone.
The april fleet problem is a
strong indication it just might. After
several days of experimentation the navy
on sunday staged an impressive test of
arguably its most promising manned
unmanned concept. The amphibious ship USS Anchorage Disgorged a barge simulating an enemy
warship. The barge apparently carried emitters
duplicating radios, radars and other
electronics.
The destroyer USS John Finn stood off
over the horizon. exactly how far away is
a secret and initiated a hunt for the
pretend enemy ship. UAVS and robot boats
crisscrossed the ocean, to avoid
detection they kept their active sensors
off. Instead they used their passive
electronic receivers to listen for the
enemy's own electronic emissions.
The
drones pinpointed the barge and passed
the data to a satellite which relayed it
to John Finn. The destroyer fired an SM-6 missile, the
5 million missile which can hit targets
on the sea or in the air, struck the
barge well beyond the line of sight, according to the navy. It's unclear just how far the missile
traveled.
In theory the supersonic SM-6
can strike targets as far away as 300
miles. The distance involved is one
reason to celebrate. The other reason is
that none of the vehicles involved in
the shoot ever turned on the radars. They remained as stealthy as possible
throughout the engagement. Experts agree
range and stealth are prerequisites to
fighting chinese forces.
The april fleet problem indicates the
u.s navy is taking these qualities
seriously. If there's a weakness in the navy's
emerging manned unmanned team it's
communication. If robots satellites and manned ships
can't talk together, they can't fight
together. The fleet problem highlights the
importance of links between sensors, said Eric Wertheim author of combat fleets of
the world.
It's one thing to connect robots and
manned ships and sink a barge in a test. It's another thing to pull off the same
trick thousands of miles from u.s shores
in the chaos of battle with an enemy who
has their own tricks. But you can't
deploy new technology and tactics if you
don't test them first. The fleet problem is one part of a
process that could end with the us fleet
sailing into battle behind a deadly
armada of stealthy drones. This is a really positive first sign, Wardheim said.
