tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post5015390433827667392..comments2024-03-27T20:37:08.065+01:00Comments on Defence and Freedom: Modern warships (VII) - conclusion; the two pathsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-88000164719829334972018-02-25T12:24:53.463+01:002018-02-25T12:24:53.463+01:00Sorry for the use of caps. I hate typing on the ph...Sorry for the use of caps. I hate typing on the phone.Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-68016228641777367442018-02-25T10:07:02.321+01:002018-02-25T10:07:02.321+01:00@Chris
To be in a war against Russia would make th...@Chris<br />To be in a war against Russia would make the loss of a hundred container ships appear insignificant.<br /><br />@KRT<br />A close blockade would suffice at both Suez Canal and Bosporus. Nobody needs to be in control of either to seal the Med.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-42993285675480010232018-02-25T08:59:55.825+01:002018-02-25T08:59:55.825+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.KRThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10725091310284220350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-80398881086867921332018-02-25T08:42:38.808+01:002018-02-25T08:42:38.808+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.KRThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10725091310284220350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-30571392184138891842018-02-25T04:22:25.537+01:002018-02-25T04:22:25.537+01:00I'm mind boggled that, although the first 6000...I'm mind boggled that, although the first 6000 TEU container ship was launched in 1996, there are now >18000 TEU container ships in existence.Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-69806328700563126822018-02-25T04:04:45.210+01:002018-02-25T04:04:45.210+01:00Joking aside, the loss of one Maersk Triple E head...Joking aside, the loss of one Maersk Triple E headed for the UK would probably have significant repercussions for our economy.Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-71263887495111360932018-02-24T16:56:33.769+01:002018-02-24T16:56:33.769+01:00Bad weather is bad for convoy defences and to a le...Bad weather is bad for convoy defences and to a lesser degree for the sub as well (missiles cannot seakim, passive sonar a little troubled by more noise)<br /><br />What I described (use of ASW missiles, ship-mounted sonars) is the best backup plan I know of for both threat submarine air defences and sea state 5+.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-91526758926590655602018-02-24T16:26:37.955+01:002018-02-24T16:26:37.955+01:00The companies that own the ships are usually at ho...The companies that own the ships are usually at home in NATO, and even if not an insurance scheme that compensates for loss as used before should be enough incentive. The legal details of mobilising the merchant marines would be different, but I think it could be done.<br /><br />My scheme is to secure teh Med by sealing it, securing a Oslo/Copenhagen-Gibraltar lane along the coast with coastal means (same along U.S. coasts) and whatever ships need to cross the Atlantic simply cruise to NY or Lissabon.<br />A couple container ships would only ferry the NY-Lissabon round tour because they would be equipped with many ARAPAHO II modules, while most others would only have decoys and at most some CIWS.<br /><br />The can of worms is left alone in the corner by the really existing navies, all of them. They're either way too offensively-minded ((US, UK, FRA) or content with toying around with a tiny quantity of low capability frigates.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-65253618895186092922018-02-24T16:25:02.974+01:002018-02-24T16:25:02.974+01:00Also what is to stop an enemy sub waiting for weat...Also what is to stop an enemy sub waiting for weather conditions that preclude helicopter operations before launching an attack? AFAIK only the US and Italy in NATO still have AS standoff munitions in service and YOU pointed out has no mid course update datalink. Are standoff weapons also somewhat weather limited?Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-45226264703083453732018-02-24T15:45:01.892+01:002018-02-24T15:45:01.892+01:00Just thinking around the practicalities of transat...Just thinking around the practicalities of transatlantic etc convoys. In Ww2 individual ships were far smaller and the loss of one would be much less critical. You still have to Marshall convoys before they can sail. Even with no attacks taking place the act of marshalling causes significant attrition of capacity. It might be able to pull in ships from other trade routes to compensate. Then there is the issue of much of the capacity being flag of convenience and crewed by non US or EU nationals who may not want to sail under threat of attack. The owners might oppose Arapaho conversion etc. Once the convoy arrives individual ships would need to be escorted to their unloading locations the approaches to which may have been mined. Once there unloading would often be dependent on infrastructure that itself would be an easy target for cruise missiles, either directly or by attacking control centres or their electricity supplies. It's all a big can of worms really.<br />Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-23535888338758609772018-02-24T14:07:38.842+01:002018-02-24T14:07:38.842+01:00An ASW screen for a convoy at slightly more than v...An ASW screen for a convoy at slightly more than very effective HWT range is first and foremost a question of the quality and quantity of ASW helicopters in the air.<br />You need to afford that quantity (and the resulting quantity of helos not in the air) anyway. What can be minimised then is the expense for warships. Larger warships are more cost-efficient and two of them is a minimum redundancy.<br /><br />The auxiliary warship / self-escorting merchantmen convoy version is fiscally far superior, but you need peacetime training platforms anyway and some missions are better done by warships.<br />-----<br />The crush depth of good subs is greater than 300 m already. IIRC LWTs of 80's and later can go far deeper than that. The very small diameter of torpedoes and them not needing to sustain an underpressure for humans inside is such an advantage that manned subs can't gain any lasting advantage from going much deeper. The depths they can reach are enough to get below layers of the sea that complicate sonar operation and enough to diminish blast and avoid cavitation at useful speeds.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-74118773891299665492018-02-24T13:27:35.284+01:002018-02-24T13:27:35.284+01:00Just an observation but the ratio between the pric...Just an observation but the ratio between the price of the sub and the ship it sinks becomes a lot more favourable if you factor in both the cost if its cargo and the cost to our economy and society of its not arriving.<br /><br />Fully kitted out ASW helos are themselves hideously expensive and putting 8 of them on an escort would mean even fewer escorts which would themselves become high value targets. Would it be possible to classify and localise a target enough from several relatively cheap LFA sonar equipped ships to deliver a homing torpedo by another cheaper means already described in the article.<br /><br />One way around convoy defences would be to build a sub or drone with a crush depth greater than that of ASW torpedoes. It could release smsll torpedoes in protective ascending pressure capsules or suitably pressure hardened mobile mines in the path of a convoy.Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-85571885074776173282018-02-24T01:24:46.822+01:002018-02-24T01:24:46.822+01:00I have really enjoyed this series of articles. Kee...I have really enjoyed this series of articles. Keep up the good work.Chris Werbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401452513193996839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-45618664277376220832018-02-22T21:02:47.767+01:002018-02-22T21:02:47.767+01:00To benefit of surface drones without being fixated...To benefit of surface drones without being fixated on a small maximum size of boats employed. 10-20 years later one may prefer two large boats instead of lots of small ones. <br />I'm not thinking of LPD-sized well decks, of course.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-22978626613964194352018-02-22T20:58:34.841+01:002018-02-22T20:58:34.841+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.KRThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10725091310284220350noreply@blogger.com