Posted on 09/02/2011 8:56:18 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Chilean Stealth Sub Visiting San Diego
By Matt Potter | Posted September 2, 2011, 3:56 p.m.
The Chilean navy's Carrera, a diesel-electric submarine, has arrived for a training mission with the 3rd Fleet in San Diego, Navy Times reports.
The latest generation of diesel-electric subs, with their unusual stealthiness and relatively low price have become troublesome for U.S. defense planners. As smaller countries acquire more of them, safe access for U.S. ships to world coastal areas and the high seas could be jeopardized, the Pentagon argues.
"Once they have powered up their batteries, the submarines can sail to the bottom of coastal waters and remain undetected for days," says an account in National Defense Magazine.
"Though they can’t travel long distances or sail very quickly, advancements in technologies, such as air-independent propulsion and fuel cells, have allowed diesel submarines to extend their operational ranges underwater.
"But perhaps their best selling point is their relatively inexpensive price tags. The Russians have sold diesel submarines for as little as $200 million and the French have exported their Scorpene submarines for $300 million."
"China’s new Song-class diesel submarines have tracked U.S. Navy ships operating in the seas near Japan and Taiwan. Last November, after China denied the USS Kitty Hawk’s port call in Hong Kong at the last minute, a Chinese submarine shadowed the carrier as it entered the Taiwan Straits on its return voyage to Yokosuka, Japan.
"In the late fall of 2006, a Song-class submarine surfaced within torpedo range of the Kitty Hawk* off the coast of Okinawa, Japan."
According to the account in Navy Times, the current San Diego visit will allow the U.S. to "train its submarine crews as well as surface ships, patrol squadrons and other units to hunt and operate with the foreign subs."
I have been pushing for stronger with Chile for a long time, this is another good reason.
My son was on the Kitty Hawk during that voyage.
The US will hopefully find a way to track it. :p
First, these are not blue-water vessels. They are littoral combatants.
Second, they are very dangerous.
Third, we need about 100 of them. The rest of the US Navy can protect them in transit ans support them on station.
They are cheap targets in the open seas...but deadly snipers near the coast.
yes I’ve been eating more of it lately also.
My nephew just returned from his annual naval reserve stint, having volunteered to spend a few weeks on a Peruvian sub. Never again, he says. They do not have the same safety standards, he says. I have no idea what kind of sub he was on.
I sailed this (USS Jallao) diesel - electric in the early 60's.
Get a couple of Seals to stick a couple of barnacle GPS`ers on the subs when they are tracking the Fleet
The Swedes are doing this also, near San Diego, with a few hot AIP boats.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.