‘Iran stealth subs could lie in wait to hunt hostile aircraft carriers’

Tehran Times ^ | 18 January 2012

[sukhoi-30mki]

‘Iran stealth subs could lie in wait to hunt hostile aircraft carriers’

TEHRAN – The deputy commander of the Armed Forces has said that Iranian stealth submarines are able to lie in wait in the Persian Gulf to target hostile aircraft carriers that are moving near them.

“If an ordinary submarine submerges in the Persian Gulf, it could be the worst threat to the enemy. It is one of the Americans’ fears because our submarines are covered with coatings that do not allow sound to travel through them and do not reflect sound waves sent by (enemy vessels’) sonar systems,” Rear Admiral Farhad Amiri said in an interview with the Fars News Agency published on Wednesday.

“When the submarine lies on the sea bed, it can easily target an aircraft carrier that is passing nearby,” he said.

Amiri also said that the enemy is not able to track Iranian submarines.

“Our submarines have acquired the ability to position themselves at (the proper) depth to watch enemy ships and submarines in a way that could not be seen by them,” he explained.

Iran plans to launch new 500-ton submarine

Amiri also announced that the domestically manufactured 500-ton Fateh (Conqueror) submarine will be launched during the next Iranian calendar year, which starts on March 20.

He added that the medium-sized submarine is equipped with most advanced torpedoes and sonar systems.

[brivette]

I one of them.

[RoadTest]

American aircraft carriers aren’t hostile.

[longtermmemmory]

is this like the Obama stealth intelect?

[Gaffer]

Take a look at this and get back to me.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-492804/The-uninvited-guest-Chinese-sub-pops-middle-U-S-Navy-exercise-leaving-military-chiefs-red-faced.html

This happened. It will happen again. It just takes determination.

The whole urgency of how the modern US military establishment will deal with the asymmetrical aspect of potential engagements is an additional factor to consider.

It is very foolish to assume we are invincible. Our invincibility heretofore has been mainly because of technology and the money to back it up. Our dilemma is that technology (ala iPhone, etc.) has a way of equalizing itself down to the lowest level that fits a wide spread commercial consumer use. Think about it.

[Pan_Yan]

Interesting story. Thanks for posting the link.

[Lou L]

... but what the Iranians are training to do this time is to perform “swarm attacks” using high-speed boats supported by heavier units.

Again, that's been the prevailing thought before this current situation. I think most of our Navy would call such swarm attacks "target practice."

[BlueDragon]

If not why not?

Loose lips sink ships?

[Bailee]

Our Carriers about 100,000 tons
The Virginia Class Attack sub about 8000 tons
The Chains/Anchor on our Carriers probably weight nearly 500 tons.

500 ton stealth sub what did it do sink and never come up.

ROFL

[USMCPOP]

:...our submarines are covered with coatings that do not allow sound to travel through them...”

Mohammoglide.

[buffaloguy]

Note to the Iranian sub service:

Don’t Flush
Don’t Cough
Don’t Breath
Don’t Talk
Don’t Pass Gas

We got you on tape, shaheeds...

[Greysard]

Metal has properties that granite, limestone and other assorted rocks do not. I’d wager that if one was interested in finding a couple hundred thousand pounds of refined metal, there are ways of doing that.

Many ships, as I understand, are degaussed, so you can't depend on a static, localized deviation of the magnetic field. You could detect metal from a distance by using its ferromagnetic influence on an inductor, just like it's done in a common metal detector. However the distance that such a metal detector covers is measured in inches. You can increase the sensitivity by building a coil as large as a square mile, but then you wouldn't know where within that square mile the metal is located; and a motion of a wristwatch on a sailor's wrist will cause a reading 100x larger than a sub at the bottom.

On top of that, the area is an active sailing zone for last five or so thousand years. You probably can find a lot of metal and sound reflections on the bottom, perhaps even in larger pieces than a submarine. A search there would be an exercise in marine archaeology.

Other posters mention that these subs can't regenerate oxygen. But why not? There are many possible technologies, and a sub can be always fitted with this or that machine instead of something else that they can sacrifice. If they keep the crew to a bare minimum (this is not a long sea voyage, after all, but just a couple of hours from the shore) they can have plenty of air. If the sub is largely powered down its batteries will last a long time. If I were in charge on Iranian side I would even consider a power cable to the shore. Then they can stay at the bottom as much as they want since if you have power then oxygen can be produced from seawater. They don't even need to run audio equipment; all they need is to have a VLF radio on.

With regard to tankers' captains braving torpedoes and mines, they themselves may be insane enough to try, but the owners of those tankers will probably say "no." Tankers are expensive. Besides, if the sea route is blocked the oil price goes through the roof, and owners of those tankers will be earning more money on the rest of their fleet. I don't necessarily see a good reason for the tankers to try to go through.

[Oatka]

I read somewhere that our intelligence people got REALLY upset when they found out how much the Russians knew about our first nuclear sub, the Nautilus. Then it was found that they bought a kit similar to this, which gave away a lot of info.

Sometimes spying is SO simple.

[spawn44]

How do the iranian morons think they are going to move their subs to the stakeout points without detection. If a navy battle does breakout they will probably accomplish their goal of blocking the straight. Only it will be with their own sunkin ships.

[spawn44]

That mysterous subtance they coated their subs with was FLEX SEAL. They saw the commericals and ordered the product to stop the leaks in their subs.

[spawn44]

That subtance they coated their subs with was FLEX SEAL. They saw the commericals and ordered the product to stop the leaks in their subs.

[Mariner]

These guys are really, really effin' dumb.

As dumb as any Nation-State that ever graced the planet.

[tanknetter]

I read somewhere that our intelligence people got REALLY upset when they found out how much the Russians knew about our first nuclear sub, the Nautilus. Then it was found that they bought a kit similar to this, which gave away a lot of info.

Sure, but sometimes it isn't all that effective either.

Recall that in the mid-1980s Testors Co. came out with the "F-19 Stealth Fighter" model kit. There were stories at the time about how guys from the Soviet Embassy had bought examples from the old Squadron Shop (hobby shop) in Wheaton MD.

First time I ever went to the shop, about 5 or 6 years later, I asked the owner (Roy) about it. Sure enough, they'd come out. Repeatedly. Bought every example of the kit they could get their hands on over the course of several weekly deliveries.

But, as it turned out, the "F-19" looked absolutely nothing like the REAL Stealth Fighter (F-117A). AND, had it been scaled up into an actual aircraft, would have been incapable of flight.

[tanknetter]

Hey, Ahmed: its not just the “coatings” on your sub, its how much noise they make.

Yup, there are a HECK of a lot of ways to track a sub. I'd imagine that we have a SOSUS-style network covering the floor of the Persian Gulf at this point, for instance.

For years I've been intrigued by the possibility that the US has the capability to track subs using lasers that measure the movement of surface water when one passes below. That would be very effective in a relatively shallow pond like the Persian Gulf.

I'd guess that we keep pretty good track of whether the subs are in port or not, and track the sh*t out of them once they put to sea using every means at our disposal. And would consider a mass-movement to sea (or out of the Gulf) as a clear prelude to an attack.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

I believe them, though putting their stealth to the test will be interesting.

[Pan_Yan]

Loose lips sink ships?

They are supposed to sink. The trick is to make the number of surfacings equal the number of dives.