In 2015, A French Submarine Sunk America's Mightiest Warship (An Aircraft Carrier)

[UKBengali]

French tech is one of the best in world, PAF also achieved it in 1997 with the best french tech of the time 'Mirage + Exocet'.
Alas ... ! we lost the opportunity of Rafael.

No offence to France but their SSNs are not as good as the latest UK or US SSNs.
I would put the submarine in this exercise as good as the Improved LA class.

 

[khail007]

No offence to France but their SSNs are not as good as the latest UK or US SSNs.
I would put the submarine in this exercise as good as the Improved LA class.

Sir G, actually countries have preferences and choices of tech to tech and mostly they choose it according to their a) Requirements & b) Budgets.
May be as you pointed out is true, but not all countries have resources to go for the best. It could be on their wishlist but they have to settle for 'best bang for the bucks'.

 

[SecularNationalist]

Wow i am surprised.
I thought the french eat cheese and surrender before a war begins.

 

[LeGenD]

Depends upon what type of ASW capabilities USN is willing to commit to a military excercise.

Please keep in mind that a military excercise is a learning process in which capabilities as well as limitations of chosen assets are to be tested.

USN does have ASW surprises for all types of submarines at present. These will be utilized under the right circumstances.

 

[The Accountant]

Depends upon what type of ASW capabilities USN is willing to commit to a military excercise.

Please keep in mind that a military excercise is a learning process in which capabilities as well as limitations of chosen assets are to be tested.

USN does have ASW surprises for all types of submarines at present. These will be utilized under the right circumstances.

Yup but arent these surprises are under sleeves of any forces? This is there job to make strategies just like we did on 27th feb in just 1 day.

LOL - at these stupid references where the US CBG was not even looking for subs.

You need to stop posting crap like J-20s engaging in battles in the middle of the ocean.
Did you even read the link I posted about how many tankers were required to support one Vulcan bomber during Falklands war?

I give you actual real life evidence of how deadly a SSN is in battle(Falklands) and you still want to go with your nonsense ideas.

Seems like you are a teenager with the biggest crush on China.

Yup CBG was there on a morning walk. Stupid claims.

 

[Georg]

the US carrier groups were several times trapped by German submarines in the passed...

lock on picture taken by U24

U24 broke through the carrier defence during a maneuver in the caribian sea...fired a simulated salvo of all it torpedos on the Enterprise...took a victory picture showing the Enterprise through the periscope and pop up next to the Enterprise which pissed of the comanding US admiral. Happened in 2001.

A Type 206A played cat and mouse with a US Los Angeles class hunting sub...which was ordered to find and destroy the German sub... the US sub was not able to find the german sub which was all the time in killing distance to the Los Angels class sub and could have killed it any time their captain would have ordered, US officers on board the german sub eyewitness it and were compeltely shocked.

in 2014 the US Navy had enough of this fooling of their carrier groups and german subs of the 212 class train with the carrier to protect them from other submarines...during a maneuver in 2014 with the Harry S. Truman carrier group U32 set a world record for conventinal submarines with 18days under water

 

[JPMM]

the US carrier groups were several times trapped by German submarines in the passed...

lock on picture taken by U24

U24 broke through the carrier defence during a maneuver in the caribian sea...fired a simulated salvo of all it torpedos on the Enterprise...took a victory picture showing the Enterprise through the periscope and pop up next to the Enterprise which pissed of the comanding US admiral. Happened in 2001.

A Type 206A played cat and mouse with a US Los Angeles class hunting sub...which was ordered to find and destroy the German sub... the US sub was not able to find the german sub which was all the time in killing distance to the Los Angels class sub and could have killed it any time their captain would have ordered, US officers on board the german sub eyewitness it and were compeltely shocked.

in 2014 the US Navy had enough of this fooling of their carrier groups and german subs of the 212 class train with the carrier to protect them from other submarines...during a maneuver in 2014 with the Harry S. Truman carrier group U32 set a world record for conventinal submarines with 18days under water

We did it with a Daphne Sub against the USS Eisenhower in the Gibralter strait.

 

[James David]

In March 2015, one of the largest nuclear-powered warships in the world was “sunk” by one of the smallest.

The Saphir, a French nuclear attack submarine, reportedly penetrated the defenses of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and scored simulated torpedo hits on her. The incident, originally reported by the French Navy, was later suppressed.

On March 4th, 2015 the French Navy announced in a blog post that the submarine Saphir (“Sapphire”) had simulated stalking and killing the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Not only was the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier simulated sunk but an unknown number of her escorts. The post was later removed without comment from the blog.

Here’s what the world knows: according to the French navy blog post (saved and reproduced by the RP Defense blog), the exercise between Saphir and the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group took place before an operational deployment. According to the French navy, the carrier strike group included several Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine.

According to U.S. Naval Institute News, Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12) departed Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Station Mayport on March 5th for a Middle East deployment. CSG12 included the carrier Roosevelt, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Normandy and Arleigh Burke class destroyers Winston S. Churchill, Forrest Sherman, and Farragut from Destroyer Squadron 2 provided escort.

The blog post explained that the pre-deployment exercise, which occurred off the coast of Florida, took place in two phases. The first phase involved the Saphir integrated with U.S. Navy forces to locate enemy submarines and pass data on to other friendly anti-submarine warfare assets. The “enemy submarine” in this case may have been the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine attached to CSG 12.

In the second phase of the exercise, the Saphir switched sides and became part of the enemy force. The French nuclear submarine was teamed up with U.S. Navy P-3C Orion and P-8 Poseidons. Saphir was to locate the Roosevelt and get into position to sink her. As the exercise scenario degenerated into a shooting war, Saphir was given permission to attack. The submarine reportedly “sank” Roosevelt and “most” of its escorts.

After the exercise was over, Saphir’s commander met with Rear Admiral Richard Butler, Commanding Officer of Carrier Strike Group 4 and Vice Admiral Nora Tyson, Deputy Commander, US Fleet Forces Command.

The French Navy’s blog post was announced on Twitter on March 4th, but was quickly deleted. Several defense outlets picked up on the deletion, and the state-sponsored RT (Russia Today) crowed that a “major vulnerability” had allowed Saphir to penetrate Roosevelt’s screen. That was pure speculation, as the original French Navy post does not mention any such vulnerability.

Nevertheless, the incident appears to have actually happened. The most likely explanation for the deletion of the blog post was that it was simply embarrassing to a major French ally.

Saphir is the second of six Rubis-class nuclear attack submarines built for the French Navy. Rubis is the first generation of French nuclear attack submarines—while the French Navy has had nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines since the mid-60s, French attack submarines were conventionally powered until the early 1980s. At 2,630 tons submerged and 241 feet long the Rubis class may also be the smallest nuclear combatants ever put to sea. Each submarine has a crew of just 70 and is driven by one K48 pressurized water reactor to a speed of 25 knots underwater. The Rubis subs each have four bow torpedo tubes equipped with F17 Mod 2 torpedoes and MM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

How did such a tiny submarine kill a ship almost fifty times larger than itself? First of all, we don’t know the rules of engagement of the exercise. Were the Roosevelt’s escorts using all of their anti-submarine warfare sensors? Was there any prohibition or curb on their use, or were any of them declared inoperative for the purposes of the exercise?

Second, it’s important to remember that “sunk” is in quotation marks for a reason. The French F17 torpedo has a 551 pound HBX-3 high explosive warhead. It can also only fire a salvo of four torpedoes at a time, due to having only four torpedo tubes. A 551 pound torpedo warhead would probably not sink a Ticonderoga or Burke-class escort, and though it would undoubtedly damage, it would definitely not sink a Nimitz-class supercarrier. Also, given a screen of four escort ships and Roosevelt’s onboard anti-submarine warfare helicopters, a single salvo of four torpedoes was all Saphir was going to get before it was forced to withdraw.

Provided Saphir targeted Roosevelt and three of her escorts, it would have damaged four ships—not sunk them. Although the distinction is less important when it comes to the escorts, which might have been knocked out of action, with just one torpedo in her Roosevelt would have likely still been capable of air operations.

The U.S. Navy’s anti-submarine warfare skills have deteriorated greatly since the end of the Cold War, and particularly since 9/11. The emphasis on land wars has directed the Navy’s energies—and budget—elsewhere. Still, as the Chinese Navy continues to grow and the Russian Navy is used more aggressively in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas, improving ASW is becoming a well-deserved priority. The “sinking” of the Theodore Roosevelt may have been a blow to pride, but it was also an important wakeup call. The next time a foreign submarine stalks a U.S. Navy carrier with nearly six thousand people on board, it could be the real thing.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...cas-mightiest-warship-aircraft-carrier-108076

@UKBengali

Whew! Good thing the Frenchies are allies!!!