F-22Raptor
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The U.S. Navy just showed us how it could fight the Chinese fleet. With stealthy robots, sophisticated communications systems and powerful warships firing high-tech missiles over long distances.
The Navy last week sortied, 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 Monsoor, 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 addhundreds of unmanned ships and submarines to its existing fleet of around 300 manned 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.
Great plan. Would it work in the real world? 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 their 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 U.S. fleet sailing into battle behind a deadly armada of stealthy drones. “This is a really positive first sign,” Wertheim said.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davida...y-destroyer-lobbed-a-5-million-missile-at-it/
The Navy last week sortied, 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 Monsoor, 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 addhundreds of unmanned ships and submarines to its existing fleet of around 300 manned 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.
Great plan. Would it work in the real world? 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 their 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 U.S. fleet sailing into battle behind a deadly armada of stealthy drones. “This is a really positive first sign,” Wertheim said.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davida...y-destroyer-lobbed-a-5-million-missile-at-it/
