SUBROC/Sealance

[Black_Dingo]

i have a 2 part question for the community:

1. Any plans to mod/patch or otherwise implement a stand-off ASW weapon for U.S subs in DW?

2. Whats the current consensus/development on these weapons in NATO or USN? (any truth in rumors about Sealance coming back, or some advanced SUBROC design?)

[Kapitan]

1) patch is being worked on

2) its doubtful the russian are the only ones that i know of that have any weapons like subroc ss-n-16 and ss-n-27 ASW

[Black_Dingo]

hmm. what about supercavs for U.S subs? i know the yanks are testing supercavitating torps (like the skvall), but not sure how the development is coming along or whether they could even be launched by exisitng platforms.

[SeaQueen]

Originally Posted by Black_Dingo

2. Whats the current consensus/development on these weapons in NATO or USN? (any truth in rumors about Sealance coming back, or some advanced SUBROC design?)

They're not likely to be useful in future conflicts. Everyone is planning on a fight in "littoral" seas, which makes long range detections unlikely. Those sorts of stand-off weapons were intended to take advantage of convergence zone detections which you just won't get in shallow waters.

I doubt the Sealance will come back. There's not really any need for it. It turned into the VLA. The SUBROC was a tactical nuclear weapon, and it's unlikely those will come back either.

[Black_Dingo]

Concur. but one scenario I might envisage a standoff weapon being used is with an integrated data link wherein the detecting platform may not be able to or may not want to deploy its own weapon and passes on the link data to a submarine firing a standoff weapon.

*shrug*....could work.

[Kapitan]

doubtful

and its not the americans that are testing a super cav torpedo its the germans that are still designing it

[SeaQueen]

Originally Posted by Black_Dingo

Concur. but one scenario I might envisage a standoff weapon being used is with an integrated data link wherein the detecting platform may not be able to or may not want to deploy its own weapon and passes on the link data to a submarine firing a standoff weapon.

*shrug*....could work.

That's unlikely. The only time that'd be useful is if the detecting platform had no ASW weaponry himself. If the detecting platform had no ASW weapons, though, why does it have ASW sensors? The only thing I can think of like that is a SURTASS, and then it'd be heavily protected by MPAs and a surface combattants queued by it. There's no need for it on a submarine.

There's all kinds of remote sensors and networks that people are experimenting with right now. Those are future systems, though. Assuming they're deployed at all, they probably won't make an appearence for decades. There's definitely an interest in remote sensors as a way to improve detection ranges, though and maybe someday people will start thinking about standoff weapons again, but for now they're not really necessary.

In the abscence of a good CZ, or nuclear weapons standoff weapons are not really useful on submarines right now.

[Black_Dingo]

Originally Posted by Kapitain

doubtful

and its not the americans that are testing a super cav torpedo its the germans that are still designing it

"The ability to kill a target before it can react also can be achieved through very high speeds as opposed to stealth. Being investigated is the development of a very-high-speed, autonomous, highly maneuverable, homing torpedo capable of speeds significantly in excess of those achieved by the current Mk48 torpedo. Using "supercavitation" technology, a torpedo becomes an underwater missile. In this approach, the water near the tip of the projectile (or torpedo) vaporizes, producing a vapor pocket that results in a dramatic reduction in drag. The same technology, applied to a range of weapons from bullets to torpedoes, offers additional operational capabilities against a spectrum of targets."

this comes from http://www.navyleague.org/sea_power/july_02_43.php. it implies this technology is being worked on by the US Navy.

i'd imagine many other navies are looking at it as well, it is arguably the future of torpedo design.