Thinking About Evading Searchers

[LoBlo]

I really don't know much about any RL search tatics.... no clue whatsoever actually. I've always assumed that the best search for a square area is a zig-zag sprinting and drifting to cover more ground.

Its probably something I should look more into, but heck I'm lazy.:p

[SeaQueen]

Originally Posted by LoBlo

I really don't know much about any RL search tatics.... no clue whatsoever actually. I've always assumed that the best search for a square area is a zig-zag sprinting and drifting to cover more ground.

Its probably something I should look more into, but heck I'm lazy.:p

The mathematically "best" tactic depends on you knowing how far you can see with your sonar. That's part of why I always include the sonar range estimates given by the mission editor in the notes for ASW scenarios I make. It allows you to plan, make calculations, and estimates. The idea is to just choose a course that will cover the whole area eventually. The way to frustrate that, is for the target to move randomly. That ends up making your nice, orderly, optimal search look more like a random search.

In real life, (and usually in a simulation) other stuff manages to ruin your carefully planned search, so most searches (even planned ones) end up looking like random searches, even against stationary targets. That doens't mean your plan is necessarily a bad one, though. Personally, I like having a plan because it means I have to think less about things. ASW can get so cerebral so fast. I want as much as possible taken care of so that when the shooting starts, I don't have to worry about stuff that's not immediately important.

[LoBlo]

You know what I've always been curious about... whether the US Ohio SSBNs actually wander around in a organized patrol, or do they find a spot in the ocean and just sit and hover...

I've always thought that sitting and hovering were probably as good a strategy for not being found, but I guess the real answer really comes down to the orginal question you ask. Maybe they actually wander around the ocean in "systematic randomness" to decrease detection probabilities... there are probably only a handful of people in the world that actually know and ever will know.

[SeaQueen]

Just from the math, I think it's safe to infer that they probably move randomly in a fairly large box. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a computer program that somehow just generated pseudo random numbers and plotted a random course from that. Of course, the seed to the random number generator would be HIGHLY classified. I guess they could use the ship's clock, but then you could find them if you just picked the right algorithm and had a synchronized clock. I also wouldn't put it past them to just roll dice. It'd be simpler, that's for sure. I think in Blind Man's Bluff they said something about and baffles clearing.

Originally Posted by LoBlo

You know what I've always been curious about... whether the US Ohio SSBNs actually wander around in a organized patrol, or do they find a spot in the ocean and just sit and hover...

I've always thought that sitting and hovering were probably as good a strategy for not being found, but I guess the real answer really comes down to the orginal question you ask. Maybe they actually wander around the ocean in "systematic randomness" to decrease detection probabilities... there are probably only a handful of people in the world that actually know and ever will know.