The Littoral ASW Problem and Future Employment of the UK SSN
Aug 2006, Vol. 151, No. 4
By Fraser Richards
This article examines the problems facing a Western SSN (nuclear-powered attack submarine) tasked to operate in demanding theatre, close to an opposing state’s coast. It considers the operating environment in the Arabian Gulf and the threat posed specifically by a Kilo-class SSK (hunter-killer submarine). The article then addresses technical issues relating to the future collection of intelligence and the requirements of training in order to achieve this successfully. In so doing, it also makes recommendations and discusses ideas on how, in the future, operations in the littoral may be achieved more successfully by the use of the SSN. To limit the scope of the article, it does not consider the use of technology or methods by which any acoustic vulnerability may be exploited.
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By Fraser Richards
This article examines the problems facing a Western SSN (nuclear-powered attack submarine) tasked to operate in demanding theatre, close to an opposing state’s coast. It considers the operating environment in the Arabian Gulf and the threat posed specifically by a Kilo-class SSK (hunter-killer submarine). The article then addresses technical issues relating to the future collection of intelligence and the requirements of training in order to achieve this successfully. In so doing, it also makes recommendations and discusses ideas on how, in the future, operations in the littoral may be achieved more successfully by the use of the SSN. To limit the scope of the article, it does not consider the use of technology or methods by which any acoustic vulnerability may be exploited.
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