The Transformational REMUS 620 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

 

 

Picture: Unknown photographer,© IWM Q 75584

 

If it is not possible to prevent the enemy laying naval mines by destroying their mines and mine layers before they can be used then it becomes necessary to determine where mines have been laid by means of a survey and effective use of time and resources dictates doing this ahead of friendly vessels,consequently the speed of advance of those vessels shall be constrained by the speed of the mine survey.

 

 

Picture: Grand Logistics

 

A mining sloop locates mined areas by deploying it’s Mine Hunting Launches which survey a lane at a speed of up to fifteen nautical miles per hour,advancing up to three hundred and sixty nautical miles per day whilst relaying contacts in real time and when a mined area is detected clearing a lane at a rate of advance of up to fifteen knots (depending on the width of the lane,the density of contacts and the number of launches available for the task).

 

 

Picture: Unknown artist,Huntington Ingalls Industries image

 

The REMUS 620 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle with a Kraken AquaPix MINSAS 120 mine hunting sonar and two batteries has a maximum speed of eight knots and,at speeds of less than three knots,it has a maximum range of one hundred and thirty-two nautical miles and a maximum endurance of fifty hours (electrically powered submersibles have very low performance because their batteries have low energy density).

 

 

Picture: Chell Hill

 

If deployed from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Motor Vessel Island Crown a REMUS 620 would take fifty hours to survey sixty-six nautical miles ahead and then return,due to the limits of submarine communication only after resurfacing may sonar images be analysed,assuming a clearance speed of fifteen knots it would take over fifty-four hours to survey and clear a sixty-six nautical mile lane,fifty hours longer than it would take a mining sloop which could survey and clear up to eight hundred and sixteen nautical miles in the same time (because it's Mine Hunting Launches have air breathing diesel engines and can analyse sonar imagery and relay contacts by radio in real time) and yet some think using toy submarines to hunt mines would be transformational.

 

An Independent Navy For An Independent Nation: A Mining Sloop In The Falklands War

 

 

Picture: Lieutenant C.Trusler,Admiralty Official Collection photograph,© IWM A 29992

 

Mine hunting and sweeping vessels are often required to operate in mined waters between a friendly fleet and a hostile shore (many are sunk by mines,aircraft,warships and submarines,even when close to home),but during the Cold War the United Kingdom's Royal Navy invested in a large fleet of mine hunters and sweepers suitable for use only in benign environments.

 

 

Picture: Unknown,Royal Navy official photographer,Ministry of Defence Collection photograph,© IWM MH 27579

 

It has been said that any ship can be a mine sweeper,once,and it is possible to determine if an area has been mined by means of a practice called "check sweeping" (a vessel sails in to the area in question and if it blows up then the area has been mined),during the Falklands War Her Majesty's Ship Alacrity was ordered to do just that in Falkland Sound because the Royal Navy did not have the means to clear mines in combat.

 

 

Picture: BAE Systems image,modifications by Grand Logistics

 

Had a mining sloop been part of the Falklands task force it would have used it's mine avoidance sonar to guide other warships around deep water mines on the way to the islands,before entering Falkland Sound it would have launched it's manned Mine Hunting Launches and sunk the Argentinian supply ship Isla de los Estados with it's guns whilst protecting them as they went about their business before laying it's own mines to block one end of the sound to the enemy,then used it's missiles and guns to protect amphibious vessels in San Carlos Water as they landed ground forces and finally provided those troops with fire support up to forty miles inland (it's twin gun turret delivering a similar weight of shells per minute as five batteries of light guns or five Amazon class frigates and having the depth of magazine to sustain that).

 

 

Picture: Chell Hill

 

Despite her lack of speed to keep up with warships,lack of signature reduction features to reduce the probability of being attacked,lack of sensors,weapons and countermeasures to reduce the probability of being hit if attacked,lack of naval construction standards and protection to minimise damage if hit and lack of naval crew trained in damage control to limit fires and flooding,the Royal Fleet Auxiliary recently acquired the Motor Vessel Island Crown,a civilian Rolls Royce UT 776 CD class Platform Supply Vessel,and intends to use her to clear naval mines.

 

An Independent Navy For An Independent Nation: Protecting Seabed Infrastructure

 

 

Picture: Unknown photographer,VARD photograph

 

The British Army does not maintain a fleet of trains to patrol the United Kingdom’s railway network and An Independent Navy For An Independent Nation shall not maintain a fleet of vessels to patrol undersea infrastructure for the same reason,because to protect infrastructure it is necessary to keep the enemy away from it.

 

 

Picture: Photographer's Mate Petty Officer 1st Class Chuck Mussi,United State's Navy Photograph

 

Protecting undersea infrastructure shall start with routine surveillance and targeting of enemy naval facilities and vessels by strategic assets such as spies,satellites and high level military and naval assets such as An Independent Army For An Independent Nation’s network of active and passive sensors and their naval equivalents.

 

 

Picture: Owen65

 

At sea hostile vessels shall be tracked or attacked by the Perseus aeroplane (at least forty of which could have been paid for with the thousands of millions of pounds spent on Nimrod,Sentinel,Reaper,Airseeker,Crowsnest,Poseidon,Wedgetail,Protector and Envoy),which shall have a comprehensive suite of active and passive above and below water sensors and the weapons to exploit it.

 

 

Picture: P.O. (Phot.) Jay Allen,Crown Copyright 

 

Beneath the waves the six Cachalot class and two Defence class submarines (boats which could have been built with the money spent on seven Astutes) shall also track and if necessary attack enemy surface vessels and submarines using twenty-four inch torpedoes.

 

 

Picture: L. (Phot.) Phil Bloor,Crown Copyright

 

On the surface these shall be supported by the remainder of the thirty-two Duke and Royal Duke class frigates,the latter of which could have been built after the Blair defence cuts for far less than the cost of six Daring class air defence destroyers,and the first of twenty-four Falkland class frigates,which the Royal Navy had the money to build after the Cameron cuts (but instead chose to spend on River class patrol vessels,refits for Type 23 submarine defence frigates,repairs for Type 45 air defence destroyers,Type 26 submarine defence frigates,Type 31 point defence "frigates" and Type 32 mystery frigates),all of which shall have towed array sonars and Merlin or Hermes helicopters.

 

 

Picture: BAE Systems image,modifications by Grand Logistics

 

Should a hostile vessel get near an undersea cable then one of the thirty knot hydrographing sloops Hecate,Hecla,Herald and Hydra shall rapidly respond,surveying the cable with it’s high resolution towed sonar and investigating and neutralising any devices found using it’s tethered submersibles (a product of project Geppetto,which shall provide a sovereign and secure supply of small submersibles for tasks such as survey,construction,rescue,repair,hull cleaning and mine hunting).

 

 

Picture: Unknown photographer,Admiralty Official Collection photograph,© IWM A 35136

 

When not responding to contingencies,the Hydrographic Squadron's Hecate class shall routinely conduct low resolution but wide swathe deep water surveys of the sea bed using their hull mounted sonars,high resolution but narrow swathe deep water surveys of features such as ship wrecks and pipelines using their towed sonars,visual inspection of points of interest using their tethered submersibles,high resolution but narrow swathe shallow water surveys of coastal and inland areas using their hydrographing boats,high resolution coastal surveys using their synthetic aperture radars and shall occasionally perform overland surveys using an embarked helicopter detachment.

 

The Anatomy Of A Hydrographing Sloop

 

  

 Picture: BAE Systems image,modifications by Grand Logistics

 

There are many ways in which a hydrographing sloop may be designed but above BAE Systems' Adaptable Strike Frigate is used as a template to illustrate the salient features of such a vessel.