Navy unit takes aim at threat of subs in shallow water

Since 06-28-04

From NSL UPDATE 04-09-04

The anti-submarine command will focus on defending against the small, quiet ships of a post-Cold War world.

Hampton Roads Daily Press

BY STEPHANIE HEINATZ Published April 8, 2004

In the Cold War Navy, the enemy was clear cut and sailors were prepped for battles likely to take place in the deep blue sea.

Crews of large combat ships, like aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, knew submarine attacks were most likely to happen in the middle of the ocean. But the Cold War is over, adversaries aren't as clearly defined and submarines now can operate in shallow, green water - making those same combat ships more vulnerable.

To counter those threats, the Navy plans to spend up to $30 million a year on a recently created unit - the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Command. After 10 months of planning and preparation, the unit officially begins operating today.

Though the unit is based in San Diego, a large detachment is stationed at Norfolk Naval Station. New Navy doctrine and fleet training will be applied to ships and sailors assigned to both the Pacific and Atlantic fleets.

The submarine-fighting unit also will be responsible for identifying technology being developed by the defense industry that can improve near-shore combat and reduce the time it takes to find underwater threats.

Bob Brandhuber, a retired Navy captain who is working as director of the anti-sub unit and deputy chief of staff for training for the Pacific fleet, said the idea for the unit emerged partly as a result of the growing number of small, diesel submarines lurking around the world.

After the Cold War ended in the 1990s, the Navy began focusing its attention on new threats emerging in Southeast Asia and Iraq.

"While (the Soviet Union) retained a robust capability of both nuclear and diesel submarines, they were not as focused of an adversary as they were," Brandhuber said.

Instead of continuing to train in Cold War-era anti-submarine warfare, the Navy honed its anti-air and strike capabilities.

"Over that decade, many countries have become more adept and have tried to expand themselves with diesel submarines," Brandhuber said. "Many countries sell diesel submarines and these diesel submarines have been bought, and sometimes built, by countries to have in their territorial waters."

Diesel subs, because they are so much smaller, can often be more lethal than nuclear ones, Brandhuber said.

For example, they can sit on the bottom of shallow waters and wait.

"And there's a lot of them," Brandhuber said. "And when they are operating on battery power they are very quiet."

As a result, they have become an emerging threat to the aircraft carrier strike groups that often wade through shallow waters to launch attacks.

Iran, North Korea, China and India, as well as some U.S. allies, have built up their diesel sub arsenals.

Brandhuber said that even though a lot of the anti-submarine warfare focus changed after the Cold War ended, the Navy never stopped training its sailors to deal with subs. But the training was spread out to specialized units across the country.

The new unit integrates training and operations, which Brandhuber said is increasingly important in a "downsizing Navy."

"We want to be efficient and make sure we are not duplicating resources," Brandhuber said. "We are a smaller force than we were before and we need to make sure we integrate the Navy's capabilities."