AUKUS Forum’s Post

The US Navy (#USN) has announced that it is set to deploy a torpedo-tube launch-and-recovery (TTL&R) uncrewed #underwatervehicle (#UUV) #capability onboard an #operational #submarine for the first time, with the operational deployment set to commence by the end of 2024. The deployment will take place in the European theatre of operations. While #submarines have deployed with UUVs in the past, the TTL&R option allows for ease of system deployment and retrieval, increasing capability, reach, and manoeuvre in the #undersea domain. Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher, the #USNavy ’s Commander, Submarine Forces | Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic, told the #Naval Leaders’ Combined Naval Event 2024 (CNE 24) conference in Farnborough, #UK in late May: “We’re going to install UUVs on a submarine, USS Delaware, starting in a couple of weeks, and they will deploy by the end of the year,” “We’re already looking at who’s going to be next to start installing, so that we continuously have a submarine-operated vehicle,” Vice Adm Gaucher added. Delaware is a Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). Commissioned in April 2020, the Block III Virginia boat is the 18th of a planned force level of 66 Virginia hulls. Vice Adm Gaucher explained that delivering a fully integrated SSN-based UUV capability is a key #development priority, as part of building the USN submarine force’s future operational posture. “From my perspective, we are not operating UUVs enough in the submarine force,” he added. This capability development process will be accelerating in 2024, Vice Adm Gaucher said. Delaware’s #deployment will involve an HII #REMUS 600 UUV. This type of UUV was launched from the Delaware’s torpedo tube and was recovered the same way during a test in late 2023.  #mai #marineacoustics #innovation #technology #forcemultiplier #underseawarfare #antisubmarinewarfare #sonar #acoustics US Navy Commander, Submarine Force Pacific #navy https://lnkd.in/eyS4Z_fr

Author’s submarine photos in the article are not Song class of China but Kilos of Russia (it is very easy to recognize because Songs have upper rudder while Kilo’s only have lower rudder and Songs have sail rudders while Kilos have bow rudders) This questions author’s expertise on submarines. Secondly, China does not only have Yu-6 (which has a fantastic story that a Mk-48 was cought on a Chinese fisherman’s net and he brought to technological base of China and they reverse engineered it. Applied more than 60 patents during this process and developed Yu-6. Now they even have much improved version Yu-9 which I beleive much cheaper and as a result much heavily produced than Mk-48 (4.2M$ per unit) of US Navy. But I totally agree about hydro acoustic superiority of diesel-electric submarines against carrier groups after learning about HMS Halland and HMS Gotland’s success in Mediterranean and also in the USA. The whole story reminds me the funny film Down Periscope where an old diesel electric submarine with a clever captain can escape from top notch nuclear submarines. Only nuclear sub building capable countries which keep developing conventional submarines for their own navies are Russia & China. I think this is not for hobby.. I beleive Turkish Government knows this superiority and invests not only indigenous aircraft carrier but on indigenous submarines too. #submarine #denizaltı #chinesesubmarine #yu6 #chinesetorpedo #russiansubmarine #usnavy #chinesenavy #torpedo #songclass #kiloclass #navy #gotland #aircraftcarrier

In 2007, a Chinese Song-class submarine surfaced within torpedo range of the US aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, exposing vulnerabilities in the US Navy's defenses. Despite technological advancements, US carriers remain susceptible to such attacks, raising questions about the viability of these expensive assets in modern warfare. The Navy's continued reliance on carriers, despite their potential obsolescence in the face of sophisticated adversary capabilities, suggests a need to reassess and adapt US naval power projection strategies. But it isn’t only non-nuclear submarines that have gotten famous—or infamous, depending on who you ask—it is also nuclear submarines. Such as the French Navy’s Rubis-class submarine, which sank the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, during a wargame in 2015. The point here is that China could easily sink, or at least damage, a US flat top at the outset of a war between the two major powers with just a handful of torpedoes from a submarine. Add in China’s impressive A2/AD capabilities and you just might have rendered the US aircraft carrier—the primary surface warship for the US Navy—obsolete. https://lnkd.in/gjFrwiGv

Recent Navy review cited years long delays to new CVN-80 Enterprise, new Columbia class sub, and others due to “design maturation, supply chain issues, and difficulties finding skilled workers.” #shipyard #navalarchitecture #USNavy #shipbuilding

Is AUKUS Pillar I Unworkable? The sale of three to five Virginia­-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) to Australia in the early 2030s would be just the second time the United States has shared the “crown jewels” of its military technology with another country. But today the industrial base for the construction of US submarines can’t meet the force level requirements of its own navy, much less sell several of its most valuable warfighting assets to an ally. And if current projections hold, things are going to get worse before they get better. It is unlikely the United States will be able to deliver SSNs within the timeline laid out for AUKUS Pillar I. My latest for the Lowy Institute: https://lnkd.in/evauBjba

The optimal pathway for the AUKUS security pact will include sales by the US of the three initial Virginia-class submarines to Australia in 2032, 2035 and 2038, according to a senior US Navy officer. Vice Adm. Bill Houston, commander of submarine forces, told reporters Tuesday at the Naval Submarine League the sales in 2032 and 2035 are planned to be in-service submarines while the sale in 2038 will be a new construction vessel from US production lines. That new construction submarine will be part of Block VII, Houston said, meaning it will not have the Virginia Payload Module, the mid-body section equipped on certain Virginia-class submarines that increases the boat’s missile capacity. Though the AUKUS security arrangement with its centerpiece nuclear-powered sub provision was announced with great fanfare in March, a workable timeline for the ambitious project has only emerged in drips and drabs since, with Houston’s comments providing the latest clarity on the first phase of Australia’s sub acquisition. Later clean-sheet design nuclear-powered subs, dubbed SSN-AUKUS, are expected to follow the Virginia-class transfers.

U.S. Navy submarines will take stealth to a new level! What a great case of excellent collaboration between the Defence indsutry and the public sector. The Defence Industry continues to showcase significant advancements in technology, demonstrating the ongoing innovation and research efforts of industry leaders and the Government. Understanding these advancements allows our industry stakeholders to anticipate future trends and invest in relevant research, development, and production capabilities. It is clear that the understanding of emerging technologies enables defence contractors and manufacturers to adapt their offerings and remain competitive in an evolving market. #defenceindustry #defenseindustry #defence #defense https://lnkd.in/gFhMpfpk

Analysis - Bigger fleet, more firepower, jobs for decades – just add dollars! t is amazing what a little cold hard cash – an extra $11 billion bringing the total to $38 billion over 10 years to be exact – can do. The federal government has tried to work wonders by piling the cash into the defence budget to achieve three of what seemed like impossible goals in the shape of the future Royal Australian Navy fleet announced today. In its response to an analysis of the surface combatant fleet, commissioned in response to the Defence Strategic Review, there are more large frigates and destroyers and new classs of smaller but lethal frigates and large autonomous vessels. This plus their vastly increased missile launch capability answers persistent calls from the defence lobby for more firepower to counter China. Then the government offers security for the nation’s two naval shipbuilding centres. So the defence lobby is happy, the unions and state governments are happy – everyone is happy as the fleet expands from 11 to 26 vessels. Well not exactly. #manufacturing #manufacturingnews #shipbuilding #navy https://lnkd.in/gQCehuYj

⚓️The Navy's New Block V Virginia-Class: A Submarine Russia or China Can't Touch ⚓️ Designed as a cost-effective alternative to the Seawolf-class, the Virginia-class costs $1.8 billion per unit, a billion less than Seawolf. Block V introduces the Virginia Payload Module (VPM), allowing it to carry three times more Tomahawk missiles, crucial for addressing the missile gap with China. -As China rapidly expands its naval and missile capabilities, the Block V's enhanced firepower aims to counteract China's growing intermediate-range missile arsenal in the Indo-Pacific region https://lnkd.in/eSUpWd6x