The U.S. Navy is stepping up its program for detecting new diesel-powered submarines that are extremely quiet, hard to find and increasingly relied upon by China, Iran and North Korea.
The Navy used its recently-completed five-day Pacific Ocean exercise to test submarine-detection equipment and is expected to emphasize submarine hunting in another Pacific exercise with seven other nations later this month.
The Navy "has renewed its focus on anti-submarine warfare in view of the proliferation and increased capability of submarines in Asia and the Pacific," Adm. William Fallon, commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific region, reported to Congress this year.
The U.S. relies on sophisticated electronic sensors on its submarines, surface ships or buoys dropped by patrol planes to listen for the noises a submerged submarine makes. Based on that noise, the Navy can often determine the sub's type and country of origin.
Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of the Navy's Pacific Fleet, estimated that there are 140 diesel submarines in the Pacific, including subs from China, Russia, North Korea and Japan.
"We, as a Navy, are good at anti-submarine warfare," Roughead said. "We can always get better, and that's what we're doing because we have to be able to dominate that growing submarine capability."
New diesel subs entering China's fleet are a particular worry for U.S. war planners because they are very quiet when running on battery power, like the hybrid automobiles that are renowned for their quiet locomotion when using batteries.
By contrast, nuclear submarines "have a complex engineering plant with a lot of moving parts that are going to make more noise than when a submarine is running on batteries," said Navy Capt. Scott Gureck, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet.
Diesel subs "are ultra quiet," he added. "If all you are running is an electric motor to turn a propeller shaft, you are not generating a lot of noise."
Nuclear-powered submarines use an atomic reactor to heat water that creates steam. The steam drives a turbine, which is geared to a propeller shaft. The propeller pushes the sub through the water.
A nuclear vessel can travel great distances without the need to refuel and can stay submerged for months at a time.
Diesel-electric submarines, on the other hand, can't travel as far, need to be resupplied with diesel fuel and must surface -- or cruise just below the surface with a snorkel extended above water -- in order to obtain air to run the engine.
The subs use the diesel engine to power the propeller and also to recharge large batteries. Once the batteries are charged, the diesel engines can be shut off and the boat then relies on its quiet electric motors.
The Navy's concern is that an adversary might use a diesel submarine to attack shipping at a strategic choke point such as the Strait of Malacca, the link between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, or the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from mainland China.
"If a potential adversary wanted to ensure that a choke point was cut off, they could lie in wait in shallow water and you wouldn't know they were there," Gureck said.
American officials have named Iran and North Korea as growing diesel-submarine threats but are more diplomatic when it comes to China, a major trading partner. While the United States doesn't label China as an adversary, the Pentagon since 2001 has published alarmist annual assessments of Beijing's growing military might, including its rising submarine capabilities.
China has dramatically beefed up its submarine force, which now totals an estimated 55 boats. Most are diesel-powered, but some are nuclear-powered.
The U.S. Navy, in contrast has about 54 nuclear-powered attack submarines and no diesels.
According to the Pentagon, the Chinese Navy's diesel submarine force includes:
• Song-class boats, designed to carry torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles.
• Yuan-class boats with torpedoes and ship-killing missiles.
• The Kilo-class Russian-made subs that carry supersonic cruise missiles and torpedoes that hone in on the wake of a ship.
Submarine experts at the U.S. Naval War College believe that Chinese submarines may soon be able to stay submerged while running on battery power for a month at a time.
U.S. Striving To Detect Diesel Submarines
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