An Underwater War May Be Brewing in the Asia-Pacific
When half the world's submarines will be so close together, how can we tell friend from foe?
Graeme Dunk [2]
The 2016 Defence White Paper [3], the Naval Shipbuilding Plan [4], and associated statements by political figures such as Prime Minister Turnbull and Defence Industry Minister Pyne have all advocated the need for enhanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The impetus for this mooted rediscovery of ASW is the understanding that by 2030 [5] over half the world’s submarines will be operating in the Asia–Pacific.
Recent posts on this site by Andrew Davies [6] and James Mugg [7] have also discussed the ‘art of ASW’. All have missed the fundamental issue that will severely affect the RAN’s ability to (in Andrew Davies’ words) ‘hunt down threat submarines for further treatment’: they’ll need to identify them first.
Source URL (retrieved on August 23, 2017):
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/underwater-war-may-be-brewing-the-asia-pacific-22002
