african navies news and views

Outwit and Outlast to Survive as a Submariner

Cape Times
26 May 2008

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Huddling tightly around their sonar screens men listen quietly as a
Brazilian frigate frantically searches for them just metres above their
heads.

As the ship rushes around in desperate zig-zag manoeuvres the submariners
and their captain, Commander Andrew Souma, wait in the ocean off Cape Point
where they have just "crippled" an international fleet by sinking their
re-supply ship.

With the sonar of five frigates booming through the Class 209 submarine, the
SAS Queen Modjadji's crew carefully dive before coming up kilometres away to
periscope depth.

Peering through the periscope Souma and his executive officer carefully
watch as one of the world's most advanced warships, the SAS Amatola, steams
through the sight.

Sonar operators call out bearings in the darkened control room, the only
light coming from their screens and dimmed red lights

Suddenly a warning is yelled out as a Uruguayan frigate picks up their
signature. Counter measures see the submarine being taken deep as their
"enemy" searches for them, zeroing in on their position.

Depth gauges show the submarine going deeper as engine and sonar noises get
louder booming through the headphones of the sonar operators as warships
from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and South Africa join the search.

Some of the sub's crew listen intently while others watch their screens
following the paths of their unseen hunters desperately searching for them.

Holding their breath as the frigate passes overhead the submarine goes back
up to periscope depth in the wake of their attackers.

"Fire, fire, fire."

The command rings out and within minutes a "torpedo" is rushing towards the
ship.

A flare shot up metres beneath the water burns highlighting the path of the
multi-million rand warhead.

This is what it is all about, says Souma.

It is a cat-and-mouse game. It is about outwitting and outlasting if you
hope to survive.

Souma and his crew have for the past 45 days been sailing the Queen Modjadji
I to its home in South Africa.

Their final test before they berthed was to take part in Exercise Atlasur 7,
an international naval exercise pitting two South African submarines, the
SAS Queen Modjadji I and the SAS Charlotte Maxeke, against some of the
world's most technologically sophisticated warships. *1

Souma and his 40 crewmates know that this is a very real and plausible
situation. *2

"Submarines are deadly. They are a force multiplier which can decimate an
entire naval force *3.

"The thing about submarines is that you never know where they are. You know
that they are there but you do not know where. And that is the beauty of the
game," he said.

South Africa's three multi-billion rand submarines are not about to go out
and take on the world.

Instead they are to be used for their stealth in intelligence gathering.

"That is their primary use. Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
*4 That is what we do best *5," he said citing the deployment of their
sister boat, the Charlotte Maxeke, to Marion island where she will be
patrolling South Africa's economical fishing zone *6.

Souma said they were there to watch the country's waters for, among others,
poachers, pirates, smugglers and illegal fishing vessels.

"We take note of their positions and actions and report back to the South
African authorities who decide what action is to be taken."

Souma said it took a special person to be a submariner.

"It is not anyone who can hack the job. It's things like dedication and
utmost trust in your crewmates that makes a good submariner," he said,
adding that he would put his life in the hands of any of his crewmembers.

"I trust them and they trust me."

. This article was originally published on page 7 of The Pretoria
<http://www.pretorianews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4420617> News on May
26, 2008

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*!*2 This is not a very real and plausible situation.

Operational analysis, including that undertaken by the Institute for
Maritime Technology (IMT), the SA Navy's research and analysis entity, shows
that a coastal submarine will in the vast majority of cases be defeated by a
modern surface combatant equipped with anti-submarine sonar and
anti-submarine torpedoes or depth charges and especially if operating in
conjunction with an anti-submarine helicopter fitted with dunking sonar
and/or sonar buoys (which is the case in 99% of the time when conducting
anti-submarine warfare).

It stands to reason - a helicopter can travel at several hundred knots and a
frigate can travel at 30 knots plus. A coastal submarine's top speed is 1 5
knots and a torpedo's is 40 knots with a maximum range of 30 nautical miles.
Unless the ocean conditions are very shallow or otherwise unfavorable, a
anti-submarine frigate and its organic helicopter can usually find a lurking
submarine relatively quickly and kill it with the helicopter's torpedo or
its own depth charges or possibly its own heavyweight torpedo. They can do
this from an effective stand-off position without exposing themselves to
fire.

A hunted submarine will very rarely compromise its position by maneuvering
into a firing position or firing its own torpedo. It will only do this as a
last resort defensive measure.

Even if a submarine fires a torpedo at a frigate, the chances of a hit are
not high as the frigate can often outrun the torpedo and/or defeat it with
decoys. Then it comes back for the kill.

The anti-submarine helicopter is the submarine's biggest threat because the
torpedo does not have wings.

A few navies equip their submarines with tube-launched anti-helicopter
missiles, but these are normally only effective against the hovering
helicopter and in a last ditch scenario.

The SA Navy could not afford anti-helicopter missiles.

*3 The only entire naval force that could be decimated by a single
coastal submarine with 8 torpedoes is an entirely idiotic one.

*4 The primary use of a coastal submarine is not intelligence
gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance. It is to sink merchantmen.

*5 That maybe what the SA Navy's submarine flotilla does best. But it
is not the reason why we spent R9 billion (2008 Rands) is acquiring them.

*6 Patrolling South Africa's economical fishing zone is also not the
reason why we spent R9 billion (2008 Rands) is acquiring them.

With all considerable respect to the Patagonian Toothfish, the fishery is
worth a few tens of millions of US Dollars per year.

One simply does not acquire or even deploy multi-billion submarines to to
perform intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance on fishing
vessels. It is not only not cost-effective, but what does a submarine do
with a fishing vessel once observed. It cannot sink it and it probably could
not catch it or keep up with it once escaped.

The Department of Environmental Affairs is responsible for the fishery and
it has vessels costing a fraction of this to perform this task.

A submariner's job is maritime warfare *7, not bullshitting.

*7 Of the strategic kind.

Lekota: Shortage of Sub Crews 'Fallacious'

Cape Argus
Sapa
27 May 2008

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Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota on Tuesday rejected claims that the South
African navy only has enough qualified crew to operate one of its new
state-of-the-art submarines.

"I don't know what is the source of the information that we can only operate
one submarine... that is absolutely fallacious," he told a media briefing at
parliament.

"Each one of the submarines we've got has a full complement of personnel.

"How will they be at sea, all three of them, if we only had the ability to
operate only one of them? *1" Lekota asked.

Crews had been in training even as the submarines were being built over the
past few years.

Each submarine handed over to South Africa by the builders in Germany, had
been sailed to South Africa by SA navy personnel trained and ready to
operate them.

"And that's why they are commissioned now and operating," Lekota said.

In any event, now that all three submarines had been commissioned,
additional crews would also be trained to operate them, he said.

Related Articles

* Outwit
<
5450C873518> and outlast to survive as a submariner
* Arms-deal
<
0540C712935> submarines lie idle

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*1 How indeed?

While I am certainly not the source of the article that the SA Navy has
insufficient crews to properly man its four frigates and three submarines,
this is something that I hear quite regularly.

One thing is for sure though, is that the SA Navy has insufficient funds to
operate and support its four frigates and three submarines.

Submarine crews are especially hard to find, train and keep.

Also, a vessel requires more than just one crew to operate maximally and
even optimally.

It is quite possible that "each one of the submarines we've got has a full
complement of personnel", but that does not mean that the submarine flotilla
is properly or fully manned to operate all of its assets at the required
operational level.

As manning is the biggest single cost factor in supporting major weapon
systems such as surface combatants and submarines, it stands to reason that
manning is a problem.

Other than the cost of manning, there are the problems of staff competence
and staff erosion. These are unquestionably critical problem that the SA
Navy faces right now - I know because we are directly involved with these
matters on a day-to-day basis.

Submersible Rain Queen Arrives in SA

Business Day
Hopewell Radebe
26 May 2008


The clouds gathered, the heavens opened and it poured. Some among the crowd
said : " Icamagu livumile" (The heavens agree) just hours before the arrival
of the last of the three arms deal submarines last week, which has been
named after the rain queen - the Queen Modjadji - at the naval base in
Simon's Town. The SAS Modjadji was welcomed on Thursday.

The navy has called the occasion of the arrival Operation Siphelele (We are
all here) as it signals the end of the acquisition programme that was
initiated by the 1996 defence review process under the presidency of Nelson
Mandela.

Among other acquisition programmes in the controversial multibillion rand
arms deal that bedevils the African National Congress, and especially Thabo
Mbeki's presidency, the process recommended that the navy be re-equipped
with four frigates armed with helicopters and three submarines. There is
still an option for a fifth frigate and a fourth submarine.

R-Adm Hanno Teuteberg, director of fleet force preparation, says the navy
has decided to no longer utilise the option for a fourth submarine because
the three that have been bought have proved to be adequate.

The new submarines can spend longer at sea than the older ones. They can
spend up to 10 months a year operating before coming in for maintenance,
compared with the old ones, which worked for three months and required a
two-month maintenance period.

"What we thought we could do with four submarines, have been met by these
three," Teuteberg says.

However, he is mum about the option of motivating for the fifth frigate - at
least for the near future - amid speculation that this would remain the
navy's trump card should anything unfortunate happen to any of the newly
acquired vessels.

The navy needs the weaponry to ensure the protection of maritime trade
coming through the ports *1.

It has the ability to command and control the country's sea posts through
proper surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence to ensure quality
antismuggling and antipiracy operations, and to support fishery patrols.

With the submarines, it has the capability to conduct search and rescue
operations on the rough seas *2 surrounding SA and engage in antisubmarine
warfare or defence.

Teuteberg says that by 2010 the navy alone will have done sufficient
training and preparation for a wide range of operations. This will be a
substantial complementary factor to other national security initiatives by
the South African Police Service and South African National Defence Force
(SANDF). He says that this is a huge deterrent to individuals and
organisations that might target SA during the 2010 Soccer World Cup *3.

"We are extremely happy that our strategic acquisition programme has been
completed," Teuteberg says.

The navy has also timed the arrival of the SAS Queen Modjadji, which left
Germany for Spain on April 2 at high speed *4, as part of testing for any
major defects. Leaving Spain on April 22 and heading to SA mostly submerged
*5, this also ensured that it was further tested rigorously, says Teuteberg.

The submarine has a 45-member crew that left SA in January for training in
Germany.

Teuteberg says that the crew symbolises the levels of transformation in the
navy, as among them is submarine Com Warren Souma, who is the first South
African to work his way up through the ranks to command a submarine.

He is also the first to have a highly trained woman crew member, petty
officer Candice Chetty, who serves as chef *6.

There is also Lt-Com Thamsanqa Matsane from Bushbuckridge in Limpopo, who
has a three-year military degree from the military academy, Saldanha.
Matsane will sit for a board examination in order to qualify as a submarine
officer.

Asked about the navy's role in the region, Teuteberg says most operations
complemented or acted within the broader security objectives of both the
African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"We do a lot of co-operation with our SADC neighbours in particular, where
we engage in joint exercises and training."

He said that SA's ability to monitor and safeguard its coastal borders was
dependent on its neighbours' competencies and skills to do the same.

"An unchecked oil spill *7 in Mozambique is more than likely to end up on
the Durban beaches and therefore we must co-operate with our neighbours if
we want to keep our shores safe," Teuteberg says.

The end of the acquisition process also seals the debate *8 of whether or
not SA should have spent billions of rands buying the arms when the country
is not facing any immediate foreign threat.

The deed has been done and the focus must be on proper oversight through
Parliament, so that the defence force can perform its duties *.

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*1 Now this is a good start to defining the requirement.

*2 And this is a particularly bad follow-up in defining secondary
missions for a coastal submarine.

Just how does one evacuate a surface vessel and board a submarine in rough
seas.

Maybe the author misheard the admiral and meant frigate.

*3 Knock me down with an albatross feather : four frigates and three
coastal submarines to provide protection for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

*4 Rubbish : the vessel travelled mostly at low speed - partly due to
the cost of diesel, the consumption of which increases at higher speed.

*5 Rubbish : the vessel travelled mostly on the surface - as this is
the requirement of international maritime law.

*6 All warships require a highly trained chef.

*7 And a frigate or submarine can detect an oil spill , let alone do
something about it?

This is something for a maritime patrol aircraft for detection and an
anti-pollution vessel for control.

*8 Not quite - the debate is only just beginning with the bullshitting
of the SA Navy on behalf of the Department of Defence and SA Government.

The court of enquiry hasn't even started sitting on exactly why the SA Navy
needed three coastal submarines at a cost of R9 billion (2008 Rands) and
exactly why Thabo et cie decided to swing the deal to Ferrostaal at the
final hour.

*9 While the submarines need sea time for proper training and
preparedness, inventing nonsensical threats and tasks which consume
taxpayers' money and the life of the vessels, is not a proper duty.

It is far better to re-affirm the military asset's primary and secondary
missions and then to conduct training and exercises in direct support of
those tasks.

Otherwise it's back to those bad ole bad ole days of boy-men and men-boys
playing soldiers.

But what a disaster in plausible press.

Personally I would like to see a bigger, better equipped and internationally trained/supported Nigerian and Kenyan Navies. Nigeria needs it because the theft and smuggling of oil and increasing piracy of its coasts is truly contributing to poverty in that area by denying the oil revenue to its legitimate owners. Also that area risks becoming another area much like the Horn of Africa (at sea I mean), which brings me to my next point. There should be some sort of effort to train and equip Kenya's Navy, which is the only nation in the area even remotely capable of providing native policing to help deal with the issue of pirates operating out of Somalia.

SA submarine againt illegal fishing ships
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The South African Navy has launched a stringent deterrence campaign against foreign vessels fishing illegally in the ecologically sensitive waters of Marion and Prince Edward islands, following its first successful submarine patrol there.

The SAS Charlotte Maxeke, a year-old submarine, made her debut patrol of the area around the two islands last month, becoming the first to succeed in gathering sufficient intelligence in these waters.

The region is renowned for its rough seas, spurred on by stormy weather.

With waves commonly reaching five metres, ships have previously been unsuccessful in patrolling the islands, which lie about 2 300km off the False Bay coast.

The waters surrounding Marion and Prince Edward islands, which were annexed by South Africa in 1947 and 1953 respectively, have been declared an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), making the marine resources available to South Africa only.

However, the SA Navy, mandated to protect the area, has aimed at investigating "the possible involvement by a foreign company or country in pillaging (the) marine resources" there, a SA Navy statement said.

Commander Roland Shortt, the SAS Charlotte Maxeke's captain, said the operation had kicked off on May 22, when the submarine had left for Marion Island with a crew of 32.

They had made a "discreet transit" to and from the Simon's Town Naval Base, making them undetected by any foreign vessels they were investigating.

He said they "gained intelligence", or evidence of illegal fishing, on a number of vessels, which would then be referred to Marine and Coastal Management and the police.

This information had been gathered mainly using equipment such as still cameras and an optronic mast, an advanced type of periscope that was able to use heat-detecting infra-red technology to catch illegal fishers in the act, day or night.

They were not, however, in the position to divulge the information they obtained.

Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) Hanno Teuteberg, the director of Fleet Force Preparation, said the patrol had not been successful before because they did not have the required equipment, including the submarines.

This had become possible with the arrival of the final deliveries of new frigates and submarines, which are included in the Strategic Defence Package. They now had three submarines, two of which would be available for patrols, while the other underwent maintenance.

In light of the SAS Charlotte Maxeke's triumph, Teuteberg said they would carry out many similar operations.