PLAN Anti-Piracy Deployments

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

Two hundred years ago, when a warship encountered a pirate ship it was attacked immediately, most often sunk and the crew killed. This is still permitted under international law. What I see now are Somali pirates arrested only to be released only because they dropped their guns into the water before being boarded. I wonder how things would change if, when some navy's helo caught up to a pirate boat, they just sank it outright. I would make it a policy to kill pirates on sight.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

hyalitemarine said:

Well, in the article that I linked to, some Russian and US ballistic warheads are maneuverable all the way to the target in real time.

:rofl: LOL, Actually, I liked that last sentence of yours, it did make me laugh with your humor.

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MARV was used to improve the CEP with small nuclear warheads. A rule of thumb with ordinance is that you want the blast radius to exceed the CEP, keeping in mind that all CEP tells you is where the warhead will land 50% of the time. That is how CEP is defined. Both the US and USSR were pursuing smaller and smaller warheads attached to more accurate missiles to decrease collateral damage in a nuclear war. MARVS allowed for a much smaller CEP, one that was smaller than the blast radius of the warhead, but this was against fixed targets on land, not against moving targets.
There is no indication that any nation has managed to hit a moving target with a ballistic missile. There is a version of JDAM that can supposedly hit a moving vehicle if it's not moving beyond a certain classified speed using a laser designator, but it cannot hit a moving target autonomously.
Btw, both USS Long Beach and the old Italian light cruiser Giuseppi Garibaldi ( a pre-WWII light cruiser converted in the late 1950's into a missile cruiser with a Terrier battery aft ) were designed to carry Polaris A-1 missiles, a plan that was scrapped before any missiles were ever loaded. The Italians even had their own nuclear missile, and associated warhead, program for the ship, something the US pressured them into abandoning. The gyros of the missile are not accurate at launch on a pitching, rolling ship. I don't think anyone ever worked out the details of the blast effects on the ship either.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

bladerunner said:

How about blockading the harbours and searching all the somali boats as they come and go, especially the ones that could be the pirates motherships

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I'v asked myself the same question. You would be blockading and searching all manner of tiny coastal villages. For these Somali pirates, going out in a small boat as a pirate is an income to them like fishing. It's what they do. They come home from raids to mostly small coastal villages where they pull their boats up on a beach. What are we, the US or China, or any other maritime nation, going to do? Put troops ashore and search each village. Blackhawk Down all over again but perhaps someone else's helo this time? Mine what? With what kind of mine? I have asked myself that too. What kind of mine works against their small boats? Or, do you sew land mines all around these villages and on the beaches where they pull their boats up when they are ashore? Imagine the visuals when an "innocent" Somali "fisherman" looses a leg to a land mine.
I'd vote for sinking the motherships in a New York nanosecond, but remember the time the Indian Navy did exactly that and ended up sinking a Thai fishing vessel taken over by the Somali pirates, with the Thai crew still aboard. Tough call, isn't it. The US could put UAV's to work, flying from Oman or maybe Djibouti, but right now they are busy elsewhere and there aren't enough to meet wartime demands.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

AssassinsMace said:

Somalia has a significant economic relation with China. Even though I wouldn't doubt a ransom maybe a part of a deal, it's probably more likely China is using its diplomacy with the government. A government in a chaotic country wouldn't be in power if there weren't people in the government that knew people...

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I was unaware Somalia had a significant economic relationship with anyone. They don't have an economy as such. China accounts for about 6% of Somalia's exports, which are mostly livestock, bananas, hides, fish and scrap metal. This is not a large or particularly valuable trading relationship as far as I can see.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

bladerunner said:

How about blockading the harbours and searching all the somali boats as they come and go, especially the ones that could be the pirates motherships

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you need UN support and a lot of ships to do that. anyways the proposal is too american for my taste, you cant blockade the harbours everytime a ship is attacked.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

Ambivalent said:

I was unaware Somalia had a significant economic relationship with anyone. They don't have an economy as such. China accounts for about 6% of Somalia's exports, which are mostly livestock, bananas, hides, fish and scrap metal. This is not a large or particularly valuable trading relationship as far as I can see.

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Well since China is known to go where no Westerner will...

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

Should we just put a lot of fish in the surrounding water so that fishing will once again be a good livelihood for these people? That way we don't need to have blockades or black hawk down(s) lol. I kid I kid:rofl:

It seems like the more passive approach, namely escorts works rather well.
As for solving the problem at the root...That's an entire new thread by itself lol.

maybe a "no-sail-zone" lol.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

AssassinsMace said:

Well since China is known to go where no Westerner will...

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I am sure trade between China and the few dozen square kilometers of Mogadishu controlled by the Somali Government is very lucrative. :nana:

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

I'm sure the Somalis want more since they have very little to begin with. Since China is their major trading partner, it probably wouldn't take much to get the government to act on their behalf. I'm sure the Somali government would like some of that Chinese development money going around other parts of Africa.

Re: Somali pirates and Chinese navy

bladerunner said:

How about blockading the harbours and searching all the somali boats as they come and go, especially the ones that could be the pirates motherships

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I like the idea to blockade or patrol around all of the major pirate harbours. Not necessarily searching all boats as a lot of ships are required, but that will make it very difficult for pirate motherships to operate, and difficult when the pirates want to bring a ship back to their harbour.

Just need a few warships per harbour.