War Games in Sicily with the NATO submarine drones
Antonio Mazzeo
Hundreds of air strikes, real naval battles, pursuits of nuclear submarines, and even the testing of sophisticated weapons with the remote control. This is the case since February 5 in the Sicilian waters of the Ionian Sea with naval exercise called Proud Manta in 2011 with the participation of ten NATO nations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States). Conducted by Allied Command Submarine Forces (COMSUBSOUTH) and Maritime Air Forces (COMMARAIR) to Capodichino (Naples), Proud Manta is the "major exercises in the antisubmarine warfare (ASW) and the development of tactics to counter illegal activities perpetrated by Sea, with particular attention to anti-"as issued by NATO. "The exercise will end on February 18th is an important opportunity to test new military doctrines and equipment. The participants will put into practice the strategies and techniques currently used with Active Endevaour operations in the Mediterranean Ocean Shield and in the Horn of Africa, as well as other warfighting capabilities needed to ensure better integration and interoperability of units that are part of the Rapid Reaction Force (NRF) of NATO. "
Imposing the deployment of personnel and equipment: in fact, the exercise involved eight ships, nineteen between aircraft and ASW helicopters and six submarines, one of which, the USS Memphis (SSN-691) of U.S. Navy, is equipped with nuclear propulsion reactors with a capacity of 26 MW and the infamous cruise missiles "Tomahawk", double-capacity, nuclear and conventional able to hit a target 1,700 nautical miles away. The U.S. submarine, in particular, in turn simulates the role of "attacker" than "defender" of the units that make up the NATO Naval Group SNMG 1 (Standing Naval Maritme Group) that the Alliance group in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean and Persian Gulf in support of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan missions or in anti-piracy and anti-migrant. Exercise key infrastructure Proud Manta 2011, the naval base in Augusta (Siracusa), while the simulated attack helicopters and planes are unleashed by the military airport of Catania Fontanarossa and Sigonella.
The real novelty in the NATO war games in the waters off the coast of Sicily is represented this year by experimenting with three "sea gliders", or autonomous underwater vehicles (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle - AUV) to collect " three-dimensional environmental data "to be used to support decision making and planning of the military commanders. To coordinate the testing of the AUV engineers of the NATO Undersea Research Center (NURC) in La Spezia, the center depends on the Allied Command in Norfolk, Virginia, who works in research and development of technologies needed by the NATO naval operations, with particular emphasis on submarine warfare and the "contrast new threats in the maritime environment by enemy nations or terrorist groups. " "Knowledge of environmental and operational efficiency obtained with the use of advanced information technology of remote-controlled underwater vehicles, underwater scenarios will help define and develop the military capabilities of NATO," said Michel Rixen, one of the scientists who work at the NURC of La Spezia. "The glider will remain in water for as long naval exercise, covering over 300 miles in the collection of data on salinity and temperature of the Ionian Sea that will allow sonar operators to calculate the speed of sound in water, essential for detecting enemy submarines. "
According to Michel Rixen, new remote-controlled submarines "have much in common with the UAV unmanned aircraft." "The glider is versatile and durable. Equipped with generators, battery is six feet long and weighs about 130 pounds, can be launched from shore or small boat. He moves into the sea at a speed of 2 mph, using an inner tube that inflates and deflates like a pump and supplying the vehicle buoyancy. The thrust of the changes require less power than a propeller propeller, allowing the vehicle to stay underwater for much longer. "
The three gliders being tested in Sicily have been manufactured by Teledyne Webb Research of Falmouth, Massachusetts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc., group leader in the design and implementation of tools and equipment oceanographic research and monitoring. The U.S. Navy has ordered more than one hundred remote controlled submarine, and aims to employ them in the theaters of war with the international unit of the Naval Oceanographic Office. In late 2009, a glider of the same type used in the practice was able Proud Manta to complete the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 221 days.
"If necessary, the AUV can be easily used for the same functions and tasks of large submarines," says Mr. Rixen. "They can be installed on board the AUV also of weapon systems, just as was done with unmanned aircraft." The image is that of the deadly "Predator" who are sowing death and destruction in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I wonder if after the conversion of Sigonella major business center in the European "Global Hawk" U.S. and NATO, Washington has not slipped thinking of making the Sicilian ports guided scuba diving for the wars in the Mediterranean.
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