【 Aviation Anti-Submarine Tactics 】
There are two main tactical modes of aviation anti-submarine: patrol anti-submarine and call-in anti-submarine.
When patrolling anti-submarine warfare, the anti-submarine aircraft goes forward to the designated patrol area or a sector outside the fleet, and determines the optimal flight altitude and patrol route according to different factors such as the number of troops invested, the patrol range, the weather and hydrological conditions, and finds out whether there is enemy submarine activity in the sea area.
Anti-submarine warfare is the most common form of warfare in wartime, anti-submarine aircraft in advance in the base, carrier or air standby, after receiving the submarine activity report provided by the anti-submarine sound detection network on the seabed, ships and other sources of information, immediately rush to the area where the submarine trace is found to carry out anti-submarine operations, the need for search scope is small, but it belongs to time-sensitive targets, speed is the key, the faster it reaches the battlefield to find the submarine The higher the probability.
Regardless of the mode, the combat operation after the anti-submarine aircraft arrives in the theater is usually divided into four stages: search, identification, localization and attack.
First of all, the anti-submarine opportunity uses magnetic detectors, search radars, laser detectors, infrared detectors, optoelectronic systems and exhaust gas analyzers for a rough search. When using magnetic detectors, circular detection method, cross method or parallel detection method is usually used; when using radar, parallel route search, block search, sector search, random search and so on are used.
Once the abnormal situation of the acoustic, optical or magnetic signal is captured, or the possibility of interpreting the existence of the enemy submarine is very high, the anti-submarine opportunity drops more than 1 thermometric sonar buoy to determine the temperature depth curve of the sea area to accurately set the placement spacing, working time, communication frequency and hydrophone working depth of the sonar buoy; and then put a special passive sonar to determine the marine background noise level.
After completing the battlefield preparation, the formation with the best search effect and the least amount of buoy use will be selected to launch a number of omnidirectional passive sonar buoys to form a search array, and the commonly used formations are wired, circular and square. Anti-submarine helicopters select several detection points to extend the suspended sonar into the sea for exploration.
If a target trail is found, the anti-submarine aircraft will additionally throw a set of active/passive directional sonar buoys to obtain its approximate heading; if there is no trace of the submarine, turn to the next detection point and repeat this step until all sonar buoys are exhausted. At this time, the air force input can be increased, the search efficiency, detection accuracy and calculation speed can be greatly improved, and the nearby surface ships can be summoned to provide support and expand the search range.
This will be a lengthy process of repeated screening and gradual approaching, relying on both advanced technical equipment and great luck, and submarines hidden deep in the sea can rely on complex ocean currents, thermosphere, aquatic animals and other natural conditions to hide themselves, like a needle in a haystack.
If luck is good enough to find the target, the anti-submarine aircraft or anti-submarine combat system on the mothership will compare the acquired voiceprints or use magnetic detectors to further identify them.
Sonar buoy information processing equipment interface developed by General Dynamics Canada Mission Systems
After confirming the identity of the enemy, it will maintain a continuous tracking for a period of time, accurately determine the movement elements of the target, and calculate its own attack position to determine the type of ammunition used.
On December 8, 2009, sonar soldiers aboard the USS Sullivan were training in anti-submarine warfare, using the same anti-submarine equipment as the Japanese ships
After requesting and obtaining authorization from their superiors, anti-submarine aircraft can independently launch attacks with anti-submarine torpedoes or depth charges, or distribute target information to other combat units in data links to guide surface ships to launch anti-submarine missiles.
On October 18, 2015, a Haizi P-3C demonstrated depth charge drop at the triennial Sagami Bay International Fleet Parade
【 Surface anti-submarine 】
Coordinated with the helicopter long-range anti-submarine circle is the medium and short-range anti-submarine circle of surface ships.
In addition to the Type 2 helicopter carrier, each ship in the "88" fleet is equipped with advanced towed line array sonar, together with the Aslok anti-submarine missile launched by the MK-41 vertical launch unit, forming a 35-kilometer radius of the middle anti-submarine circle.
Take the OQR-2 passive towing line array sonar (Japan's domestically produced AMERICAN SCR-19(V)2) on board the "Foot Handle" as an example, its tow cable length of 1700 meters, the line array length of 245 meters, the towing depth of 365 meters, by the digital high-capacity computer system for data processing, up to 130 kilometers away from the detection of underwater targets.
The destroyer "Foot Handle", which participated in the "Dawn Blitz 2015" multilateral joint military exercise at Pearl Harbor on September 23, 2015, has a square opening on the left side of the stern as the release port of the OQR-2 towed line array sonar. The first ship, Atago, was not equipped with a towed sonar array when it was built, and the latest AN/SQR-20 integrated multi-functional linear array sonar system was added after the mid-2017 repair
Haizi can carry up to 124 Aslok anti-submarine missiles: 12 helicopter carriers, 16 each of the remaining 7 ships, a range of 20 km, and a warhead of MK46 MOD5 or Type 97 light anti-submarine torpedoes, which can attack submarines with a water depth of 40 to 1000 meters within 15 km. The entire formation can effectively control 800 to 1000 square kilometers of sea in 1 hour.
The short-range anti-submarine coil with a radius of 15 km is responsible for the bow active/passive low-frequency sonar and two triple 324 mm torpedo tubes as standard for each warship. The ATAGO class's QS-53C low-frequency hull sonar is the latest model in service in the U.S. military, controlled by the SQQ-89(V)10 integrated anti-submarine warfare system in the Aegis system, with a maximum detection distance of 65 kilometers in active mode, which can detect low-noise submarines sailing at low speeds in shallow waters. The entire formation was equipped with a total of 48 light anti-submarine torpedoes with a range of Type 97.
In 2018, the average age of the entire Haizi was only 15 years, ranking third among the world's major navies, second only to China's 12.9 years and South Korea's 13.9 years, and the United States and Russia were 18.5 years and 23.7 years, respectively. All warships of the convoy have realized diesel-fired power, vertical missile launch, and combat system integration. The ability to carry out anti-submarine missions with high speed, low noise and fast response is unparalleled in the world at present, such a multi-level, advanced detection means, large ammunition reserve, and data link coordination.
When surface ships carry out anti-submarine operations, they usually sail at low speed and silent state, using tow line array sonar to passively detect areas on both sides of the course. Once an underwater unknown target is found, a carrier-based anti-submarine aircraft can be dispatched to carry out an attack at a distance, and if the distance is close, the ship that finds the target will move forward to occupy the anti-submarine position, block the retreat of the enemy submarine, and open the bow active sonar to track, calibrate, identify and attack the underwater target. When ships and aircraft cooperate, the mothership usually processes the sonar signal transmitted by the helicopter through the data link and guides the helicopter to fly to the target area to launch an attack, or the helicopter relays the mothership to launch anti-submarine missiles.
【 Submarine anti-submarine 】
In addition to the coordinated aviation and surface forces, Haizi also has an independent anti-potential force, that is, its conventional submarine force. Japan, which suffered heavy losses in submarines after the war, paid special attention to the construction of submarines, and has developed and equipped 5 generations of 9-class submarines so far, and has been upgraded at a rate of decommissioning one ship per year for many years, and has maintained a high technical level. At present, Haizi is equipped with 9 4th-generation "pro-tide" class (the other 2 are converted to training boats) and 10 5th-generation "Canglong" class, and plans to increase the total number of active submarines to 22.
The "Soryu" class AIP submarine is currently one of the largest conventional submarines in the world, with a length of 84 meters, a width of 9.1 meters, and a full load displacement of 4200 tons underwater, far exceeding the 2670 tons of the French "Ruby" class nuclear submarine. The "Soryu" class adopts a composite structure of a single-layer hull + a non-pressure-resistant area in the upper layer similar to the "pro-tide" class, and the boat type is "cigar type" (called "leaf roll type" in Japan). In order to install a large active/passive sonar array on the lower bow, the upper bow surface is tilted downwards. The stern uses an X-shaped rudder, which is more maneuverable than the traditional cross-shaped rudder, and is not easily damaged when sitting at the bottom/berthing, and is more suitable for fighting in shallow seas such as the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea with complex hydrological environments. Moreover, the four rudder surfaces of the X-shaped rudder are involved in the horizontal and vertical direction control, and even if the two rudder surfaces are stuck, the direction control can still be maintained.
In the high-speed turn of the water surface, the two X-shaped rudders exposed to the water are deflected at different angles
The biggest highlight of the "Canglong" class is equipped with AIP closed-cycle propulsion system, the power combination of the first 10 is 2 sets of 3900 hp Kawasaki diesel engine + 4 sets of V4-275R MkIII. 65kW (87.1 hp) Stirling engine authorized by The Swedish company Kaukum, which is authorized to produce , + lead-acid battery + 1 main propulsion motor, with a maximum underwater speed of 20 knots, and the AIP system can sail continuously at an underwater speed of 4 knots for at least 15 days when propulsion, reaching a first-class level in AIP submarines. However, the installation of the AIP system has led to the compression of the living volume of internal crews, and even the space in the command and control room has been reduced by 1/4 compared with the "pro-tide" class, and the working environment is more difficult.
The last two "Huanglong" and "Doulong" directly drive the propulsion motor with the high-performance lithium-ion polymer battery produced by Japan's Jace Company (the same model used on the Boeing 787), and the 200-ton Stirling engine and lead-acid battery pack were removed, the capacity was doubled, the underwater continuous sailing time could be extended to one month, and the charging speed was faster.
Its combat command and control and intelligence system is japan's domestic ZYQ-51C type, sonar system is Hughes ZQQ-7 type, including bow cylindrical active/passive sonar array, large low-frequency passive side array sonar and tow array sonar, periscope is the United Kingdom authorized Japan production of CM010 non-penetrating photoelectric integrated mast ("alert" level of the same model), integrated electronic reconnaissance, communication and navigation, satellite communication antenna and other functions.
These electronic equipment have reached the configuration level of European and American attack nuclear submarines, the ability to deal with marine noise is very strong, the degree of automation of the whole boat is very high, and the staffing level has dropped from 70 people in the pro-tide class to 65 people. It can carry the Type 89 533 mm anti-submarine torpedo, the US-made "whaling fork" anti-ship missile and the Japanese-made intelligent mine, with a maximum carrying capacity of 30 pieces, ranking first in the world's conventional submarines. The sheer hull and advanced equipment have also pushed up the cost to $600 million each, nearly twice as much as other conventional submarines on the international arms market.
The Soryu class, which is being loaded with Type 89 torpedoes, is set against the backdrop of the Towada class supply ship Ship 2, the Tokiwawa
Kaizō's active submarines were assigned to two submarine squadrons, the 1st submarine group in Kure Harbor and the 2nd submarine group in Yokosuka. Each group has 3 submarine fleets equipped with 2-4 submarines, responsible for the southwest and southeast directions respectively. Its main combat tasks are to blockade the channel, ambush anti-ship and break engagement. Although it is unable to face modern high-performance nuclear submarines in the depths of the ocean, it is impossible to set up ambushes in the familiar shallow sea areas such as the surrounding key straits, waterways, and continental shelves, and can still exert a certain anti-submarine capability with the submarine listening base array; and the high-level submarine force itself is the best imaginary enemy of aviation and surface anti-submarine.
【 Seventh Fleet Anti-Submarine Brigade 】
To evaluate the overall anti-submarine capability of a navy, we mainly look at two aspects: equipment system and experience accumulation, in both of which the Japanese Sea can get very high scores.
At present, Haizi has the world's most complete air, surface, and underwater "trinity" three-dimensional anti-submarine system, P-3C, P-1, SH-60J/K are top-level anti-submarine aircraft, and the number is also very sufficient; surface ships are low in age, advanced anti-submarine equipment, high system integration, and strong cooperative combat capabilities; submarine forces continue to be updated, and can also be supported by the US Navy's nuclear submarines, marine audio measurement ships, and the submarine acoustic surveillance system stretching from the Kuril Islands to Okinawa.
The first ship of the Japanese "Xiang" class acoustic testing ship "Xiang" entered service in 1991, and the "Anyi" ship was launched on January 16 this year after a gap of 30 years, showing the importance that Haizi attaches to the hydroacoustic environment
More important than hardware equipment in anti-submarine warfare is practical operation experience. Anti-submarine warfare has always been one of the most difficult links in naval warfare, surface warfare is two-dimensional, and anti-submarine warfare is a three-dimensional three-dimensional battlefield, submarines are hidden deep underwater and cannot be directly detected, and no matter how many anti-submarine forces and advanced equipment, it is like fishing in muddy waters. The scope of action of various weapons and sensors is affected by too many factors such as sea conditions, water depth, water temperature, salinity, magnetic field, thermocline, ocean currents, marine life, seabed terrain, etc., and the variables are so great that any textbook tactic cannot guarantee the effect.
Therefore, the actual competition in anti-submarine warfare is the accumulation of various basic intelligence such as the hydrological conditions in the combat sea area and the voiceprint characteristics of the opponent's submarines for a long time, as well as the boring and complicated anti-submarine training day after day, which summarizes the actual combat experience of how to arrange formations according to various complex conditions, how to set sonar buoy parameters, and how to coordinate ships and aircraft into a highly operable anti-submarine tactical plan.
P-3C anti-submarine aircraft from Japan, Canada, the United States, Australia, and South Korea gathered in Hawaii for Rim of the Pacific 2010
Since the beginning of the Cold War, hai has been carrying out various bilateral and multilateral exercises with allies for many years, providing anti-submarine forces for the US aircraft carrier formation, tracking high-performance conventional submarines and nuclear submarines of neighboring countries, and has extremely rich experience in anti-submarine warfare in the western Pacific sea, worthy of the name of "Seventh Fleet Anti-submarine Brigade".
On October 4, 2019, the Los Angeles-class OKLAHOMA City attack nuclear submarine and the destroyer USS McCampbell and the USS Kaga helicopter carrier participated in the "Malaba 2019" multinational joint exercise
Haizi's minesweeping ability
The Sea of Japan also attached great importance to mine warfare, which was not only the problem of large-scale mine laying by the US military in World War II, but also the 55,000 mines itself laid in order to counter the possible home landing operations of the Allied forces, making the Japanese coastal waters the world's most mine-intensive sea area at that time, posing a serious threat to shipping.
The old Japanese Navy was completely dismantled after the war, but the demining unit was able to retain its structure intact and conducted continuous demining operations in the waters surrounding Japan from 1946 until 1985. 40 years of unremitting clearance operations have accumulated the world's richest mine clearance experience and operational data for Haizi's demining forces, and even the US 7th Fleet in the Asia-Pacific region is heavily dependent on Japan for mine clearance support. During the Gulf War, six minesweepers sent by Haizi successfully swept away 34 of the most difficult mines in the Mined Area of the Persian Gulf, and they excelled in the same competition with the eight Allied navies.
The Hirashima-class minesweeper Yakushima is conducting mine clearance training
【 Surface Minesweeper 】
Haizi itself has advanced mine technology, equipped with a variety of intelligent rocket floating self-guided mines, airborne airdrop mines and deep-water anchor mines, which also promote the improvement of mine clearance levels. At present, There are 24 500-700-ton minesweepers of 6 types and 2 Uraga-class minesweepers with a standard displacement of 5650 tons, which can provide support for the demining team of 15 minesweepers and carry out ocean-going minesweeping operations.
The 3rd ship of the latest Awaji-class minesweeper, the Edajima, was launched on December 16 last year and is the world's latest minesweeper. The "Awaji" class is 67 meters long, 11 meters wide, with a standard displacement of 690 tons, is built of reinforced glass fiber material, has no magnetism of the steel hull, and also loses more than 30% of the weight of traditional wooden minesweepers, which can reduce the risk of accidental explosions in mine-sweeping operations. The ship is equipped with two 2200 hp diesel engines, twin shafts, and a maximum speed of 14 knots.
Awaji-class ship Hirado
The ship is loaded with the Remus 600 underwater unmanned submersible vehicle, equipped with side-sweep sonar, which can accurately detect mines laid on the route. It is also equipped with A ZQS-4 variable depth mine detector and a disposable EMD mine self-destructer, which can be remotely controlled through a fiber optic system to destroy mines with low-sensitivity, high-performance explosives, improving the safety of the mothership.
After the "Awaji" class, Haizi does not currently plan the next generation of special minesweepers, but the 8 30FFM large frigates with a full load displacement of 5500 tons will integrate some minesweeper functions and become the supplement and backing of the local team's minesweeper fleet.
【Aerial Minesweeper】
In addition to surface minesweepers, Japan is also one of the first countries in the world to carry out aerial demining, 1974-1990 equipped with 6 V-107A minesweeper helicopters, 1990-2017 replaced with 11 MH-53E "Sea Dragon" heavy minesweeper helicopters, all equipped with the 111th Air Force stationed at the Iwakoku base, full-time aviation anti-submarine, is the united states in addition to the United States helicopter anti-submarine strength, the most experienced country.
Japan's "Sea Dragon" has been fully retired in 2017 because of its birthday, replaced by a new generation of MCH-101 medium anti-submarine helicopters, ordered 14, and currently delivered 10. The 28 existing "Sea Dragons" in the US Navy will continue to be in service until 2025, so in 2015, it also purchased 2 decommissioned "Sea Dragon" fuselages and engines from Japan.
On 12 November 2007, the Sea Dragon from the 15th Minesweeper Helicopter Squadron of the amphibious assault ship Wasp towed the MK-105 minesweeper in the Persian Gulf for mine clearance training
The MCH-101 features the airframe of the Augusta Westland EH-101, the first aircraft was assembled in Italy and first flew in 2005; the remaining aircraft were produced by Kawasaki Heavy Industries under license and used a large number of Japanese equipment. The MCH-101 takes off at 14.8 tons and has a rotor diameter of 18.6 meters, and can also be carried on the Izumo-class helicopter carrier in addition to being deployed on land bases.
In addition, three special transport CH-101s were specially produced, which were assigned to the "Shirase" icebreaker for Antarctic scientific research. The third of these crashed on August 18, 2017, during low-altitude training at Iwakuni Base, but only 3 of the eight crew members were slightly injured.
The Shirase icebreaker (Antarctic research vessel) can carry 2 CH-101s
The MCH-101's minesweeper equipment includes the AN/AQS-24A airborne high-speed mine-hunting system developed by Nordge, the AN/AES-1 airborne laser mine detection system and the MK 104 acoustic minesweeper, which has the ability to clear mines from the bottom of the sea to the surface of the sea. In 2012, SAIC won a contract to develop the Mine Warfare and EnvironmentalLy Assisted Decision-Making Database System - MEDAL, which was integrated into the MCH-101 ground support system for mission planning, evaluation and mine-clearance command and control, which can operate jointly with similar systems of the U.S. Navy.
The MCH-101 opens the rear hatch in preparation for the release of the AN/AQS-24A mine-hunting gear
Although the weight of the MCH-101 is nearly half that of the 33-ton "Sea Dragon", it has advanced airborne equipment, strong suitability, general-purpose destroyers can also take off and land, 3 Luo Luo engines have strong horsepower, and the combat effectiveness is higher than the "Sea Dragon" and the MH-60S being tested by the US Navy.
Helicopter minesweeping speed, strong mobility, good safety, operators have no casualties concerns, the disadvantage is that the endurance time is short, affected by meteorological conditions. In view of the trend of "intelligence" of new mine weapons, Haizi has developed an efficient networked information processing system, which realizes real-time intelligence exchange between minesweepers, minesweepers and other ships, minesweepers and different platforms such as minesweepers and minesweeper helicopters through data links, and shares tactical situation and battlefield environment information, so that the new minesweeper equipment can exert maximum combat effectiveness.
The anti-submarine and mine-sweeping capabilities of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force have followed the development route of gradual, small-step and fast-running over the years, and the frequency of equipment updates is very fast, and it has always been at the world's leading technical level; air, water surface, and underwater multi-dimensional three-dimensional operations, all platforms attach great importance to it, and the configuration is balanced and efficient; more importantly, it has accumulated a lot of operational experience similar to actual combat over the years, and has maintained a high level of training and combat readiness from equipment to personnel, becoming two combat forces on which the US Seventh Fleet and the Japan Sea are extremely dependent.
Finally, 2 errors in the previous part were corrected.
The configuration of the P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft purchased by various countries is not the same, and the P-8A for personal use of the US military does not have a magnetic detector installed, because the P-8's cruise height is relatively high, and the speed is higher than that of the propeller's P-3C, which is beyond the optimal working range of the magnetic detector. The U.S. is currently preparing to equip the P-8A with a single-use drone, carrying a magnetic detector to search at lower altitudes. The drone weighs less than 36 pounds, is launched from a sonar buoy launcher, has a maximum flight speed of 90 knots, can fly at cruising speed for 90 minutes, and has a unit price of less than $12,500.
The tail close-up of the US P-8A aircraft, there is no magnetic detector installed in the short rod above the APU, and the fairing below is an AN/AAQ-24(V) directional infrared countermeasure system
The Indian version of the P-8I added two pieces of equipment that the U.S. military did not have: the APS-143 Ocean Eye marine surveillance radar developed by Telephonics and the MAD magnetic detector developed by CAE (the same version as the P-1 anti-submarine aircraft).
A MAD magnetic detector is mounted inside the long rod on the P-8I tail cone
Number of P-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft: The 4th Air Group 3rd Air Force in Atsugi is the first combat unit to be refitted with P-1s, equipped with 14 aircraft; in 2019, the 1st Air Group 1 Air Force in Shikaya also began to be reloaded, and 3 have been deployed in July; in addition, the 51st Air Force at Atsugi Base is equipped with 4 P-1s and 1 UP-1 multi-purpose models for evaluation testing. In the future, the P-1 will completely replace the P-3C, equipped with about 70 aircraft from four air groups, and it is also planned to develop electronic warfare and reconnaissance models on its basis to replace the active EP-3 and OP-3.
On July 26, 2019, three P-1s at The Kakuya base, of which Aircraft 5517 and 5519 were transferred to Atsugi's 4th Air Group 3rd Air Force