A Chinese attack submarine surfaced within torpedo range of the USS Kitty Hawk without having been detected by the American screening vessels.
When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed.
At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.
That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory.
American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk – a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.
By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.
According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy.
The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.
One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" – a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age.
The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon.
That classifies as a warning to America, Japan and Taiwan all at the same time. It also signifies that we have a problem. This is not as isolated an incident as it might appear. There have been multiple "surprises" in the past year. Some real, some not so much. The problem with the western left's obsession with navel gazing is that it exposes the back of the western neck to people that do not have good intentions. It really is not all about us. Other people have other agendas. Many of those agendas are not peaceful or friendly toward us.
(H/T to Fresh Bilge – who found the Crabitat last night and is now on the blogroll.)
From the above Jinsa article:
According to the Washington Times, November 15, 2006, Admiral Fallon said the Kitty Hawk Task Force was not conducting active anti-submarine patrols when the Chinese submarine successfully infiltrated the carrier Task Force, but said the U.S. Navy nevertheless was reviewing submarine defense protocol. But Kauderer warned, “there can be no ‘time out’ periods during which a Battle Group Commander can assume that a submarine threat has been reduced to zero, anti-submarine warfare is an art to be practiced 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
This looks like a problem that we might be able to solve with a bit of effort on our part.
Seems like Formerspook at In From The Cold reported on a similar incident last Spring(?). We don’t know all the facts in these incidents so it is hard to speculate. I agree with Norton Pete that the Navy should be able to sort it out. My feeblemind does not understand why a foreign sub with a stealth advantage would surface like that and tip it’s hand? Seems to me that if a foreign power had subs that could slip up on US ships undetected, that they would want to keep it a closely guarded secret.