Well, looks like Mindef had made the right move 10 years ago to
work on RSN's ASW capabilities.
It also appears that RMN made the right choice with the Scorpene
subs. It shall be interesting to see how RSN intend to move our
capabilities to the next level.
http://www.strategypage.com/fyeo/howtomakewar/default.asp?target=htsub&base=htsub&Prev=0&BeginCnt=31
January 15, 2004: After essentially abandoning ASW after the
collapse of the USSR, the worlds navies the US Navy in the
forefront -- find themselves ill-equipped to counter the explosive
growth in the Third World fleet of stealthy, fourth generation
diesel-electric subs like the German U-212/214-class and the French
Scorpene-class. Such current technology subs can stay submerged for
days without need for snorkeling. Equipped with closed-oxygen
diesel drives such as the French "MESMA" (Module d'Energie
Sous-Marine Autonome) AIP steam-turbine system that burns ethanol
and liquid oxygen to make steam to drive a turbo-electric
generator, the design permits retrofitting into existing submarines
by adding an extra hull section. Typical cost for a new submarine
powered by MESMA is $250 million. These warships are openly for
sale to almost anyone with a big enough checking account (except
Taiwan, but thats another story). For the budget-conscious or
someone simply in a hurry to raise hell with an allied navy -- a
Russian P-130 or Piranha-T Small-class submarine may be purchased
for a fraction of the cost of a Scorpene. While limited in crew
size and range, a Piranha-Ts torpedoes and mines are quite
suitable for denying coastal waters to most navies ill prepared for
ASW.
Recognizing this large hole in national defense, the US Navy has
just announced the creation of the Fleet ASW Command and the
allocation of more money to oversee ASW. The moves are recognition
by the Navy that it has lost through budget cuts and neglect the
ability to effectively secure shallow waters near shore from older
submarines of China, North Korea and Iran. If these nations
obtained fourth generation subs, the situation will be much worse.
These subs are exponentially more dangerous than the Foxtrot- and
Juliet- classes of diesel-electric submarines fielded by the USSR
in the 1950s and 60s, which even then, gave the US Navy a run for
its money. The halving since 1991 of the US Navys submarine fleet
-- a primary ASW asset itself further aggravates the situation.
ASW, like anti-mine warfare, has traditionally been unglamorous,
complicated, and absolutely essential to the Navy.