Sunday, November 11, 2007

Conn, sonar: Oops


A Chinese Song class sub at dockside

Chinese Sub Pops Up Undetected in U.S. Navy Exercise
The Cleveland Leader
Nov. 11, 2007

Recently, when a Chinese submarine popped up undetected in the middle of a Pacific Ocean exercise, dangerously close to the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, American military chiefs were left dumbfounded and red-faced, according to a UK newspaper, The Daily Mail.

[...]

"By the time the Chinese sub surfaced, the 160 ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, a 1,000 ft. supercarrier with 4,500 military personnel on board.

"According to senior NATO officials, the incident caused a sense of sudden fear in the U.S. Navy, as officials realized the seriousness of the encounter. The U.S. apparently had no idea just how sophisticated China's fast-growing submarine fleet had become, or that they even posed such a threat."

Armed, by the way, with C-80X anti-ship missiles. - grp

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