Category Archives: Maritime Domain Awareness

“Iran Fires Ballistic Missile From A Shipping Container At Sea” –The War Zone

Posted on by
1

The country’s IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency reports that two “Fateh class” ballistic missiles were recently launched from Shahid Mahdavi, which the Iranian Navy took delivery of in March 2023 after it was converted from a state-owned and operated container ship known as the Sarvin. Iranian State Media

The War Zone reports,

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has fired two ballistic missiles from launchers disguised as standard shipping containers that were hosted aboard one of its sea base-like vessels. This particular combination, which has not been seen to date, greatly expands the reach with which those weapons could be used to strike potential targets by surprise, especially given that shipping containers can be embarked on any vessel that has the space to accommodate them.

Iran’s liberal transfer of technology to proxies and the inherent deniability of containerized missile systems aboard nondescript vessels opens a number of unpleasant possibilities.

Launching from the sea complicates defenses because it means new potential threat axes.

This potentially threatens the US as well as our allies. Defenses designed to intercept ICBMs don’t necessarily work against shorter ranged ballistic missiles or cruise missiles. Those destroyers intercepting ballistic missiles over the Red Sea are not patrolling off the US coast ready to intercept missiles aimed at US cities.

“Army Cancels High-Speed Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Program” –The WarZone

Posted on by
1

Sikorsky’s Raider X, advanced compound helicopter design (FARA prototype)

The Warzone reports,

The U.S. Army says it is cancelling its Future Attack Recon Aircraft (FARA) program which had been centered on the acquisition of a new type of high-speed armed scout helicopter. This is part of a larger restructuring the Army plans for its future fleets of helicopters and other crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

This is essentially half of the Army’s Future Vertical Lift program. The Coast Guard has been following the program in anticipation of development of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that would offer “twice the range and twice the speed” of existing helicopter types. We might still see that in a version of the Bell V-280 for land-based operations.

Note this video is four years old, so the prototype has been flying for a long time. I have heard concern about the downwash, but if you look at the windsock visible from time 2:20, downwash does not seem to be excessive. My back of the envelope calculations suggests the overpressure directly under the rotor discuses would be about 67% higher under the V-280’s props compared to the H-60J’s rotor. That might be mitigated at the hoist pickup point because, unlike in the H-60, the props are not rotating over the fuselage of the V-280.

It does appear that the H-60s may have a new engine option in the future.

The FARA cancellation is part of what the Army is currently calling the Aviation Investment Rebalance. The service says it will delay production of the General Electric T901 turboshaft engine developed under the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), which had been heavily tied to FARA, as part of this plan. The immediate focus will now be on integrating T901s onto existing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters.

GE Aerospace claims, “The T901 engine provides 50% more power 25% better specific fuel consumption, and reduced life cycle costs -with fewer parts, a simpler design, and proven, reliable technology.” 

Basically, the Army has decided that Unmanned aircraft and Satellites can do the job of scouting better and cheaper, as well as safer, than a helicopter. This means they will be putting more money into those areas.

The Coast Guard might still benefit in its maritime domain awareness and its search function. I have not put much thought into the possibility that UAS (and perhaps satellites) might supplement or replace fixed wing for the SAR search function or MEP detection, but those are real possibilities.

I am disappointed that we are not likely to see a ship-based helicopter with twice the range and twice the speed any time soon, but on the other hand, we are already using UAS for search that have many times the endurance of the H-65 or even the H-60. For that function, endurance is more important that speed.

“U.S. Approves Potential $3.9B MQ-9B UAV Sale to India” –USNI

Posted on by
Reply

An MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft system flies over the Pacific Ocean during U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) 21, April 21. UxS IBP 21 integrates manned and unmanned capabilities into challenging operational scenarios to generate warfighting advantages. US Navy Photo

The US Naval Institute News Service reports,

The State Department greenlit a potential $3.9 billion deal of General Atomics MQ-9B drones to India today…The proposed package for the Indian military includes 31 SkyGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles, 310 Small Diameter Bombs and 170 Hellfire missiles. Associated radars and anti-submarine equipment for the maritime-focused SeaGuardian variant, a derivative of the SkyGuardian, were also included.

It appears, India will join Allies Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Japan (Coast Guard and Maritime Self Defense Force), the Netherlands, and the UK as operators of the MQ-9 for Maritime Domain Awareness.

$3.9B is a scary number if you are the Coast Guard, but this is a large, comprehensive, and probably multi-year procurement, probably including training and support. This is also a joint service procurement with the Indian Air Force getting eight aircraft, the Indian Army eight, and the Indian Navy sixteen.

This is what the US Coast Guard Acquistions Directorate (CG-9) says about Land-based UAS,

“The Coast Guard has validated a mission need for land-based UAS to significantly enhance ocean surveillance in support of the service’s operations. Coast Guard land-based UAS flight crews are jointly operating maritime-variant Predator UAS (Guardian) on maritime missions with Customs and Border Protection to enhance the Coast Guard’s understanding of potential land-based UAS solutions and support the development of a land-based UAS requirements package.”

That sounds suspiciously like, we are doing the same thing we have been doing for what, the last two decades? I can understand the hesitance to get into land based UAS before Sense and Avoid systems, allowing Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) to operate in the national airspace, were developed, but they are available now. Time to move on this.

We don’t have to jump in with both feet. We can do what we are still doing with Scan Eagle and use contractor owned and operated systems, but let’s at least see what the latest systems can do for us.

Maybe a detachment of land based UAS like the MQ-9B Sea Guardians in Florida or Puerto Rico, where they can support the 20 Webber class District 7 FRCs that do not have organic air assets.

” U.S., CARICOM reaffirm cooperation on guns, drugs and youth violence” –The Watch

Posted on by
Reply

Map of the Caribbean Sea and its islands. Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons, author–Kmusser, all data from Vector Map.

Below is a post from the NORTHCOM on-line magazine “The Watch.” This seems to suggest we will be getting better Caribbean Maritime Domain Awareness.

THE WATCH STAFF, Jan. 17, 2024

The U.S. and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM, an intergovernmental organization linking 15 member states), along with the Dominican Republic, have reaffirmed their efforts to combat illegal activities in the Caribbean that threaten their national security interests.

The signatory nations released a diplomatic note on November 22, 2023, outlining steps to achieve three goals: substantially reduce illicit trafficking, advance public safety and security, and prevent youth crime and violence in the Caribbean.

The agreement reiterates goals set out in a 2010 agreement, the note states, and promises new efforts to tackle regional issues.

CARICOM, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. also “welcome” a U.N. mission to restore safety and security in Haiti, according to the statement.

The agreement authorizes work to strengthen maritime prosecutions and encourage regional cooperation on maritime law enforcement, implementing the Caribbean Maritime Security Strategy to improve defense and law enforcement cooperation, as well as operational capacity and security.

Maritime domain awareness technology will be employed to disrupt criminal networks and deter narcotics, firearms, human trafficking, and illegal fishing. To do that, the agreement states, CARICOM countries will need to complete a memorandum of understanding to access and share information via live feeds from sensors, radars and identification systems.

The U.S., CARICOM and the Dominican Republic pledged to create two working groups on maritime issues and border and port security in 2024.

The agreement also bolsters efforts to stem youth violence, tighten efforts to bring transnational criminal organizations to justice, and promises help to improve Caribbean judicial and law enforcement capabilities.

The goals echo homeland defense objectives articulated by the commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, who singled out the Bahamas, a key Caribbean ally, as crucial to the defense of the southeastern approaches to the homeland.

VanHerck praised the Bahamas for its cooperation in increasing domain awareness in the region and enhancing Caribbean security.

“Our partners in the Royal Bahamian Defence Force (RBDF) continue to punch above their weight as they continue to provide important contributions to regional security. USNORTHCOM and the RBDF operate maritime surveillance systems at Great Inagua and Coral Harbour, and plans are on track to add a third site in the coming years. That shared capability has significant benefits for domain awareness in the southern approaches to North America,” VanHerck told Congress in March 2023 testimony.

The agreement also promises to increase cooperation with France, the Netherlands and U.K. to improve regional security in their Caribbean overseas territories.

“Navy’s 4th Fleet sets sights on command center upgrades for drone ops” –Defense Scoop

Posted on by
Reply

Commercial operators deploy Saildrone Voyager Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) out to sea in the initial steps of U.S. 4th Fleet’s Operation Windward Stack during a launch from Naval Air Station Key West’s Mole Pier and Truman Harbor, Sept. 13, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Danette Baso Silvers/Released)

Defense Scoop reports,

“We have the robots and we’re making lots of progress there, but in terms of what we have at the headquarters and how we actually manage the command for it [and] how we manage that data — it’s overwhelming,” Rear Adm. Jim Aiken said.
–
I have been a bit disappointed, we have heard so little from 4th Fleet about their effort to integrate uncrewed systems into their operations.
–
4th Fleet is particularly important to the Coast Guard since it manages drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. There are also a significant number of Coast Guard personnel on the 4th Fleet staff, so there is an opportunity to learn a lot from their experience with uncrewed systems.
–
From what we had heard, 4th Fleet has had a good picture of drug smuggling traffic but were short of surface assets to do the actual intercepts and boardings. The uncrewed assets are obviously not helping with that. While they almost certainly provide some good data, they are also introducing a lot of noise into the system that 4th Fleet was not ready to filter out.
–

“Indian Navy Commandos Retake Ship In Arabian Sea” gCaptain/Reuters

Posted on by
3

The Indian Navy approaches the M/V Lila Norfolk in the Indian Ocean, January 5, 2024. Photo courtesy Indian Navy

gCaptain reports,

“An Indian Navy warship intercepted the MV Lila Norfolk on Friday afternoon, less than a day after the navy received news that it had been hijacked off Somalia’s coast in the North Arabian Sea.”

The crew of 21 had taken shelter in a citadel. By the time the Indian Navy destroyer, INS Chennai, had arrived, the pirates had fled.

The MV Lila Norfolk “was kept under continuous surveillance using MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft–Chuck), Predator MQ9B & integral helos.”

Notably, the Indian Navy is one of several users of the MQ-9B Sea Guardian Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAS including the Japan Coast Guard, the UK, Taiwan, and Greece. The US Coast Guard after years of observation of Customs and Border Protection’s use of earlier model MQ-9 Predators, the USCG has yet to procure or even experiment with a shore based long endurance UAS.

“Head of Royal Canadian Navy Outlines Ottawa’s Pacific Strategy” –USNI

Posted on by
Reply

This is starting to get a little old, but I am trying to catch up.

US Naval Institute reports on a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) interview with Vice Adm. Angus Topshee, Commander, Royal Canadian Navy, Chief of the Naval Staff, that discusses their Navy’s increased emphasis on the Pacific.

I have included the video of the interview above.

Three AOPSs at pier before the commissioning ceremony for HMCS Margaret Brooke (AOPV-431). Canadian Navy photo

He discusses operating with the Coast Guard for drug interdiction, icebreaking, and fisheries beginning about time 9:00. The new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships are expected to play important roles in these activities.

Map of the Arctic region showing shipping routes Northeast Passage, Northern Sea Route, and Northwest Passage, and bathymetry, Arctic Council, by Susie Harder

He explains why he does not see the NW Passage (which includes Alaskan waters) as a future international trade route (12:30).

He anticipates an end to the moratorium on fishing in the Arctic (14:30).

Discusses response to “Gray Zone” threats to undersea infrastructure (15:30).

Discussed war in Ukraine (19:00). Re sinking of Moskva, “Cruise missiles should not sink ships” (20:30). Drones (21:00). AI (24:50).

Where will they concentrate their efforts–Indo-Pacific (27:00). AOPS will be used for Fisheries in the Western Pacific.

Artic is an expeditionary theater, you have to bring everything with you, because there are no port facilities (29:00). Looking to create dual use facilities.

Recruiting (31:30). National Shipbuilding program (35:30), Technology sharing.

“Allies, partners tap into technology to monitor maritime domain” –Indo-Pacific Defense Forum

Posted on by
Reply

Winkel Tripel projection, WGS84 datum, central meridian : 150°E. Source Wikipedia Commons, Author: Eric Gaba

The Indo-Pacific Defense Forum reports,

“Maritime domain awareness (MDA) in the Indo-Pacific is moving from an abstract aspiration to a functional collective security approach for managing the region’s dynamic offshore spaces,” noted an April 2023 article in PacNet, a publication of Pacific Forum, a Hawaii-based foreign policy research institute. “Much of the cost-savings in maritime enforcement activities is due to emerging technologies including access to satellites that provide clearer and more accurate images, as well as artificial intelligence and big data platforms dedicated to vessel tracking, prediction, and anomaly detection.”

There are fusion centers in India, Singapore and Vanuatu. These fusion centers would be useful in wartime, but they are essentially a cooperative exchange of information among maritime law enforcement agencies. In addition to its importance in countering IUU and drug smuggling, better maritime domain awareness may give warning of a terrorist attack. Shouldn’t the US Coast Guard have a fusion center in Alameda under Pacific Area? Probably should be one on the West coast of South America too.

“C4F’s Hybrid Fleet Completes Target Detection Test” –4th Fleet

Posted on by
Reply

A Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel operates alongside U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 29, during Digital Horizon 2022. (Sgt. Brandon Murphy/US Army)

Below is a 4th Fleet News Release. This development will have obvious impact on Coast Guard drug and alien migrant interdiction efforts. This is a result of extending experimentation with unmanned systems to 4th Fleet in much the same way it was done in 5th fleet.

 Oct. 17, 2023

C4F’s Hybrid Fleet Completes Target Detection Test

By USNAVSOUTH/4TH FLEET PUBLIC AFFAIRS

KEY WEST, Florida   –  Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South) and Saildrone successfully completed an evaluation of the unmanned surface vessel Saildrone Voyager’s radar and electronic sensors against surface targets in the vicinity of Key West September 29, 2023.

Part of U.S. 4th Fleet’s campaign to inform the hybrid fleet, the evaluation looked at how many Saildrones the fleet would need to cover a given area of water and optimize the probability that the Saildrones would detect suspected drug runners at sea.

“This successful detection test is the completion of one small step in our campaign to inform the hybrid fleet,” said Capt. David Fowler, U.S. 4th Fleet’s Maritime Operations Center Director. “This is the type of testing and development that we can conduct even as we move toward continuous hybrid operations in the Caribbean.”

Right now continuous operations are underway with Operation Windward Stack. The U.S. 4th Fleet operation deploys long-dwell Saildrone unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to the Windward Passage in the Caribbean order to operationalize the combination of unmanned and manned systems in normal day-to-day operations.

In the coming months, other long-dwell USVs, interceptor USVs, long range UAVs, and VTOL UAVs will join the Saildrones in Operation Windward Stack. These systems will combine with traditional naval surface vessels to expand maritime domain awareness (MDA) and define combinations of unmanned and manned forces that work best for specific operations.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command’s joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region.

Learn more about USNAVSOUTH/4th Fleet at https://www.fourthfleet.navy.mil, https://www.facebook.com/NAVSOUS4THFLT and @NAVSOUS4THFLT.

“Inside the U.S. Navy’s Cutting-Edge Drone Boat Tech”–WSJ

Posted on by
1

A reader brought the video above to my attention, recognizing the significant Coast Guard participation in the program. 

Below I have reproduced the text that accompanied the video on YouTube. 

Drone boats appear to be on the cusp of a revolution. The U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59 has been pairing cutting-edge unmanned surface vehicles with artificial intelligence to expand the military’s eyes and ears in the Middle East. Now, similar efforts will be rolled out in the Pacific and Central and South America. The military’s objective is to leverage machine learning to detect and anticipate threats before they occur. Experts say the U.S. is currently the leader in this field, but competitors like China and Russia are racing to catch up. I traveled to Manama, Bahrain to see the high-tech drones in action and speak to officials about how they’re preparing for a future with robots in the world’s waters. 0:00 A rare look at the U.S. Navy’s drone boat operation 0:30 Meet the Navy’s Task Force 59 2:14 Drone boat capabilities 4:05 How artificial intelligence is layered with the drone boats 5:11 The global race to advance unmanned marine vehicles 7:23 What’s next for the U.S. military? Check out more from my exclusive interview with Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval forces in the Middle East, about unmanned vessels and the Navy’s future fleet:    • Drone Boats, AI and the Future of Mar…   I’m Shelby Holliday, a reporter for WSJ. Subscribe to join me as I explain some of today’s most pressing geopolitical events, from superpower showdowns and conflicts to supply chain snarls and natural resource struggles.

The link embedded above was to this video. 

Thanks to David for bringing this to my attention.