CIMSEC continues their series on “non-navies” with “Narco-Submarines: Drug Cartels’ Innovative Technology,” by Byron Ramirez. It provides an overview of the state of narco-sub development, employment, and countermeasures. It also announces the imminent publication of an unclassified study, “Narco-Submarines – Specially Fabricated Vessels Used For Drug Smuggling Purposes,” to be released by the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO).
Slate.com is reporting the man behind the building of three true submarines intended for smuggling drugs is facing trial, and many of those who worked with him have either been tried or taken plea bargains.
If you want a refresher on the result of his efforts, there is pretty good info on one of the submarines that he produced here.
We have talked about these before and their implications for the Coast Guard. Related:
There has been a recent demonstration of a new harbor surveillance system that claims to pick up both surface and subsurface targets using fiber-optics. This has possible implications both for the Coast Guard’s own Maritime Domain Awareness program and for the Navy’s Mobile Inshore Underwater Warfare (MIUW) units that the Coast Guard frequently works with.
Wonder if it might also work as a tripwire to detect North bound drug subs?
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 