11 Comments

And those of you with any sort of memory will recollect that the vessel featured in the attack on USS Cole didn’t need any sort of electronics. All it takes is enough motivation. Or maybe we could talk about the Italian and British undersea warriors of WW2 for another approach.

Expand full comment
Oct 31, 2022Liked by CDR Salamander

If memory serves, fire ships were used effectively against the Spanish Armada. If history is boring, they often appear in naval fiction. And, if you can’t be bothered to read, then maybe watch the Hornblower miniseries on your TV or computer.

Expand full comment
Oct 31, 2022·edited Oct 31, 2022Liked by CDR Salamander

As a card carrying member of Orange Forces what always amazed me was the level of arrogance and stupidity displayed by members of CVBG’s. They never took us seriously even when their members had to be reset early and repeatedly to allow the exercise to continue on to their inevitable victory. That things like this happening should not come as surprise to anyone….on the Orange Team…..

Expand full comment

Mayport and San Dog I'm not too worried about.

But Singapore, Guam, Rota, and damn near every liberty port we've ever used (hello, Yemen) are at risk, and how we counter the threat there, where we don't always control the lands and approaches nearby, is something we need to think about.

Are we flying Naval Security Groups in with boats and guns ready to interdict these (or suicide boats) when Big Blue is in port? What other steps do we need to take?

Expand full comment

Perhaps the most important rediscovered lesson: you need to be adaptive and it doesn't cost a lot of money.

Expand full comment
Nov 1, 2022·edited Nov 1, 2022

The information warfare value is fairly new though. And that's not nothing. They instantly had a video feed to counteract Russia's "nothing to see here," to add insult to injury. And it might be insults more than the injuries that eventually cause change back home in Moscow.

Expand full comment

But that's a completely different article. Wholly agree with your points.

Expand full comment

Is Russia doomed to serve as a punching ball for new ways to perform warfare? You can feel the "Port Arthur" vibes.

Expand full comment

That remains to be seen. Quite possibly though.

Expand full comment

Indeed. You're 100% correct.

Expand full comment

At the Pearl Harbor museum they have the cute little kamikazi mini "subs" that are torpedo tubes that the pilot was supposed to drive into a ship. These days you can make something like that entirely non metallic thus no radar cross section.

Expand full comment