I quite liked one of your icebreaker posts I stumbled across the other day. I’ve been thinking about the whole question of Canada’s (currently risible) ability to maintain sovereignty in the Arctic. Icebreakers are years away, nuke subs even further. But would not underwater drones be a very cost effective way of patrolling the submarine sea lanes in the arctic? It’s a notion I have encountered in SciFi, but we also happen to have some submersible drone technology expertise in Canada already (Google the newt suit). Given the way a $1000 drone can take out a $50 million (or whatever they cost) Abrams tank or a $500,000 missile can sink a billion dollar capital ship, I’d think a forward thinking navy would be big on drones. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on anti submarine drones in the arctic.
The mission for icebreakers isn't anti-submarine; the US operates submarines under the ice all of the time.
Rather, it seems to me that the U.S. Coast Guard needs to be able to conduct traditional coast guard functions in icy waters, particularly with the increase in maritime traffic. This includes search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, law enforcement, patrol/defense of the U.S. exclusive economic zone against illegal fishing/mining/oil exploration.
This is in addition to ensuring that Navy has presence in the region to either deter or respond to increased military activity by Russia and China.
When it comes to drones, realize that most drones in use- especially those being used in Ukraine- are very short range compared to the vast distances in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Under the ice, there is the added difficulty of communication, as a drone will not easily be able to surface to communicate via satellite. Not to mention the lack of satellite services in the polar regions (although this is getting better). Long-range polar communication is also subject to disruption by the same atmospheric conditions that create the Northern Lights.
While drones have their place, we are nowhere near ready to scrap manned ships and aircraft, especially in large areas where decision making is important.
I quite liked one of your icebreaker posts I stumbled across the other day. I’ve been thinking about the whole question of Canada’s (currently risible) ability to maintain sovereignty in the Arctic. Icebreakers are years away, nuke subs even further. But would not underwater drones be a very cost effective way of patrolling the submarine sea lanes in the arctic? It’s a notion I have encountered in SciFi, but we also happen to have some submersible drone technology expertise in Canada already (Google the newt suit). Given the way a $1000 drone can take out a $50 million (or whatever they cost) Abrams tank or a $500,000 missile can sink a billion dollar capital ship, I’d think a forward thinking navy would be big on drones. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on anti submarine drones in the arctic.
The mission for icebreakers isn't anti-submarine; the US operates submarines under the ice all of the time.
Rather, it seems to me that the U.S. Coast Guard needs to be able to conduct traditional coast guard functions in icy waters, particularly with the increase in maritime traffic. This includes search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, law enforcement, patrol/defense of the U.S. exclusive economic zone against illegal fishing/mining/oil exploration.
This is in addition to ensuring that Navy has presence in the region to either deter or respond to increased military activity by Russia and China.
When it comes to drones, realize that most drones in use- especially those being used in Ukraine- are very short range compared to the vast distances in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Under the ice, there is the added difficulty of communication, as a drone will not easily be able to surface to communicate via satellite. Not to mention the lack of satellite services in the polar regions (although this is getting better). Long-range polar communication is also subject to disruption by the same atmospheric conditions that create the Northern Lights.
While drones have their place, we are nowhere near ready to scrap manned ships and aircraft, especially in large areas where decision making is important.
Yeah!