October 30, 2020

Jive's Sub Brief: Russia's Secret Sonar System

On October 24, 2020 former US sonar specialist submariner, "Jive", uploaded a brief on Russia's new  Harmony Autonomous Seabed Sonar System (built under Project Cephalopod). The video brief is here https://youtu.be/Axvo1LwCEBc and below: 


In publishing the video Jive thanks H.I.Sutton (of hisutton.com) @covertshores and CSIS.org. Jive clarifies a comment made about Malachite to say that it is a Design Bureau not a shipyard.

Broadly speaking there are 2 major types of fixed sonar arrays:

1. the very long, large transoceanic Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS which still exist in all oceans! eg. see Section B.) type that can detect and locate submarines (by triangulation) 1,000s of km away. This type is better for deep, open ocean where there is less sound distortion caused by shallow seabeds, rocks, islands and other landforms.

and

2. Reliable Acoustic Path/Fixed Distributed System RAP/FDS systems (like "Harmony" in the video) which have many more sensor-receivers (and active sonars) per km permitting more acute location of close submarines/UUVs. They are much better suited to sound-distorted conditions (eg. shallow water, littorals, and relatively narrow waters between landforms). They can be combined with fixed or mobile mines/UUVs (which may use lightweight torpedos) to defend high value assets (eg. one's submarine bases). This may involve destruction of snooping enemy submarines or AUVs/UUVs in wartime and perhaps on the approaches to, or in, one's bases/ports/harbours even during cold wars.

Both sonar array types can work together and can detect, then locate, enemy submarines/AUVs/diver delivery vehicles/small boats/or USVs in order to "cue" friendly submarines or other naval, air assets or land-based missiles onto the enemy vessels. 

Enjoy the video, where Jive concludes that systems like Harmony are now sensitive enough for the Russians to hear Western reconnaissance submarines coming.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete,

A bit off the topic.

Here you can see a little inside the Södermanland submarine, unfortunately only in Swedish, it's a YouTuber that has a food channel that visit the sub so that's the reason the food part is large. Otherwise it can be seen that it's a bit cramped and the sub has a penetrating periscope. The dramatic that happened was that the chef did cut a finger and was sent to hospital, lost the feeling in that finger. And it is also fun to see the way they keep the night vision.

We will see if the sub ends up in Poland in the future.

/Kjell

Pete said...

Hi /Kjell

Thanks for the youtube on the Swedish Södermanland submarine at https://youtu.be/jelwGUv9i_U .

The emphasis and pace of talking and many of the words make the dialogue understandable in written and spoken English.

Also handy is the essential use, in naval English, of the F-word at 6:44. Saying "knulla" in Swedish just doesn't have the same impact :)

The Södermanland indeed looks cramped with the old fashioned penetrating periscope taking up a lot of space in the control/command room.

Cheers

Pete