Donors' Report March 2022 - All Electric Submarines vs UUVs

Hi Donors

I have just sent you "Donors' Report March 2022 - All Electric Submarines vs UUVs"

Here is one link from it http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2015/10/south-korean-hhis-hds-400-small.html

Cheers Pete.

Is an All Electric Submarine Viable?

Here is a question for you, the reader.

A new class of manned submarine will be a future "SSE". That means it will be an all electrical battery operated submarine with no on-board charging. Instead charging may occur at a wharf or from some other vessel, maybe a conventional or nuclear mothersub. Or perhaps charging by a mothership or boat with a diesel engine.

Would an SSE be viable? 

For what kind of missions?

Regards Pete

Australia & India Boost Indian Ocean Surveillance Links

Australia's Asia-Pacifice Defence Reporter APDR, on April 14, 2022, reported an Indian
P-8I maritime patrol aircraft was deployed to Darwin to exercise with a RAAF P-8A aircraft. 

Earlier Gessler, in very interesting March 24, 2022 posts (with Pete's comments in [...] brackets) wrote: 

An article was published in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) by Andrew Tillett   following up on the recently-concluded Virtual Summit between the Prime Ministers Modi of India and Morrison of Australia (which was incidentally right after PM Modi's in-person summit with the Japanese PM Kishida).

Tillett talks about an impending 'deployment' of Indian spy planes (journalist-speak for
P-8I maritime patrol aircraft) to Australia. [Pete comment: More in the "spy" sense P-8s can also be fitted with Airborne Ground Surveillance (optical, infrared, radar and signals collection sensors)].

As the AFR articles are behind a paywall, I'm only going to reproduce bits & pieces, and often paraphrasing: 

"The types of exercises [Australia has] done with the Indians in the past have been pretty light on, but this would be a step-up in terms of complexity. This is where we were 15 years ago with Japan: fairly uncomplicated maritime surveillance, then it becomes co-ordinating ships and aircraft at sea. Exercises are ladder of complexity and this is the first step being climbed." - said Peter Jennings of ASPI. 

Two examples of the previous exercises Mr. Jennings is alluding to are: 

https://news.defence.gov.au/international/poseidon-power-major-exercise and

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-anti-submarine-exercise-us-7710105/

The second AFR article, indicates: 

"After several years of Australia and India stepping up the tempo of joint military exercises, the leaders also announced an Indian maritime patrol aircraft would be deployed to Australia sometime soon as part of strengthening collaboration on maritime issues. 

It’s unclear where the aircraft will be based but it is expected that Australian aircraft will also pay a reciprocal visit to India, as the leaders spoke about the need to keep open critical regional maritime corridors..." 

The two articles draw a lot from the joint statements issued via official channels, though the joint statement did not actually mention any specifics of an aircraft deployment: 

https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/35008/JOINT+STATEMENT++INDIAAUSTRALIA+VIRTUAL+SUMMIT

The important part under the "Security and defence cooperation" section goes:

"[Leaders] welcomed enhanced maritime information sharing and maritime domain awareness...Leaders underscored the importance of reciprocal access arrangements in facilitating deeper operational defence cooperation and its contribution towards free and open critical regional maritime corridors."

I'm not entirely clear regarding the nature of the Indian P-8's visit. Though the line in the second article about it being 'based' as opposed to the reciprocal Australian aircraft's 'visit' is interesting, but I don't know if that is anything substantial to go on. But what I can tell you is that India has been wanting to operate aircraft out of Australia's Cocos (Keeling) Islands, [which sit in the Indian Ocean] for quite some time.

[Pete comment: Wikipedia states: 

"The 2016 Australian Defence White Paper stated that the airfield [on the Cocos Keeling's West Island] would be upgraded to support the RAAF's P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.^[53] "]

This interest is documented in publications as well...

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/islands-opportunity-where-india-and-australia-can-work-together

https://www.idsa.in/issuebrief/australias-strategic-imperatives-in-indo-pacific-rpsingh-230222

The 'reciprocal' part may come in with regard to Australia's access to operate from facilities on India's Andaman & Nicobar Islands. [Pete comment: The Islands' capital, Port Blair, hosts several bases including Indian Navy and Indian Air Force].

Or perhaps even the new [South China Sea like] Indian base being built on one of Mauritius' two Agalega islands in the Indian Ocean. [Mauritius is Indian military dominated. The Agalega island might be available for Australian use or at least visits].

See an investigative video on the base here and above. The Indian base on the Agalega islands seems tailored for operations of Indian P-8Is or other large aircraft.

I'd wait and see regarding what kind of 'deployment' AFR is talking about (because it could simply be another joint exercise). But as a closing note, I'd say that in addition to building Domain Awareness underwater (such as through 'Fish Hook' 

[older, deep oceanic term "SOSUS" and the modern, broader term US "IUSS" network. Also see SMI's references to IUSS] 

it is also important for QUAD nations to extend that cooperation into Surface, Air and Space domains. This is in order to build and maintain a full spectrum of surveillance and domain-awareness capabilities against PLAN activities in the Indo-Pacific, which would only be growing by leaps and bounds in the coming years and decades.

[Please link the above with Submarine Matters' September 11, 2018 article Japan-US-Indian IUSS cable link completed across Bay of Bengal ]

India Friendlier Than China to Russia

Danil Bochkov for The Diplomat has written an excellent article dated March 26, 2022. The Diplomat article is paywalled - so I'm only providing this fragment:

"...Chinese neutrality, however, should not be conflated with de facto support of Russia. Since the outbreak of the conflict over a month ago, Beijing has remained unwilling to either openly bail out Moscow or criticize it.

India, by contrast, has been even more energetic in reaching out to Russia by ramping up oil purchases and jumpstarting trade in national currencies. India has already gained an advantage from the ongoing confrontation between Russia and the West by almost quadrupling its daily purchases of Russian oil at much cheaper prices. Now New Delhi is going even further by approving a proposal raised earlier by Russian authorities to allow Russian investors to buy debt securities of Indian companies. In fact, doing so required India to ease control over the system of its external commercial borrowing, which speaks of New Delhi’s willingness to deepen financial cooperation with Russia. Now Russian organizations can invest in bonds of Indian companies and pay for it with rupees via its own account open in the Reserve Bank of India..."

"GUEST AUTHOR Danil Bochkov is an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council. He earned his Master of Economics at MGIMO-University under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. He also has a master’s degree in world economy from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE, Beijing). He tweets at @danil_bochkov"

SEE THE WHOLE EXCELLENT THE DIPLOMAT ARTICLE HERE.

Solomons: China’s Future Air Naval Base on Tulagi Island

China's impending security agreement with the Solomons Islands is something for all in the Southwest Pacific (including Australia and New Zealand) to worry about. Submarine Matter's reported the China-Solomons danger way back in 2019. 

It pays to look at where China will build its air and naval bases in the Solomons. This includes renewed interest in the small Solomons island of Tulagi. Tulagi, like China's South China Sea islets, is just large enough to host a Chinese air and naval base.

-------------

On November 6, 2019 Submarine Matters intelligence reported
https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2019/11/chinas-future-forward-base-of-tulagi.html

"China’s Future Forward Base of Tulagi a Threat to Australia." 

"In August 1942 US Marines (in the Guadalcanal Campaign) fought and died to liberate the strategically important island of Tulagi (in the Solomon Islands) from the Japanese. 

Now Tulagi, with its dual-use capable natural deep water harbour and airfield has been leased, cheaply, for 75 years to China. See the map below.

Australian politicians appear to have been taken by surprise and have been unable to head off the lease. China is now too politically powerful and can target its increasing cash reserves to buy off islands that are close to, and strategically important to, Australia.

The New York Times, not Australian news outlets, broke the story on October 16, 2019 and advised:

“The renewable 75-year lease was granted to the China Sam Enterprise Group, a conglomerate founded in 1985 as a state-owned enterprise, according to corporate records.

A copy of the “strategic cooperation agreement,” obtained by The New York Times ... reveals both the immediate ambitions of China Sam and the potential...for infrastructure that could share civilian and military uses.

Signed on September 22, 2019 the [lease] agreement includes provisions for a fishery base, an operations center, and “the building or enhancement of the airport.”

Tulagi island (part of the Solomon Islands) in relation to Australia. (Map courtesy Agency France Press via Yahoo News, October 2019)

---

[Under pressure from Australia the Solomons Island government cancelled the October 2019 deal with the Chinese "military technology" aligned China Sam Enterprise Group. But a new 2022 agreement might see a Tulagi 75 year lease renegotiated.]

The military value of Tulagi includes its potential use as a forward Chinese naval and air base in cutting naval strategic lines of communication between the US and Australia (map above). 

China can improve Tulagi’s airfied to accommodate maritime patrol aircraft to blockade Australia northern approaches (Tulagi to Port Moresby (New Guinea) and return) and Australia’s eastern approaches (from Tulagi to New Caledonia and return). From Tulagi Chinese strike aircraft could hit the cities of Cairns and Townsville (both on the Australian mainland).

Tulagi as a forward operating base for Chinese surface ships and submarines would save many days of passage to block the major east coast Australian city-ports of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Australia’s leaders have been virtually silent about the strategic possibilities of the Tulagi Lease:

“News of the lease agreement sent Australian diplomats scrambling to find out more details. [Australian] Foreign Minister Marise Payne...had not responded to a request for comment...”.

Perhaps Australia knew about Tulagi-China negotiations in advance. But as Australia could not alter the situation, because of China's power and money, Australia was reduced to feigning surprise.

The possibility that China could develop Tulagi at the rate of its rapid South China Sea island seaport-airport building is a major concern, to say the least. 

Also see an article in The Strategist.

Pete"

PMB Batteries for Collins & Other Navies

It is good to see Adelaide based PMB Defence is an efficient specialist battery supplier for the Collins subs, for submarine forces overseas and PMB stands ready for Australia's future SSN build. See video above.

Each Collins has 400 tonnes of Lead-acid batteries on board.

On March 22, 2022 Anonymous provided links and comments concerning PMB.

See PMB Defence Corporate Brochure. 

In more detail PMB Defence announced on September 16, 2021:  

“...In the past several years PMB has grown to be arguably a world leader in submarine battery systems.  We have been engaged by the UK Ministry of Defence to develop a Nickel-Zinc based battery system for their submarines, and by Saab Kockums and Sweden to develop a lithium-ion based battery system.  In addition, we have acquired designs and capability that have resulted in lead-acid based contracts of supply with several nations including Canada and Sweden who operate conventional submarines, and the United Kingdom for their nuclear back-up batteries.  

We continue to seek work in other export markets that can leverage the considerable domain knowledge and expertise we have gained largely through our close collaboration with the Australian customer.  As a result of the successful growth and diversification described above, we still anticipate a growth in production rates in the short to medium-term…”

See also “PMB Defence wins battery supply contract for British submarines” of December 21, 2021.