| QUOTE (Black Aces @ Jun 30 2008, 11:26 AM) |
| Wow! This is huge given the scale and types of the combatants involved (notably 5 submarines involved - 3 LA-type involved, 1 each from the JMSDF & ROKN). |
| QUOTE (kanzer @ Jun 30 2008, 11:45 AM) |
| one point to note is that USS George Washington was supposed to participate in this year RIMPAC as she was supposely to be forward based in Yokosuka.....but due to a fire on board......Kitty Hawk will remain on station and delayed decommissiong till Aug....sort of a last hurray for her....... |
| QUOTE (wd1 @ Jul 1 2008, 12:58 AM) | ||
haix, CV-63. i have fond memories of her, she being the only carrier i ever stepped foot on. the crew were most hospitable and made it a thrilling and memorable trip for us. sad to see her go. |
| QUOTE (YourFather @ Jul 4 2008, 11:29 AM) |
| There's 'something wrong' with the LHD pic as well. ;) http://www.c3f.navy.mil/RIMPAC_2008/Images...e_rimpac08.html |
| QUOTE (Viper52 @ Jul 4 2008, 12:30 PM) | ||
The F-14 on the Bonnie Dick...what the devil is it doing there? :lol: |
| QUOTE |
| FOCUSING on ASW IN RIMPAC 2002 by JOCS(SW) Phil Eggman, USN LCDR Scott Harrington sat in the wardroom of USS Chicago (SSN-721) with a big smile on his face, a look of relief perhaps, And why not? As Executive Officer, he and his crew had had their hands full this summer preparing for a change of command in addition to supporting Tim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2002, a major maritime exercise conducted in the waters off Hawaii, with maritime forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Peru, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. RIMPAC 2002 did not focus on the traditional carrier battle group scenario, but rather emphasized a heavy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) theme, while honing the tactical proficiency of participating units - surface combatants, submarines, tactical aircraft, and amphibious forces - in a wide variety of combined operations at sea. Chicago supported the Multinational Force (MNF) during the work-up or familiarization stage - 1 to 10 July - and in the tactical phase - 12 to 15 July. On the last two days of the tactical phase, Chicago switched roles to support the Opposing Force (OPFOR) for the simulated war on 16/17 July. In addition to Chicago, USS Key West (SSN-722) supported the Bilateral Force (BIF) during the work-up and tactical phases. Foreign navy submarine assets from Australia, Korea, and Japan also participated. Harrington noted that the goal of the RIMPAC was to exercise ASW tactics with the participating nations in both familiarization exercises and set scenarios. "This is where we went out and tried to be stealthy; doing approaches on other ships and allowing them to get a good look at us," he said. The Collins-class Australian Submarine HMAS Sheean (SSG-&&) joins a flotilla off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, with numerous other international naval vessels. A typical familiarization day would have a submarine-on-submarine focus. For example, Chicago would move out and work with a South Korean boat, each submarine taking turns tracking the other while generating different kinds of radiated noise and trying a variety of evolutions, so each could get familiar with the other's operating modes. Next Chicago would work with the surface ships and patrol aircraft. "For some units who had never exercised with a submarine before, this allowed them to learn what a real submarine looks like and sounds like," Harrington said. "On the surface we are very difficult to see, and when we're submerged? Well, hopefully we're very stealthy." In the tactical phase, the scenarios were not quite so canned. "We had a beginning point, and an ending point," Harrington explained. "How the opposing force was going to get from one to the other was up to them. Our job during this phase was to go to periscope depth and perform an all-sensor search and try to figure out what the opposing force was doing. "We found the fleet's aerial screen of P-3 and helicopter anti-submarine aircraft was really quite effective," he continued. "We would try to get in front of the battle group, even if we didn't think they had us. We went deep and tried to get in front of them, but by the time we got back up, the fleet had reversed course and gone the other way." According to LT Brian Guise, Chicago's Communications Officer, the boat had some real challenges in the beginning of the exercise. "Our communications were not well aligned with what the battle group had, so we had to make some work-arounds getting our communications set up," he said. But his crew was able to come up with an alternate network using logistics links and satellite and UHF radio to communicate with the battle group commander in real time. Chicago's Commanding Officer, CDR Daniel Prince, wanted to send immediate feedback on each evolution, which Harrington said enhanced RIMPAC 's success after each engagement. The battle group commander knew immediately what worked and what didn't in trying to screen his surface action group. "Never underestimate the value of a good, one-page concise message," said Harrington, noting that Prince was probably the best writer he had ever worked for. "He could say more in one page than what a lot of guys would take five pages to say. He would write, 'this is what we saw, this is what we did, this is what worked, and this is what didn't. Why don't you guys try this?'" "I believe by the end of RIMPAC everyone was more prepared to go to war against a submarine," Harrington added, noting that at least at the beginning of the exercise, conditions were poor for active sonar, and it offered no real performance advantage for the surface fleet. "All it really did was let us know who they were and where they were," he said, while admitting that they were not really after the warships anyway. The targets they especially wanted were the replenishment oilers USNS Yukon (T-AO-202) and USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO- 199). "We were going to shoot out the oil cans and when the rest of the fleet ran out of gas, we would pick them off one by one." During the exercise, participating ships would know the assignment of an adversary's water space - large blocks of water, 50 to 70 miles square. Chicago would get an intelligence spot telling them that the opposing forces were - perhaps - to the northeast trying to go to the southwest. The boat would have a rough start time, and from there, it was up to them to decide on the best search tactic. "If they were going active, then we we re going deep, " Harrington said. "We could hear their active sonar pounding away from the northeast, and we could watch them from deeper water. RADM John R. Hines, Jr., Deputy Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, addresses media and RIMPAC 2002 participants with opening remarks at Sharkey Theater, Naval Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. "Unfortunately for the MNF, the ship that we wanted to shoot most, the oiler, was always the loudest ship and the one we could pick up the easiest," he continued. "We would listen specifically for the auxiliary, and after we had worked with them a couple of times, we had some knowledge on how fast their shaft was normally turning, listening for a four blade screw, doing about a 78 shaft rpm, and we knew that was our prize." What is the benefit of exercising with foreign natives? "Well, it makes us think - provides us with new ideas on how ASW can work," said Harrington. "Sometimes having a really awesome platform like Chicago can exaggerate your sense of invincibility, and a nuclear submariner is tempted to think he has this advantage over any diesel submarine. But we saw these guys use the environment around them and do some pretty incredible things," he continued. "Diesels are very stealthy, and a diesel submarine operating quietly on its battery in the environments we work in can be pretty scary because you just don't know how close you can get to one and not even know it's there." The crew aboard Chicago could not say enough about how impressed they were by their Australian counterparts. "I learned a ton from the Australians," said LT Mike Lowry, Chicago's Combat Systems Officer. "Some of the tactics that they used were incredible," he continued. "We are used to just charging right in and punching the enemy in the eye, but they knew exactly what they could get away with, and they did it every time. They did all the right things. Knowing that there are submariners out there who are that good makes you very glad those guys are on our side." The Republic of Korea submarine Nadaeyung (SS-069) surfaces while conducting training exercises during RIMPAC 2002. This exercise was designed to improve tactical proficiency in a wide array of combined operations at sea, while building cooperation and fostering mutual understanding among participating nations. But LCDR Harrington observed that the submarines Chicago went up against were not their primary threat. Moreover, they were not even worried about surface ships, because the latter's excessive use of active sonar tended to mask the boat's movements. Harrington felt that the real threat came from aircraft, because Chicago was operating in shallow water with a high probability of being visually detected from the air. He recalled one scenario in which three P-3s and two helicopters were prosecuting the boat relentlessly. "That was a nightmare to try and get through," he said. "We could never get a good solid look, 15 seconds maybe, because our periscope radar detector was just screeching, and all our early warning systems were going off. They got right around us. It is pretty intimidating when you see all the radars directed at you from all around, and you can hear the buoys splashing in the water. "But there were also many times when the fleet didn't get by us," he added. "I think we had some pretty good hunting out there." For example, Harrington described the last approach of the tactical phase of the exercise when Chicago decided to penetrate the screen instead of just sitting on the fence and shooting from a distance. "We got inside, and sitting there were five ships," he said, clearly showing his satisfaction about getting inside the screen. "The mayhem factor is on your side when you are right in the middle of them, which is probably where they least expect to look for you. We would go up and take a look around and the skipper would say, 'Ahhh, this guy dies next.'" "We felt like a shark in the middle of a school of fish," said Lowry. "We had them totally surrounded and there was nothing they could do about it." "What do you do when the guy on your right blows up," Harrington said. "What do you do next? Turn left? Turn right? We got underneath their aircraft, let the screen guy go over, and up we went, and there we were with all those big, fat, juicy oilers." During the war phase, Chicago operated the same as during the tactical phase, working in a small block of water, with forces at opposite ends. "We would try to go from here to there, and our job was to get in front of the ships and not let them get by us," Harrington said. A Chilean ship is sighted through a U.S. submarine periscope. During the war phase, Chicago also penetrated the screen. "I remember the amphibious dock landing ship USS Duluth (LPD-6) was on one side, and the oiler was on the other with the screen all around, and we were smack dab in the middle," LCDR Harrington said. "We shot the oiler and two escorts and then we shot Duluth from behind. With the gas can blown up, the rest of the fleet wasn't going anywhere fast." "When we started out in this exercise, we knew that it was supposed to be a learning environment for everybody," said LT Guise. "Everyone got much better as we went along, because we were sending messages to each adversary saying, 'this is how we killed you this time,' and 'this is how we killed you that time,' or 'why we didn't kill you.' They were getting instantaneous feedback, and they kept getting better. It was good to see them get better, because we got better too." LT Lowry agreed, noting that the P-3 operators continued to improve their ability to prosecute submarines beginning to the end. "I can guarantee you, from my standpoint as an operator, that the P-3s tripled their efficiency at submarine prosecution, while the surface ships doubled their ability to avoid being destroyed by a submarine," he said. "You could see it in the way they operated. Everyone got better at ASW - everyone." JOCS(SW) Eggman is the Leading Petty Officer at COMSUBPAC Public Affairs. |
| QUOTE (who @ Jul 4 2008, 08:01 PM) | ||||
they transporting the F14D(163904) decom from US to the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island. They crane her on deck and piggy her there since bonnie headings towards Pearl Harbour |
| QUOTE (|-|05| @ Jul 28 2008, 03:09 PM) |
| wow i didnt know SSN 688 is still around! lol |
| QUOTE (Orcishwarrior @ Jul 30 2008, 12:44 AM) |
| why are RSn afraid to fly her national flag high. :angry: Some inferior complexion. :P |
| QUOTE |
 ...Supreme is a multi-role stealth frigate which currently holds a crew 71 sailors. Freedom, however, is the lead ship of the Freedom class of littoral combat ships and has a crew of about 40 personnel... ...“I’m really surprise on the size of the crew and the size of the ship,” said Teo referring to Freedom. “It’s not any smaller than the size of my ship. I’m really quite impressed with the level of automations that the ship has.” Teo said he was interested in how the ship operates and how the leadership manages morale and fatigue among the crew... |
| QUOTE (Grunt @ Jul 10 2010, 05:12 AM) | ||
| RIMPAC 2010 - June 28, 2010 Freedom Sailors, Singapore Navy cross train
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| QUOTE (Shotgun @ Jul 10 2010, 06:08 AM) | ||||
And that is what the RSN needs further enhance. More automation, with tech savvy sailors in the loop. |
| QUOTE (IceStorm @ Jul 10 2010, 08:34 AM) | ||||||
the RSN formidable class was build with multiple backup system for every system. during the last navy open house, i was shocked by how many backup system they had for each system. technically , the rsn formidable is build to survive multiple hits and continue to fight back even when badly damaged. |
| QUOTE |
 Hi res image on defence.gov.au Ex-USS New Orleans (LPH-11) served in the United States Navy between 1968 and 1997. The ship was used for high end multi-national target practice during Exercise RIMPAC 2010, being fired upon by Harpoon missiles, laser guided bombs and finally a barrage of naval gun fire from eight ships. |
| QUOTE (Viper52 @ Jul 17 2010, 06:07 PM) | ||
This pic reminds of the ones taken of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) taken at the Battle of Midway after being hit by Japanese carrier-based bombers. |
| QUOTE (Grunt @ Aug 3 2010, 04:48 PM) |
| July 19, 2010 - A medical casualty is transferred up a ladder during a casualty evacuation exercise aboard the RSN Formidable-class multi-role frigate RSS Supreme (73) during a shipboard fire fighting exercise. |
| QUOTE (FIVE-TWO @ Aug 3 2010, 09:32 PM) | ||
how come one so fluffy one so smooth? |
| QUOTE (Joe Black @ Aug 3 2010, 10:07 PM) |
| The fluffy one never reads instruction when he put it into the wash...... should have set the washing machine to "cotton or wool" setting but he put it to linen! ha ha |