

Unmanned frigates would stalk enemy submarines continuously with no crew onboard









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By drycrust3 on 2/10/2010 2:58:43 PM , Rating: 2
Since this boat is supposed to run indefinitely, my guess is it uses wind and maybe solar as it's power supply. Maybe this boat would be better used for things like weather forecasting.
Also, not having any crew means there isn't anyone to hold hostage if the boat "wanders" into Iranian waters.
As happened when that US Spy Plane landed in China, if a boat was captured then it would have a large number of technical experts going through it bit by bit (or should I say "byte by byte"?), and there isn't any guarantee it will even be returned.

RE: Sailing.
By carigis on 2/10/2010 3:03:34 PM , Rating: 3
Thats what the self destruct button is for..

RE: Sailing.
By MozeeToby on 2/10/2010 3:11:23 PM , Rating: 2
You jest but there are plenty of pieces of military hardware that will fuse their circuits when certain criteria are met.

RE: Sailing.
By JediJeb on 2/10/2010 4:51:58 PM , Rating: 3
If unmanned would not need to just fuse circuit boards, could be loaded with enough explosives to take out anyone trying to tamper with it and a good portion of the surrounding area.

RE: Sailing.
By wvh on 2/11/10, Rating: 0
RE: Sailing.
By porkpie on 2/11/2010 9:11:57 PM , Rating: 3
How many countries have submarines? Oh, let's start with:

North Korea
Peoples Republic of China
Republic of China
South Africa
South Korea
United Kingdom
United States

How many of those are hostile? I'll leave that up to you.

In the meantime, let's be sure to all beat our swords into plowshares, since obviously no war will ever occur again. Right?

RE: Sailing.
By Murloc on 2/10/2010 4:42:41 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think it would use wind, remember that it has to stay behind submarines and follow them in any situation.
They can be small.

Anyway it's not too difficult to put something in it that fuses the circuits when you try to disassemble it without something to tell it that it's legitimate.

RE: Sailing.
By InternetGeek on 2/10/2010 5:27:26 PM , Rating: 2
Couldn't you just xray the thing?

RE: Sailing.
By delphinus100 on 2/11/2010 3:40:11 AM , Rating: 2
Indeed, if no one's aboard, isn't it legally free for salvage under maritime laws?

RE: Sailing.
By Rugar on 2/11/2010 9:41:03 AM , Rating: 2
Yes. It's an interesting point since current International Maritime law doesn't allow for the possibility of remote controlled or autonomous vehicles as far as I know. Would be an interesting case to argue...

RE: Sailing.
By Calin on 2/11/2010 9:25:53 AM , Rating: 2
Can't use wind and solar power - remember that a submarine can be a very fast customer (I don't know, but 30 knots should be attainable). No way you could follow one with a wind-propelled ship (especially in storms or when becalmed).
And solar is not a good enough energy source - an Arleigh Burke Navy destroyer has about 75 MW peak power, with - let's say 20 MW used for typical steaming). To get 20 MW of solar power, you need 20 millions square meters, I think.
As for wind, sails would only take you so fast (and not up-wind), and remember how big and tall are the wind turbines.

RE: Sailing.
By porkpie on 2/11/2010 3:13:44 PM , Rating: 2
"As for wind, sails would only take you so fast (and not up-wind)"

Amazing how many people don't know this. In a wind-powered ship, you can't just point the helm any direction you want to go. With the best rigging and best conditions, there's always at least a 90 degree angle through which you can't sail. (For some of the old square-rigged ships, it could as much as 180 degrees...a ship could sometimes sit for weeks in a harbor just waiting for the wind to allow it to leave)


For a nuclear fast attack sub. Your average diesel-electric customer is about half that.


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