U.S Navy fleet is the largest in the world.
It is best in the world both in terms of quality and quantity.
The 7th Fleet is based out of Japan, plays a very important role as it is forward-deployed
and oversees a vast area.
Reports now indicate that from mid-2018, AN/SLQ-59 which is also known as SEWIP (Surface Electronic
Warfare Improvement Program) Block 3T is supporting the 7th fleet Urgent Operational Need (UON).
In this video Defense Updates analyzes the installation of new SEWIP Block 3T AN/SLQ-59
electronic warfare system to U.S Navy 7th fleet.
Let’s get started.
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China claims most of the South China Sea.
It said that it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the area.
Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have disputed these claims.
The route is significant as about $5 trillion in trade through shipping passes each year.
Countries like the US, Japan and India have no claims in the area and want ‘Freedom
of Navigation’ as per international maritime laws.
China has tried imposing a unilateral decision as per which all ships & aircraft navigating
in the area need to identify itself to the Chinese Navy.
U.S military regularly sends warships and aircraft in the region to establish ‘Freedom
of Navigation’ and this is mostly done by Seventh Fleet fleet.
It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture,
Japan.
It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet.
At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with 60 to 70 ships, 300 aircraft,
and 40,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
U.S Navy warships face a credible threat from the Chinese anti-ship missiles.
First is the YJ-12 and its variants.
According to Chinese sources, the YJ-12 has a speed of around Mach 2, if launched from
low altitude and up to Mach 3.2, if launched from high altitude.
It has a maximum range of 380 km or 236 miles depending on launch altitude so it can be
fired from far off.
In the terminal phase, the missile can travel at a very low altitude of 15 m, which makes
it hard for the sensors to detect.
When this missile appears over the horizon and gets detected by ship’s sensors, the
ship would only have some 45 seconds to intercept it before impact.
The speed, range, and ability to skim close to the sea surface make it one of the most
deadly anti-ship missile in the world.
A saturation attack by YJ-12's will be hard to defend against even by sophisticated defenses
of the U.S military.
Second is the DF-21D.
DF-21D is an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) and is capable of targeting a moving aircraft
carrier strike group from long-range It has a maximum range exceeding 1,450 km
or 900 mi and is thought to be operational since 2009.
DF-21D has hypersonic speed and can be launched from land-based launchers.
It can carry a large single conventional or nuclear warhead of 600 kg or about 1320 lbs.
United States Naval Institute in 2009 stated that such a warhead would be large enough
to destroy an aircraft carrier in one hit and that there was "currently ... no defense
against it" if it worked as theorized.
Ship defense mainly consists of active or kinetic weapons and soft or non-kinetic systems.
The main active defense of U.S warship be it a supercarrier or destroyer or cruiser
are the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile.
The Phalanx CIWS is a close-in weapon system for defense against airborne threats such
as anti-ship missiles and helicopters.
It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division which
is now a part of Raytheon.
It consists of a radar-guided 20 mm Vulcan cannon mounted on a swiveling base.
It has a max rate of fire of 4,500 rounds/minute and has a range of 2.2 mi or 3.5 km.
The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air
missile in use by U.S. Navy.
It is a point-defense weapon against anti-ship cruise missiles.
It has a range 9 km or 5.6 mi and a max speed of Mach 2.
RAM intercepts the incoming missile.
RIM-162A ESSM for anti-missile role with a range of 31 miles or 50 km and speed of Mach 4
It can be quad packed in single Mk 41 cell.
Soft kill approach includes expendable decoys and as well as Electronic Warfare system.
One of the main EW systems is the AN/SLQ-32 .It is deployed in almost all large US Navy
surface combatants.
The system has the ability to detect different types of battlespace elements passively and
can also direct electronic warfare like jamming attacks against targets radar and communication modules.
AN/SLQ-59 is designed mainly by ITT Exilis which is now L3Harris and developed as part
of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP)
It is a Transportable Electronic Warfare Module or TEWM for short.
As the name suggests, the system of this kind is designed to be easily transportable.
AN/SLQ-59 is modular and highly adaptable and can be reconfigured to counter newly emerging
threats.
Its self contained, shock-resistant, weather-resistant enclosure and can actually be moved from one
warship to another if required.
So, while AN/SLQ-32 is highly integrated, AN/SLQ-59 is more of a plug-and-play system
that can be attached to virtually any surface combatants as per threat perception to improve
its combat survivability.
The capabilities of AN/SLQ-59 is kept classified but is expected to have a significant improvement
over the AN/SLQ-32.
One of the major enhancement is that AN/SLQ-59 will have new ways to jam radars & communication
components that are jam resistants.
It is very important to note that the AN/SLQ-59 is deployed to the 7th fleet warships as Urgent
Operational Need (UON).
So, U.S Navy feel that 7th fleet face a genuine threat and it needs to respond quickly.
This indicated why the South China Sea is considered to be one of the most dangerous
flashpoints in the world.
There is a reason for this.
On December 20 last year, a high-profile Chinese military commentator, Rear Admiral Lou Yuan
during his speech in 2018 Military Industry List summit told that disputes over the ownership
of the East and South China Seas could be resolved by sinking two US supercarriers.
As reported by Taiwan’s Central News Agency, he stated that China’s latest crop of anti-ship
ballistic and cruise missiles was capable of sinking American supercarriers and fear
of casualty will frighten America.
He had said that the loss of one super carrier would cost the US the lives of 5000 servicemen
and women.
Sinking two would double that toll.
Admiral Lou was added, “What the United States fears the most is taking casualties.
We’ll see how frightened America is”.
Military, as well as political voices in the U.S, have pointed to Chinese provocations
in the South China Sea.
Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma sometime back had raised serious apprehension
about Chinese activities in the South China Sea during a Senate hearing earlier this year.
Inhofe said, “It’s like you’re preparing for World War III.
You’re talking to our allies over there and you wonder whose side they’re going
to be on.”
Keeping in view all the aspect in view, it can be is easily understood that China is
trying to dominate the region and is actively pursuing military options to achieve its goals.
Slowly but surely, the South China Sea has become a major escalation point and one day
could trigger a full-scale military conflict between two nuclear-armed nations.