South Korean Ship Sinking Stirs New Interest in Coastal Submarines

According to Forecast International’s “The Market for Submarines” analysis, the torpedoing and sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan in March 2010 by a North Korean coastal submarine will prompt a surge of interest in small, low-cost submarines.

The corvette was specifically designed for operations in littoral waters and built with full knowledge of the threat spectrum she would face. Yet, she was blown in half by a torpedo she never saw coming. The force multiplier effect was clearly evident here.

“The Cheonan was designed to provide an economical asset for patrolling coastal waters, but the submarine used to sink her cost an order of magnitude less – and that submarine got away with her attack cold,” said warships analyst Stuart Slade, author of the report. “It is quite clear which was the most cost-effective asset in this particular scenario.”

It is likely that the sinking of the Cheonan will cause a surge in the market for small, coastal submarines. These low-cost, quick-to-build and economical-to-operate submarines offer small navies with the means to threaten those who intrude upon their territorial waters. Until recently, the capabilities of such submarines were neglected as attention focused on their ocean-going sisters. With the destruction of the Cheonan, this is likely to change. The question is whether the shipbuilding companies will be able to exploit this altered perception.

Western submarine builders have attempted to produce small coastal submarines but, with few exceptions, these have never enjoyed any significant success. Russian offerings of small derivatives of their Project 877 and 677 class diesel-electric boats have also met with scant success. The reason is that these boats have tried to package the capability of the larger submarines into a small hull. This is a technological challenge of daunting dimensions and, in solving it, the defining characteristic of the small coastal – its low cost – is lost.

“If the changed perception of the coastal submarine is to be exploited, the requirement is to build a low-cost submarine that makes no pretext of challenging its larger cousins in quality terms but instead requires a minimum investment in resources and personnel to operate,” said Slade. He added that such submarines would exploit a gap in the market but require existing Western submarine teams to break decades of acquired design habits. If they do not do so, Slade said, the coastal submarine market will go to Chinese and possibly Russian producers.

Forecast International, Inc. is a leading provider of Market Intelligence and Analysis in the areas of aerospace, defense, power systems and military electronics. Based in Newtown, Conn., USA, Forecast International specializes in long-range industry forecasts and market assessments used by strategic planners, marketing professionals, military organizations, and governments worldwide.

SHI Shipyard’s New Anti-Piracy Device

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., South Korea’s third-largest shipbuilder, said Sunday it has developed an anti-piracy solution system that can track down and repel nearby pirate ships.

The development of an anti-piracy system comes amid rising alarm that overseas pirates are targeting South Korean ships. On Friday, South Korean naval special forces successfully rescued 21 seamen and their 11,500-ton cargo ship, the Samho Jewelry, that was hijacked by Somali pirates.

Two months earlier, a South Korean supertanker was also released after being held captive by Somali pirates for seven months, in exchange for a reported ransom of around $9 million.

According to Samsung Heavy, the new system tracks down suspected pirate ships within 10 kilometers by analyzing their speed and direction. The anti-piracy solution also features a surveillance system that records real-time videos of suspected ships and water cannons with a maximum range of 70 meters, the shipbuilder said.

The water cannons, which can be remote-controlled at indoor steering houses, are forecast to increase safety as seamen formerly had to control them on the deck, the company said.

Samsung Heavy plans to equip its ships with the anti-piracy solution in the future, it said.

“The system will substantially contribute to protecting seamen and their ships. It will also help boost orders,” said a company official.

South Korean shipbuilder rolls out anti-piracy system

South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries has rolled out a system to help ships detect and fend off pirates, after the recent hijacking of a South Korean freighter near Somalia alarmed shippers.

The nation's third-largest shipbuilder on Sunday said the new anti-piracy system detects smaller boats in the vicinity often undetected under existing marine radar systems and issues an automatic alert when approached.

"The alert is issued when an approaching vessel does not respond to usual ship-to-ship radio communications or shows unusual navigating patterns and speed," the company spokesman told AFP.

The system allows sailors in a navigation room to remotely control water cannons on the ship's deck that can up to 70 metres (230 feet) when pirates attempt to climb aboard.

"That way, crew will be safe from potential shooting attacks from pirates when firing the water cannons," said the spokesman, adding the system is applicable to most existing ships.

"We believe more of our clients want ships armed with such a system, considering what has been happening near Somalia recent years," he said.

South Korean navy commandos on Friday stormed a ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, rescuing all the crew and killing eight pirates.

The pirates seized the 11,500-ton ship and the 21 crew members -- eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 from Myanmar -- on January 15 in the Arabian Sea when it was en route to Sri Lanka from the United Arab Emirates.

The hijacking came two months after a supertanker belonging to the same shipping operator, Samho Shipping, was released in exchange for a reported ransom of $9 million after being held for seven months.

Piracy has surged off lawless Somalia in recent years, and international warships patrol the area in a bid to clamp down on the problem. Pirates are currently holding 29 vessels and about 700 hostages.

Korean Researchers Reveal New Sea Defense Model

Military tension between North Korea and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) extends to areas of the Yellow Sea. Now defence experts based in the Republic of Korea have devised improved methods to model underwater warfare, which they believe can aid future decisions about weapons and defence purchases. The details appear in the Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation, published by SAGE.

The researchers based at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Seowon University, both in the Republic of Korea, set out to design an underwater warfare model to gain insight into how factors such as tactics and the performance of underwater weapons influence the measurement of effectiveness (MOE) of a weapons system.

Governments considering whether to purchase equipment, such as torpedoes or mobile decoys, use these types of modelling and simulation as part of their decision making process both for purchases, and for making tactical decisions.

The new model uses DEVS formalism. DEVS - Discrete Event System Specification - is a widely used, modular and hierarchical technique for modelling and analyzing general systems.

In their paper, the authors introduce a co-modelling methodology for flexible model architecture, which they use to model the underwater warfare system:

"In the underwater warfare model, change in detailed algorithms and dynamic equations, such as sensor algorithms, is more frequent than the change in the abstract behavior," explains corresponding author, Kyung-Min Seo.

"Therefore, by separating abstract behavior and detailed algorithms, we can test candidate tactics or algorithms of underwater platforms with minimal modification of the model."

One drawback of previous modelling approaches has been that a model cannot be re-used. The Korean researchers overcame this by using a three-part modeling methodology that provides generic representations of underwater platforms. This meant that each sub-model - in this case, a controller model, a sensor model, and a manoeuver model - was then reusable for other platform models.

The researchers tested their model with extensive combat simulations, to investigate the impact of parameters such as tactics or weapons performance on an anti-torpedo combat system's effectiveness.

For instance, in the case of simulation of a surface ship's evasion of a torpedo, they use factors including the detection range of a surface ship, the pattern of the decoy operating system, and the speed and operating time of the decoy.

"Experimental results support assessment of anti-torpedo countermeasure effectiveness and the decision-making process for future equipment procurements," Seo suggests. However, he adds that external environmental factors, such as wind speed and ocean current, were not included in this model, which was based on a passive sonar system.

The next challenge, to include multi-static acoustics within the underwater environment using multiple sonars, along with environmental factors, is the team's goal for future research.

South Korea deploys more anti-submarine aircraft on sea border

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea has deployed five extra anti-submarine patrol aircraft to guard against a potential attack by North Korea, a report said Tuesday, amid high tension on the disputed sea border.


The military on Saturday deployed five P-3CK surveillance aircraft in addition to 11 anti-submarine planes already in operation to patrol the sea off the west and east coasts, JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported.

The move is “aimed to improve the ability to detect submarines following a North Korean submarine's attack on the Cheonan warship,” the paper quoted a military official as saying.

Seoul, citing a multinational investigation, blamed Pyongyang for torpedoing its Cheonan warship in March 2010, killing 46 sailors, a charge the North has vehemently denied.


“With the additional deployment of maritime surveillance aircraft, we are able to intensively monitor movements of the North's submarines in the East Sea and Yellow Sea,” the official was quoted as saying.

The aircraft, nicknamed “submarine killer” due to its ability to detect and attack submarines, have taken part in major drills including a joint naval exercise with the United States last July, the paper said.

A navy spokesman confirmed the report to AFP but refused to give details.

Cross-border military tension has soared after Pyongyang's shelling of the border island of Yeonpyeong on the Yellow Sea in late November, which killed four South Koreans including two civilians.

South Korea has staged a flurry of military exercises, including one jointly with the US, in a show of force against its communist neighbour, which did not follow through with threats of a new and deadlier attack.

Despite the tensions, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak Monday reached out to North Korea, saying Seoul was open to talks and offering closer economic ties.

In his New Year policy address, just days after Pyongyang called for improved relations in 2011, Lee also urged the North to abandon its “military adventurism.”

The North, in a joint New Year editorial of state media on Saturday, said tensions “should be defused as early as possible,” stressing dialogue and cooperation “should be promoted proactively.”