HMS ASTUTE Faced Another Problem

It was reported by The Herald of Scotland that the troublesome sub had hit another low when she faced a major hydraulic problem while at sea.

The problem was considered serious as she had to be towed back to her Faslane Home Base due to the failure.

The incident happened just two days after she left Faslane on May the 4th.

TNI-AL - "Live Firing Exercise Was A Success"

Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) Director of Communication released a statement that the Live Firing Exercise conducted in the morning of 20 Apr 2011 was a success climaxed by the YAKHONT missile launched from KRI OSWALD SIAHAAN frigate (as opposed to earlier report, KRI KAREL SATSUITUBUN) hit a de-commissioned LST target 250 km away.

Beside the YAKHONT, the Live Firing involved the launching of the followings:

• 
  
  An MM40 EXOCET from KRI SULTAN HASSANUDIN corvette


• 
  
  A MISTRAL anti air missile from KRI SULTAN HASSANUDIN corvette


• A SEA CAT anti air missile from KRI KAREL SATSUITUBUN frigate


• An SUT Heavyweight Torpedo from KRI CAKRA submarine


• An RBU 6000 anti submarine rocket from KRI CUK NYAT DIEN corvette

With the firepowers unleashed, it is no surprised if the target was sunk.

Unfortunately, there was no photos or videos released by Indonesian Navy of the target being hit by any of the above weapons.

Whatever it is, Congratulations to Indonesian Navy.

TNI-AL To Conduct Live Firing Exercise

It was reported in Indonesian mainstream medias that the Indonesian Navy or locally known as TNI-AL will conduct a series of Live Firing Exercise (LFE) on Wednesday 20th April at 1000 local time.

The LFE will be conducted somewhere in the areas of Selat Sunda and Indian Ocean and will involve the firing of YAKHONT and EXOCET MM40 anti-ship missiles, MISTRAL and SEA CAT anti-air missiles as well as SUT torpedo.

The firing of MM40 and MISTRAL will be done by the SIGMA Class Corvette (KRI HASANUDDIN) whereas the firing of YAKHONT and SEA CAT will be done by an AHMAD YANI Class Frigate (KRI KAREL SATSUITUBUN) and the firing of SUT Torpedo will be done by the submarine KRI CAKRA.

It is highly believed that the firing by the corvette is part of Contractual trials whereas the firing of YAKHONT by the frigate is part of its post modernisation trial.

Whatever it is, we wish them good luck!

Proof we need psychological tests for submariners..

I don't want a mad man next to me, let alone a mad man with an assault rifle.

The unfortunate incident onboard Royal Navy's submarine, HMS ASTUTE, clearly challenged the credibility of RN's psychologists.

The fact that the element of madness in the mind of that young man wasn't detected in the supposedly tough selection process result in a sad death of a father of four.

Where did they go wrong? For submariners wannabe, to be awarded a 'dolphin' is one thing but to serve onboard submarine is another thing.

I wonder if RN has a different set of tests to qualify the dolphin holders to become a submarine crews or are they practising 'just picking up names from the pool of names'?

Whatever it is, RN's psychologists have to ask themselves whether they need to devise new tests in order to identify any 'mad man' as early as possible.

If something like this happened, I would point my finger at them. (No offence).

Shooting Onboard Astute Submarine - Officer Killed

The deadly incident which occured on Friday, April 8th, marked another embarrasing chapter in the history of the Royal Navy's latest nuclear sub, the HMS ASTUTE.

Based on Guardian's news report, the incident involved the sentry on duty and the gun used was an SA80 assault rifle. It was reported that the incident happened in the Control Room (Ops Room).

It is highly believed that the RN will conduct a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to find out the reasons behind the shooting.

RN's submarine force is well known for its high level of standards observed onboard and this incident will surely spark a debate about the actual level of the current submariners corp.

Hopefully the BOI will reccomend new measures which can be shared by the submariners communities worldwide in order to avoid the repeat of this incident.

Thai Navy To Buy 3 Ex German Submarines

Thai's Prime Minister was reported to have approved the navy proposal to acquire 3 ex German submarines.

Based on a UPI news report, the submarines are of Type 206, which is 'quite old' actually although they have been upgraded and known as Type 206A. Anyway, if they are still operational, it could be a good learning platform for the Thai navy.

It is an open secret that the Thai Navy is creating its submarine force considering the facts that her ASEAN's neighbours are becoming active submarine operators.

Well if it is not an arms race..it is just 'normal' for navy to have submarine eh?..

Welcome to the club!

It's Official - NATO Has Attacked Libya

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that British forces has launched a pre-emptive strikes on strategic targets in Libya.

The moves clearly come as no surprise as UN has backed military action when it declared a No-Fly Zone over Libya.

The strikes involved the use of TOMAHAWK missiles launched from submarines operating in Medditerranean as well as STORMSHADOW missiles launched from the air force's TORNADO jets based in Marham, Eastern England.

TOMAHAWK missile launched from submarine at Persicope Depth

It was also reported that the French and US forces had also launched similar attacks.

Sky news report

If based on the Gulf War, these strikes should have targetted vital Command and Control Centres, air defence units and the surveillance radar sites.

Logically, the Libyan forces couldn't do anything should these strategic assets were destroyed.

One thing for sure, it is a good place to practice your Live Firing Exercise eh.