Is Ashton Carter Teaching China the Way to Attack US Homeland?

US Bluefin Tuna spy drone

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is well aware that China will set up an advanced surveillance network to detect US attack nuclear submarines in spite of their quietness and ability to operate in deep water. He, therefore, said that the US will deploy a large fleet of underwater robots that are able to operate in shallow water in the South China Sea, obviously for attacking Chinese homeland.

Sputnik International gave a detailed report on Carter’s plan in its report “Pentagon to Deploy Fleet of Underwater Robots in South China Sea” on April 18, full text of which will be posted at the end of my comment here.

Using underwater robots as attack weapon is not Carter’s invention as China has developed such weapons long ago. I described China’s development of crab torpedo in my post “China Developing Crab Torpedoes, Super Hornet Program to Destroy US Aircraft Carriers” on March 4, 2014:

A few days ago, boxun.com quoted New York Times as pointing out that China had been going all out in carrying out its ocean killer plans mainly aimed at establishing an independent “Explosive Crab” combat system at sea and a “Super Hornet Program” for superiority in sea battle. Such plans will severely challenge US hegemony at sea.

According to Pentagon intelligence, an “Explosive Crab” is a wake homing torpedo with improved design. When it leaves a warship or submarine, it goes 100 miles away on its own and lies waiting there until the time it is instructed to rise to the surface to receive the newest instruction from a satellite to launch a sudden lethal attack at an enemy ship.

In war such deep-sea killers can be deployed by submarines along major or possible cruise routes of enemy warships and aircraft carriers.

The United States admits that so far there is almost no adequate defense against such torpedoes.

Obviously such crab torpedo is precisely an attack underwater robot. Carter’s invention is but that the robot can be used to attack ground targets.

When Carter says that US underwater robots can operate in shallow water difficult to be detected, is he aware that objects are easier to detect in the shallow waters near China but much more difficult to detect in the deep waters near the US?

China has only to modify its crab torpedo and turn them into underwater launched cruise missiles for attack of US homeland.

What is China’s progress in developing underwater robots?

Its military part remains China’s top secret, but my post on June 18 titled “China Breaks Western Monopoly of Submarine Drone Technology” can give readers some idea.

I said in the post based on war.163.com’s report “China’s submarine drone has finally emerged, the era of Bluefin Tuna will soon be the past”, China has the project of “Deep Sea Glider Development and Marine Experiment Research” in China’s State High Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program). With support of that project, “Tianjin University has conducted the research of a new generation of underwater robot focusing on mixed propulsion technology and made its Haiyan submarine drone that has successfully passed tests of single, multiple and long-range trips.”

“The submarine drone is superior in small energy consumption, low cost, long range, all-weather operation, controllability, and convenient deployment for both military and civilian application.”

Note: What the report says is a new generation of underwater robot. Since it is the new generation, China certainly has had its old generation of underwater robots. That means that China has been doing research and development of underwater robots for quite some time.

How good is China’s Haiyan compared with US Bluefin Tuna underwater robot? Haiyan is only 1.8 meter long and 0.3 meter in diameter while Bluefin Tuna is 4.9 meter long and 0.5 meter in diameter, much easier to be detected.

Haiyan can operate continuously underwater for 30 days while Blue Tuna, only 25 hours.

Haiyan is a dual military and civilian robot. We do not know whether China has something more advanced as China is used to keep its top weapons secret.

Bluefin Tuna is US best underwater robot as the US is used to make public its top weapons to scare others.

If China only had Haiyan, it were still quite formidable as it can dive to the depth of 1,500 meters and stay there some 1,000 km away from US homeland until it gets instruction to rise up and attack US homeland from as far as 1,000 km away from US homeland.

Now, Is Carter not teaching China to attack US homeland with underwater robots by revelation of his plan to attack China with underwater robots?

Comment by Chan Kai Yee on Sputnik International’s report, full text of which can be viewed below:

Pentagon to Deploy Fleet of Underwater Robots in South China Sea

In the latest sign that the US has no intention to back down in the South China Sea, the Pentagon has announced plans to launch underwater drones near the Spratly archipelago.

Over the past year, Washington has expressed outrage over a series of land reclamation projects by Beijing in the South China Sea. In a show of opposition, the Pentagon has conducted several provocative actions in the region, including Navy patrols within the territorial limits of those islands and surveillance flights through Chinese airspace.

F-18 jet fighter takes off on the USS John C. Stennis, aircraft carrier in the South China Sea on Friday, April 15, 2016. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited the aircraft carrier during a trip to the region

“Countries across the Asia-Pacific are voicing concern with China’s land reclamation, which stands out in size and scope, as well as its militarization in the South China Sea,” US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said during a visit to the USS Stennis in the South China Sea on Friday.

While Beijing has repeatedly urged for calm, Washington has ratcheted up its maneuvers, announcing new plans to deploy a fleet of unmanned submersibles into the waterway.

Carter said that the Pentagon is perfecting “new undersea drones in multiple sizes and diverse payloads that can, importantly, operate in shallow water, where submarines cannot.”

The Pentagon plans to spend as much as $8 billion over the next year on submarines, both manned and unmanned, but the priority will be on arming autonomous submersibles.

“The idea is that if we were ever to get into a bust-up in the South China Sea, the Chinese would not know for sure what sort of capabilities the US might have,” Shawn Brimley of the Center for a New American Security, a think tank, told Financial Times.

“This might have deterrent impact on the potential for provocative behavior.”

Submersible drones have many of the same advantages of unmanned aerial vehicles. Without a crew, unmanned craft can be made smaller and cheaper, while still housing sonar and other surveillance systems. The affordability allows the Pentagon to deploy devices in larger numbers.

The smaller size also means that the craft will be harder to detect. Unmanned submersibles could slip undetected into enemy waters for reconnaissance or attack.

“The use of undersea drones opens up a whole new area of capabilities,” Brimley said.

While the Pentagon is funneling large sums into submarine development, it is simultaneously developing a fleet of unmanned surface ships. Created by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Sea Hunter has earned the nickname “ghost ship” for its ability to autonomously and clandestinely search the world’s oceans for submarines.

This ship is meant to counter both Beijing and Moscow.

“We’re working on it because we’re deeply concerned about the advancements that China and Russia are making in this space,” said Peter Singer of the New America Foundation, a think tank based in Washington DC.

A highly contested region through which nearly $5 trillion international trade passes annually, the South China Sea is claimed by China, though there are overlapping claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Brunei.

The United States has no claims in the region.

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