Environmental Information for Naval Warfare (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: The Role of Environmental Information in Naval Warfare
Appendix B: The Role of Environmental Information in Naval Warfare
Pages 147-171
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From page 147... ...
These areas generally center on actions or assets with a common theme and include, among others, aviation and strike warfare, submarine and antisubmarine warfare, surface warfare, naval special warfare, and amphibious warfare (see Table 2-1~. Targeting Information and the Weather The need for accurate targeting information is as important as being able to hit the target once it has been identified.
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From page 148... ...
ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON AVIATION AND STRIKE WARFARE Aviation and strike warfare depend critically on accurate environmental assessments and forecasts, from winds for carrier operations to humidity, clouds, and haze effects on electrooptical sensor performance. Carrier Operations Carrier operations require a minimum of wind across the deck for safe takeoffs and landings.
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From page 149... ...
Key Problems The environmental issues relevant to aviation and strike warfare cover a wide range. For situ ship data, the basic instrumentation on most ships is archaic.
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From page 150... ...
to send signals back to a weapons TABLE B-1 Improvement in Accuracy of Air-Delivered Weapons Since World War II War Weapon CEP (m) World WarII Gravity bomb 1,000 Korea Gravity bomb 300 Vietnam Gravity bomb 100 Desert Storm Laser-guided bomb 8 Tomahawk Block II 10 Bosnia Laser-guided bomb 8 Tomahawk Block III 3
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From page 151... ...
New generations of guided bombs, such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and cruise missiles such as the Tomahawk IV, will use the Global Positioning System (GPS)
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From page 152... ...
Each service or user can tailor products to its specific needs, but all of the most current data are made available to all. Environmental Influences on Antisubmarine Warfare Systems Acoustic Propagation Because acoustic propagation, especially at low frequencies, is dictated by the nature of the physical environment, knowledge of the environment is fundamental to the performance of antisubmarine warfare (ASW)
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From page 153... ...
While there is still much to do with regard to modeling acoustic interaction with the surface, environmental drivers of surface effects according to region and time of year are important predictors of modeling sonar performance. Acoustic Propagation in the Water Column The sound speed profile (SSP)
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From page 154... ...
Environmental data to support these efforts consist of basic acoustic parameters such as propagation loss, ambient noise detection threshold, and source level. Environmental Influences on Naval Special Warfare and Amphibious Warfare Amphibious warfare and naval special warfare (NSW)
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From page 155... ...
In particular, NSW emphasizes clandestine operations by small groups to achieve specific limited objectives while amphibious warfare operations typically involve much extensive and more overt troop activities. Naval Special Warfare (NSW)
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From page 156... ...
At the extreme, for example, the surf zone contains rip channels that may offer safe gaps for landing vehicles but deadly countercurrents for swimmers. These features are only tens of meters wide but are sufficiently stable to make 24-hour reconnaissance data useful for planning.
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From page 157... ...
Environmental Influences on Mine Warfare and Mine Countermeasures Since the refinement of sea mines and sea-mining strategies during World War I, naval mine warfare has figured prominently in all major conflicts involving U.S. Naval Forces.
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From page 158... ...
TABLE B-2 Most Common Oceanographic Parameters Used for Nearshore MIW Operations and Their Importance in Different Water Depth Zones as Defined by the Navy Riverine/ Surf Very Shallow Shallow Deep Estuarinea Zone Water Water Water Seafloor Bathymetry H H H H M Sediment grain size H M H H M Seafloor clutter density M M H H L Bottom roughness M M H H L Mine burial H H H H L Water column Currents H L/Hb H H M Water clarity M L H H M Temperature and salinity H L M H H Waves L H H M L Acoustic properties H N/A H H H aRiverine and estuarine environments pose unique problems not addressed in National Research Council (2000)
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From page 159... ...
Oceanographic Parameters for Mine Deployment Environmental Parameters of Importance to MIW and MCM Operations Environmental parameters of importance to MIW and MCM operations are divided among two general categories: those related to the seafloor and those processes and phenomena related to the overlying water column. Each of the parameters identified in Table B-1 is discussed briefly below.
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From page 160... ...
In addition, mine burial in the deep water zone is likely to result in reduced weapons effectiveness and is therefore of somewhat limited concern. Water Column Processes and Phenomena Currents (e.g., river currents, wave-generated currents, wind-generated currents, and tidal currents)
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From page 161... ...
In the surf zone, water is typically rendered nearly opaque to optical sensors as a result of breaking waves and consequent bubble saturation and sediment suspension in the water column. In shallow and very shallow water zones, water clarity may vary seasonally according to variations in primary productivity, incursion/excursion of various water masses, and freshwater and sediment outflow from coastal rivers or estuaries.
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From page 162... ...
, scour and redistribute bottom sediment (surf zone through shallow water) , induce turbulent mixing in the water column that may affect both optical and acoustic properties of the water column, and affect nearshore MIW and MCM operations.
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From page 163... ...
Important Parameters in Air Environmental parameters important for airborne dispersal of biological or chemical warfare agents are temperature and humidity; wind speed; wind direction; turbulence parameters for urban or rural environments; solar insolation, photooxidation, and/or decay; and precipitation and precipitation rate.
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From page 164... ...
By their very nature, multi mission operations conducted by naval forces will require maximum utilization of navy METOC assets in such a way that the full spectrum of naval METOC products will be required throughout the mission time line. Multi Mission Scenario A hypothetical multi mission scenario might include requirements for environmental information relevant to (1)
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From page 165... ...
Increasingly, there is a need for precise target identification and location for these missions, and often PGMs such as cruise missiles or other "smart" weapons (e.g., Joint Direct Attack Munition) , radar-homing weapons (e.g., HARM)
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From page 166... ...
Close air support Precise target identification and location, winds aloft, winds at target, vertical wind shear, atmospheric turbulence, precipitation, space weather (if relying on direct GPS communication) , slant range visibility, lunar illumination, weather fronts and severe weather systems, cloud cover, cloud ceiling SOURCE: National Research Council (1996b)
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From page 167... ...
MIW Battlespace The MIW battlespace ranges from the littoral zone (coastal rivers and estuaries, beaches, and surf zone) to deep water settings offshore continental margins, island margins, and narrow seaways.
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From page 168... ...
An understanding of the dynamic oceanographic conditions in each MIW zone is an important component of evolving MCM strategies and techniques. Naval Amphibious Warfare Naval amphibious warfare involves assaults from the sea to land occupied by hostile forces, clearing land of those forces, securing a forward-operating base, and preserving capability to move additional warfighters and warfighting equipment across the beach.
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From page 169... ...
Some of the environmental parameters affecting amphibious operations are listed in Table B-7. Surface Warfare (Ship Self-Defense)
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From page 170... ...
naval forces throughout the Cold War era are necessary elements of the capability to conduct multi mission operations. Submarines still serve as stealthy platforms to conduct covert reconnaissance or launch conventional cruise missiles and to stand guard as a nuclear deterrent force.
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From page 171... ...
Bubbles in the water column Ocean acoustic ducting Littoral zone ocean climatologies Seafloor type Acoustic transmission losses Subseabed geoacoustics
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