Matrix Games

Welcome back to the Navy Log Book. This month we are looking at Part 2 of our exhibition of NPC ships featured in Modern Naval Warfare. As a submariner there are plenty of surface targets out there, and it's important you know which ones to pass up, and which ones to send to Davey Jones's locker.

In case you missed Part 1, here it is again covering the Missile Boat, Frigate, and Destroyer classes of ship.

We also have a helpful glossary at the end of the article, in case you need a refresher in terminology.

Anyways, on with the show!

Cruisers:

* While the Chinese consider the Type 052C a Destroyer, NATO reporting considers it a Cruiser.

Cruisers in modern days are used mainly as escort for carriers or auxiliaries but they can also do area denial missions. Cruisers are the most powerful surface ships after the aircraft carriers in term of weaponry and sensors. Their build and maintenance cost make them rare, less than 30 are currently in service across the globe.

A small number of countries still have cruisers in their fleet, the USN with the Ticonderoga class (15), Russia (2 Kirov and 2 Slava class) and China with the Type 055 (6) - note that in the PLAN, the Type 055 is considered a destroyer.

Those are a few of the surface ships that are a threat to you as a submarine. Either they are a waste of ammo like a missile boat, or an active threat capable of hunting you like a destroyer. The others military ships you will meet in MNW are bigger, sometimes slower, but juicy targets!

These are the auxiliaries, amphibious assault ships and aircraft carrier; they are few and almost always protected by escorts. These are the ships that will win or lose a war if you manage to sink them.

Auxiliaries:

The auxiliaries are ships specialized in resupplying other ships at sea. Their designation starts with AO or AOE in most navies. These ships are designed to resupply other ships with fuel, ammunition, spare parts, food … in short everything needed for a ship to accomplish missions at sea when coming back to a port is not an easy option, especially in the Pacific.

These ships are usually very lightly armed, they rely mainly on the destroyers for their protection.

Amphibious Assault Ship (AAS):

These are specialized ships that are designed for amphibious assaults (the most difficult operations for any Navy) bringing troops and their equipment to the shore.

In Modern Naval Warfare you will encounter two different type of AAS, the LPD/LHD (Landing Platform Dock and Landing Helicopter Dock). The LPD delivers troops using small landing ships (flat bottom or using air-cushion like the LCAC). The Landing Helicopter Dock use mainly helicopters like the CH-53 Sea Stallion or the Osprey V-22 to move troops and equipment from the sea to the shore.

Aircraft Carriers:

These are true Capital ships, they serve as floating airbase able to launch, recover, rearm, refuel, and repair airplanes, helicopters, and UAVs.

The are the biggest ships and targets you will encounter in Modern Naval Warfare. They are rare and the most protected assets in real life and in MNW. They will be a real challenge for you, but disabling or even better sinking one can win or lose a war.

Air assets:

Air assets are helicopters and planes. In MNW as in real life, ASW helicopters and planes are not as big a threat as you might think. The ocean is vast and deep, but if you make a mistake they can be really annoying, like a wasp that invites herself to an outdoor lunch.

Helicopters like the Seahawk, the Harbin Z-9CE or Kamov Ka-27 use a dipping sonar that can be deployed at different depths using a winch. This sonar can be use in passive or active mode. The helicopter can also deploy sonar buoys, there are different types (DICASS, DIFAR, BT, … ). The weapons mainly used by ASW helicopter are lightweight torpedoes. Don’t be fooled by the name, their range and explosive charge is far less than a heavyweight one launched by a submarine, but can sink your boat all the same.

A helicopter by itself will have almost zero probability to detect you. It will always rely on other platforms like a dedicated ASW ship (or two) to make a first detection. Then it will come and check using it’s sonar and/or sonar buoys to confirm the presence of a submarine. Ocean fauna like whale pods can be read as a false positive for submarines, meaning your AI opponent will sometimes have to hunt down and confirm whether a sonar contact is an actual submarine, or just Shamu.

Planes, like the P-8 Poseidon, the P-3 Orion or the Chinese Shaanxi Y-9Q rely mainly on their sonobuoys to pinpoint your location. Like the helicopters, they works in conjunction with other assets such as ASW ships. The have a longer range and can stay on-station for hours unlike helicopters, but lack the hovering ability and the dipping sonar. On the other hand, these aircraft can carry a larger number of sonobuoys.

That all for this Navy Logbook. Development continues at a rate of knots, so expect more exciting news and teasers in the coming months! Happy sailing everyone.

Glossary

AAS - Amphibious Assault Ship 

ASW  - Anti Submarine Warfare or as the ASW experts says Awfully Slow Warfare

AShM  - Anti-ship missile

CH-53 Sea Stallions - Heavy-lift transport helicopters

CWIS - Close-In Weapon System 

CCG - Cruiser Guided

DDG - Destroyer Guided

FFG - Frigate Guided

IUSS - Integrated Undersea Surveillance System. Successor of the SOSUS array. See SOSUS entry

JMDF - Japanese Maritime Defense Force

LCAC - Landing Craft Air Cushion

LDH - Landing Helicopter Dock

LPD - Landing Platform Dock

ManPAD – Man Portable Air Defense

OPV – Ocean Patrol Vessel

P-15 Termit – AshM developed by the Soviet

Panamax – Maximum size for a ship using the Panama Canal 106 feet in width and 965 feet in length

PLAN  - People Liberation Army Navy

SAM – Surface to Air Missile

Sonobuoy  - Droppable buoy that deploy transducers (passive or active) at a determined depth and relays the signal to the surface via radio

SOSUS - Sound Surveillance System. A moored array of transducers listening to the oceans sounds installed during the Cold War by the USN. Renamed IUSS at the end of the 80’s

SURTASS - Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System. Specialized ships that tow a very long Towed Array. Able to detect submarines and ships at considerable distance

UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone)

UUV - Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

V-22 Osprey – Tilt Rotor Aircraft

VLS - Vertical Launching System