[Llarry]

The Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) is a system of underwater sonar listening devices that are able to track adversary submarines over very long distances. The system was developed in the 1950s and was very highly classified. Before 1985 it was known as SOSUS. In recent years some information about the system has become public knowledge.

In the early days, long seafloor sonar antennas were laid off the coasts; small facilities dotted up and down the coasts then processed the data from these sonar arrays. A number of Allied nations participated in the program to improve coverage in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The system was able to provide some tracking of Soviet missile submarines in the Atlantic; had the cold war turned hot, this locational data would have been critical in guiding friendly units to attack these Soviet submarines.

Quite a few years ago, the system was revamped so that the data is relayed to centralized processing facilities and the small facilities on the coast were closed.

To fill gaps in coverage, the U.S. Navy built a series of ocean surveillance ships that would tow long sonar arrays hoping to detect and track submarine activity. Five of these still serve in the Western Pacific and the Navy plans to build more as Chinese submarine activity increases. These T-AGOS ships are designed for low speed and stability in high seas with a SWATH design (see photos and attached pdf). Several times over the years, Chinese vessels have interfered with T-AGOS operations. The T-AGOS are unarmed and civilian crewed with a small Navy detachment aboard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOSUS

[Llarry]

Recent Navy news:

1) The recent Navy budget calls for the purchase of a single attack submarine (SSN) in Fiscal Year 2025. This is the first year in recent memory to have only a single boat authorized. SSNs are very expensive but among the most effective units in the fleet. As you might expect, there is major heartburn and gnashing of teeth with this decision.

2) The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) has been the forward-deployed aircraft carrier homeported in Japan since 2015. Periodically, the Navy switches out Japan-based carriers to facilitate overhaul schedules. The USS George Washington (CVN 73) is scheduled to replaced the Reagan this summer. This will be the GW's second turn in the barrel, as the Reagan replaced her in 2015. (The photo is old.)

[Llarry]

The U.S. Navy operated icebreakers for years before transferring them to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Here are three USN icebreakers -- the USS Burton Island (AGB 1), the USS Atka (AGB 3) and the USS Glacier (AGB 4) -- combining their efforts to move an iceberg out of the channel at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. McMurdo Station is the largest U.S. station in Antarctica.

A bit more on Navy icebreakers... Navy icebreakers were armed with 1940s-era guns (5" and 3" guns) -- see the attached photo of the Glacier -- and the armament was ultimately removed after transfer to the Coast Guard. Given the global competition for resources etc., one could make a case for more icebreakers. The U.S. Coast Guard is the obvious choice for operating these ships but is perpetually underfunded. A class of icebreakers for the Coast Guard with the option of an armed Navy icebreaker sister would make sense to me but likely would not survive the budget process.

[Llarry]

Icebreaker status: The U.S. Coast Guard has a single active icebreaker, the Healy (WAGB 20), along with two aging Polar class icebreakers completed in 1976-78 that have become basically unusable due to maintenance and reliability issues. Shameful!

The good news is that a class of three Polar Security Cutters (large icebreakers) has been authorized to restore USCG icebreaking capabilities. The first of class has been delayed by a number of factors and is expected to enter service in 2029. Given budget realities, it remains to be seen whether all three will be built and placed in service.

The new ships will be much larger than the current WAGBs: 460 feet long with an 88-foot beam and displacing 23,000 tons. They will be lightly armed with 30mm and .50 cal (12.7mm) guns and have accommodations for 186 crew and scientists. The lead ship will be named Polar Sentinel (WMSP 21); all three are planned to be homeported in Seattle, Washington.

The U.S. Coast Guard is an armed service that is a component of the Department of Homeland Security. In times of national emergency, all or part can be transferred to the Navy. The last time that happened was World War II.