This is pretty damn awesome: The first operational stealth warship.
Do you think the US has anything this close to deployment? You don’t normally think of Sweden as a military technology powerhouse.
The NAZIs have em too!
Saab makes some of the best fighter jets in the world. Swedish small arms are nothing to laugh at, either; the Bofors was the anti-aircraft gun of choice for like 20 years.
It’s actually been around for years:
Here’s an older article that mentions American efforts:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3724219.stm
Not to mention their freaky turretless tank.
And the bofors guns are still popular.
But what do you expect from the nation that gave us dynamite.
I like how in the BBC article a Swedish minister says that “We use a secret angle…”
I imagine some international spy walking up nonchalantly to the ship on a summer day when it’s moored in a big city, looking around indifferently, and then running up to the side of the ship and whipping out a protractor.
And of course, very soon, the nearby guards, suddenly aware of his intentions, begin to run towards him, yelling “Drop that protractor! That angle is a state secret!!”
One 57 mm gun and a few depth charges? What a powerhouse. They are building two, total.
I don’t think stealth ships are all that useful, frankly. A navy doesn’t really use covert technology to get in and get out of areas like the air force does. Rubber zodiacs do just fine for that. They are working on some other things, but I just don’t see the need. A stealth landing craft I can see … but a destroyer? I guess it might be nice for the coast guard to run interdiction, but your enemy there does not exactly project lot of active radar to find you. Are the screws stealth too? Would it be invisible to a sub? Would its sonar pings be silent?
As the Navy you are patrolling and announcing your presence to the enemy projecting power. You want to show up bristling with guns, not one 57 mm cannon.
It’s a cool accomplishment but I would bet they use it exactly like any other ship and the low profile radar silhouette is never taken advantage of.
I think modern navies have been using a bubble masking system and passive sonar for quite some time now.
Is that why the US has decommissioned all their battleships?
Technology is more important to modern navies than pure size or brute strength. Keep in mind that that ship is a corvette too. Corvettes are meant for patrolling and light work. It doesn’t need to have massive guns.
Battleships were pretty much doomed during WWII with the advent of the aircraft carrier. Carrier fleets wave the flag and project force, nuclear subs lurking all over the world provide a failsafe counterstrike option if another country pushes the button. Neither really do much to deter terrorism though.
By guns, obviously I meant ordinance. The US Navy is basically just a series of carrier fleets rimmed with things protecting the carriers nowadays.
Look up ‘LCS2’ for pictures of the USS Independence. For an even more extreme design that’s a few years away, Google ‘Zumwalt’.
EDIT:Pictures!
And 8 RBS 15 - Wikipedia
Why do they paint camo on a boat hull? I can’t see it doing much good.
I’d go for corporate sponsorship myself, have some MAACO, KFC, Coca~Cola shit painted down the sides.
If it really is hard to detect on radar, you might as well try to break up the shape a bit and try to make it harder to notice with the naked eye. Camo does have an effect, whether it’s a soldier or a ship.
Whoops I took those to be the depth charges. Sweet!
Stealth ship are for hiding from missiles, because that’s what kills ships.
Missiles don’t kill ships. PEOPLE kill ships.
– National Missile Association
No, loose lips sink ships!
- WW2 Propaganda Association
Apparently, there are a whole mess of them. There’s also the US’ M80 Stiletto…though it’s basically a SEAL team delivery vehicle.