Some interesting ideas from the ever imaginative DCNS graphic design team.
The SMX-26 submarine, a small submarine designed for operation in very shallow waters, in littoral zones not usually accessible for conventional submarine operations.
It’s a few months old but a good discussion point
http://en.dcnsgroup.com/2012/10/26/dcns-anticipe-les-applications-du-futur-avec-son-nouveau-concept-ship-sous-marin-smx-26/
Wonder how much and if it could be launched out of the deck of a Bay or Albion?
Personally, I don’t think its as mad as it looks but does anyone else other than me see a similarity between the ‘enemy port’ in the video and Gibraltar!
They are out of luck if they hope to sell them to the Spanish…they are even more broke than we are. So much so that if BAE have any sense they will be saving up to buy Navantia at a fire-sale price when they crash out of the Euro…
If they work, having a couple to deploy from innocuous-looking container ships might be handy; if not I look forward to seeing a CGI version in Daniel Craig’s next outing as 007!
I can see SAS, US Special Forces and Nato special forces using that
Did they change the concept? The old SMX- concept I remember was a mixed hydrofoil/sub capable of very high speeds on the surface which would then submerge when close to the ambush zone.
Not only does it look like Gib, but it looks like a Merlin and a Daring Class being destroyed….they trying to tell us something?
why are the crew dressed as Bond villian henchmen? Are they making a pitch for the next Bond film?
I hate to disillusion them but the submersible car idea has already been done for the 007 franchise.
Best ever Bond car
Am I the only one was singing the Stingray theme song as they watched that? Must be my age.
This looks like a great interdiction tool off an enemy port…
Let’s imagine off Hainan. This “manned mine” & ISR collection concept could be pretty hard to dislodge. It could block a port, sink an SSK, destroyer or two, warn of FAC “wolfpack” sorties, possibly even interdict air movements near a nearby airfield, etc etc… and still have decent odds of getting away. Even in low-intensity conflicts (e.g. Libya), the ISR/special forces capability could be useful.
This could turn the tables of assymetric warfare against the Chinese, in a very nasty way.
@whyeyeman – Any excuse to post this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_p4VwHQ9AM
What happened to the edit function?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E06cNv55jTs
Just imagine – submarines, ships, missiles and aircraft all under the same command structure. Madness :-)
Now that’s a new one on me, guess the Thunderbirds were a bit more successful.
H_K, where oh where is the anti-submarine net? :)
Never got to see Stingray – that’s child abuse that is. I daren’t mention Fireball XL5.
Getting back to the French flight of fancy video, I thought the flexible hose periscope and air supply rather clever. Obvious once someone thinks of it.
Well wise, it would probably only be practical for a sub with a small crew, small engines and operating at a low depth, so you could say it might be a niche piece of equipment. Larger subs would probably be Air Independent.
@H_K – I’ve always assumed we refurbished a nice cosy cave in one of those jungle covered lumps of rock a few miles off the old Crown Colony before we left, and have been maintaining a team in it ever since by the discreet use of vehicles such as this…and if anybody from the Broccoli organisation reads TD, that idea is Copyright GNB…I’ll settle for an expenses paid trip to the next Leicester Square Premier in payment, provided Mrs Gloomy gets to meet Daniel Craig (in public, and very briefly!).
Before anybody tells me that idea is bonkers, I draw your attention to the Stay-behind O/P we actually designed and built in Gibraltar in the last serious European unpleasantness…this is covered in the Osprey Fortifications book about the Rock in question…
I call it… The Isopod. The dreaded isopod, of the sea! Beware, pirates. America has just created its very own killer isopod, with navy seals, and a rocket launcher.