Friday Fun Film: "ASW: Hunter/Killer Aircraft (1967)"

Anti-submarine Warfare is hard. Hard now and hard back in the late 60's when the Soviet sub force was big.



Shows the Navy's anti-submarine patrol in action during the late 1960s. Featuring flight operations off the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-18), fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft perform sweeps of the sea in the vicinity of the fleet main body. They are joined by destroyers and other warships equipped with sonar, depth-charges and ASW torpedoes. The Grumman S-2 Tracker aircraft is especially featured.

Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare: Smaller might be the right fit for some countries and missions

Photo: Hawker Beechcraft

What if your neighborhood submarine threat is very local and does not consist of big hulking ballistic missile subs or other large subsurface craft? Well, then, you might hop on to this-  Beechcraft sees opportunity in anti-submarine King Airs:

Beechcraft Corp. is interested in possibly adding anti-submarine warfare to the list of special-mission capabilities of its King Air 350.

According to a report from Defense News, the Wichita company has already been approached by several systems integrators about using the King Air as a platform aircraft for such missions.

There is interest in the type of anti-submarine warfare capability such an aircraft could provide as the use of smaller submarines — such as those of Iran — is increasing.

The Defense News article also mentions the use of such aircraft in locating "drug subs" . .. .

Boeing Image

Mini-submarine numbers are on the rise. United Arab Emirates Navy chief Rear Adm. Ibrahim al Musharrakh recently told the Gulf Naval Commanders Conference that Iranian midget submarines are an imminent threat they were looking to counter.
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Drug smugglers are also known to use mini-subs to transport narcotics in places like Latin America.

 I'm guessing an ASW King Air would be  less expensive (and admittedly, also would be less capable) than a P-8 Poseidon. On the other hand, they mostly would serve differing missions, wouldn't they?