Submarines - they are still there!

In this era of fiscal down sizing the air force must be seen as contributing its fair share, particularly as it is viewed as the most costly of the three service environments. However to ensure that our politicians appreciate the full value and capabilities of our air force, the air community, in the broadest sense, must be aggressive in advocating air power as one of the most cost effective means to achieve many national objectives. In the same vein, the public needs to be better informed on the air forces role in ensuring our national well being in today's changing political and economic climate.

During periods of peace and increased tension our air force has the unique ability to monitor the aerospace and maritime approaches to our nation and to respond to challenges to Canadian sovereignty or our legitimate national interests abroad. The aerospace side of this activity is reasonably well known as our involvement with NORAD has enjoyed good publicity and exposure to public debate. However, the very significant contribution made by the maritime component of our air force in defending our sea approaches dwells in relative obscurity.

During the Cold War security restrictions precluded public knowledge of Canada's maritime aircraft surveillance of the Soviet submarine presence off our coasts. Therefore, our maritime aircraft's critical contribution to the direct defence of North America was unknown to Canadians. But our Canadian-based maritime squadrons were as much on the front lines facing the Soviet threat as were our fighters in Europe; the only difference being the maritime squadrons were directly defending Canadian territory as opposed to their fighter brethren's more distant European NATO frontier.

Contrary to popular belief, the demise of the Cold War did not eliminate the submarine. In fact, US Naval intelligence sources estimate that although there are fewer submarines in the world today, they possess greater capabilities than during the Cold War. Nations with submarine fleets have demonstrated a willingness to capitalize on their investment. Russia, for example, has recently demonstrated new operational submarine doctrine by conducting operations off United States east and west coast ballistic submarine bases and by shadowing allied Battle Group exercises in both the Atlantic and Pacific, thousands of kilometers from their home waters where their legitimate defence interests lie. In July 1995, a Canadian CP-140 Aurora on patrol over the Arctic Ocean photographed debris on the permanent ice pack from a ballistic missile fired a from a Russian nuclear powered Typhoon-class submarine, only 350 kilometers north of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian arctic archipelago.

Also of growing concern is the increased number of submarines in the geopolitically unstable regions of the world; China possesses the third largest submarine fleet on the globe and is committed to build new nuclear and diesel submarines for the next century; several countries such as Iran, North Korea and Algeria are acquiring new submarines or are upgrading the ones they have. For Canadians these trends mean that if peacekeeping is a fundamental tenet of Canadian foreign and defence policies, then it is essential that our maritime air force maintains an underwater surveillance and control capability to deal with submarine interventions in the maritime dimension of regional conflicts.

The lessons of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War were not lost on the Iranians as they quickly realized that the war would have been fought very differently had any of the Gulf states possessed submarines. For example, hostile submarines could have threatened the allied supply lines through the Arabian Sea and seriously restricted freedom of movement in the Persian Gulf. Because of the lack of a submarine threat, Canada had the flexibility to reconfigure its Sea King helicopters, deployed to Gulf, to better suit the NATO Naval Commander's surface surveillance needs. Recognizing the significant role that submarines could have played in the Gulf war, the Iranians, in their quest to gain hegemony in the region, procured three Russian Kilo class diesel submarines. Therefore, any future peacekeeping or commercial ventures that rely on freedom of navigation of the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea region will have to consider the capability of submarines to interdict the sea lines of communication.

Similarly, as part of the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Former Yugoslavia, NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), including Canada's CP-140 Auroras, were required to fly the first armed patrols against submarines since WW II. The MPA patrols were required to react to Serbian submarines if they exited territorial waters thereby posing a threat to the naval vessels enforcing the blockade in the Adriatic Sea. The MPA also provided the navy long-range warning of merchant ships approaching the blockaded areas, thereby enabling the naval ships to intercept them to determine if they were carrying legitimate cargo. Additionally, Canadian Sea Kings, embarked on our nation's warships, were able to conduct a large percentage of the interceptions. For those cargo vessels failing the initial scrutiny, the Sea Kings were used to hoist ships boarding parties, which visually inspected cargo manifests and the contents of ships' holds. Our Canadian maritime airmen were lauded by their NATO counterparts for their professional contribution that far exceeded the commensurate number of Canadian aircraft committed to the blockade.

With the demise of the Cold War, increased geopolitical uncertainty has resulted in regional conflicts with a maritime dimension, which threaten world stability and the ability of Canadians to trade with whomever and wherever we choose. The effective employment of Canadian maritime aircraft to project national interests through peacekeeping has proven to be a meaningful Canadian contribution to political stability and a positive climate for international trade.

Colonel (Ret'd) Ernest S.C. Cable OMM is a former Canadian maritime aviator and is presently the historian of the Shearwater Aviation Museum.