Questions of the Week 6-30-2010

UPDATED with ANSWERS (Well done, Cookie!):
1) The answer to the leak date question is still pending (pro tempore). NATO recently extended Operation Ocean Shield for a further three years [from 2012 to 2015].
2) Yes, the stated submarine mission is also intended as a deterrent to pirate operations beyond 500 n-miles. We know this because pirate leaders monitor public announcements such as this Dutch sub mission.
3) Other mission possibilities include identification of units from foreign nations that may be assisting pirates, including satellite phone intercepts.
4) [Cookie, nailed this one]: Cold war ops, Balkan area intell (Yugoslavia), Iraq, Carribean ops and possibly Faulklen Isl.

For readers with a more intense interest, Galrahn explains more, including

"...the advantage the Walrus has over every other conventional submarine in Europe (including all the AIP submarines) is that it has more power - thus is able to exploit more sophisticated electronic devices for eavesdropping purposes. By calling in the Walrus for anti-piracy, NATO is taking piracy surveillance to a whole new level."

----------- ORIGINAL MYSTERY QUESTION POST -------------

Readers may recall Submarine(s) Finally Deploy Publicly in Piracy Crisis from June 22nd.

The boat, a yet to be identified Walrus-class, will arrive (publicly) in the August-September timeframe, when it is to begin assisting international forces in pirate countermeasures. Walrus-class boats are considered among the more quiet, conventional submarines.

The sub is officially slated to conduct reconnaissance in the Gulf of Aden and parts of the Indian Ocean where pirates have been active. The International Maritime Bureau notes that pirate attacks off Somalia have dropped sharply this year, but pirates now operate up to 1,000 nautical miles out to sea to avoid detection by patrols. The submarine will be used to patrol and survey a wide area while avoiding detection by pirate vessels.

The deployment is believed to mark the first time a sub has been deployed in anti-piracy operations. FALSE, even as early as 1961.

EU NAVFOR’s chief, Swedish Rear Admiral (LH) Jan Thörnqvist, said last week: “We are disrupting more suspected pirates near the coast, before they put on the high seas and conduct hijackings. The challenge is that once they get through, they venture further and further out on the Indian Ocean,” he added.

QUESTIONS of the WEEK:
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1) On what date (if ever) will the name of the Dutch sub actually patrolling finally be leaked to the public for the first time?
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2) Is the submarine mission intended as a deterrent to pirate operations beyond 500 n-miles?
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3) What other mission might this submarine (or its successor) actually have?
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4) In what other clandestine, international operation are Dutch subs credited with success?
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ANSWERS: 1) pro tempore; 2), 3), and 4) - Saturday
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Submarines are always silent and strange.