The news has been ignoring the crisis in the Ukraine...a crisis that will affect almost every person on this planet due to the impact that the economic sanctions on Russia will cause worldwide...and focused hard on the missing airliner.
So be it.
But in looking at the airliner incident one thing seems to have escaped the notice of everyone.
The Boeing 777 was carrying approx 300 people. An Airbus 380 can carry around 500+ as can a Boeing 747.
What happens if one crashes into the ocean and their are survivors?
Of course every ship in range will be dispatched to rescue survivors. Everyone will be doing there absolute best, regardless of nation or ethnic origin to save the passengers and crew. But are destroyers, cutters and merchant ships the best tool for the job?
No.
I contend that USN/USMC LHA/LHD's with attached Marine Units are best equipped to handle a downed large airliner at sea.
1. It has the helicopters to rescue people in the water at range.
2. It has LCACs that can travel rapidly to the scene that can rescue numerous people...perhaps the entire passenger list.
3. They have a fully stocked hospital, along with numerous beds and the personnel to treat the injured.
4. They can serve as an at sea base of operations for investigators to determine the cause of the accident and to recover pieces of the wreckage that are still afloat.
The USMC and USN should consider adding at sea rescue of large airliners to the MEU mission set. Yes its a unique mission but one day we're going to see a large airliner go down and passengers are going to be needing rescue. The big deck amphib is the best ship in the fleet to handle this occurrence.
I even think for the LHA/LHD's you can even add one or two RBS-S or CB90-class fast assault craft for anti piracy operations as well. I also think the LHA/LHD's can add at sea rescue to their tool box as well.
ReplyDeleteeveryone goes crazy about the piracy mission but its not hard at all. as a matter of fact you can put a container ship off the coast of africa with speed boats on the side and helicopters on the deck with personnel and you can fight pirates. the only hard thing about pirates is what to do with them once you capture them. if you had a kill on sight mandate then piracy would end.
Deleteso i don't think piracy needs to be anywhere near a MEU mission set and don't want to see monies devoted to equipping it to deal with it.
i don't want to see at sea rescue, but at sea large airliner rescue added. the distinction is important.
First off the powers that be have NOT even got the search down to ONE ocean, They are now on the THIRD sea area, so no the USN should NOT provide anymore surface ships at this time.
ReplyDeleteAs to amphibs, it is wouild be an incredible WASTE of a limited asset on a wild goose chase which even MPA birds are having a hard time performing. Big, slow platforms are not what is needed to search large ocean areas. How much range and/or time on station MIGHT an Osprey add to the search?
At best an LCS or JHSV might be a good surface asset to assign ONCE the datum has been localized!~
you're late dude. they have a search box established and are pounding the area with search aircraft and even a merchant ship. next i didn't say use an amphib for the search. i said use it for rescue ops.
Deleteadditionally i'm not talking about taking it out of its normal patrol area but that they should be at least in the que to help out if one of these jumbo jets goes down at sea and people are alive to be rescued.
LCS and JHSV don't have the space, the medical facility, the personnel or the helicopters to do the mission.
so get outside the normal set of thinking and face the reality that a jumbo jet going down at sea with survivors is something that we've never seen before and we need to be prepared to handle.
What they really need is to send in Submarines to search the ocean for the missing airplane.
Deletesearch done nothing found. IF that is right location anyway?
ReplyDeleteBOTH LCS and JHSV have the space for helos and MTF but that is a mute rqmt since these folks are all DEAD now. After ten days at sea, there is no one and nothing left IF it went down at sea at all?
Have you ever been on ship in the Roaring 40s? I have not and been told by those who have it is NOT pretty~