Herman Hum
21 Nov 06, 14:03
Frigate pretends to be the enemy
Fredericton tries to sneak up on other navy ships in exercise
By Rachel Boomer
The Daily News (http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=9649&sc=2)
ABOARD HMCS FREDERICTON - Her motto is "Stalker of the Seas" - and this week, that's exactly what HMCS Fredericton is doing.
Sometime between midnight and 7 a.m. today, the Fredericton will sneak up on comrades from the Canadian task group, including HMCS Halifax, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Preserver. By disguising her lights and speed to make her look like a container ship or a fishing vessel, Fredericton may just get close enough to - theoretically - do some damage.
This, of course, is exactly what an enemy might do, given the chance.
"They don't know where we're going to be, they don't know how we're coming at them," says Lt.-Cmdr. Allen Fry, the Fredericton's executive officer.
"It's fun for the crew, because they get to be evil, and try to get behind all these procedures. Every now and then, you get lucky."
Yesterday was the first day of a major four-day exercise for Fredericton. The ship, carrying 232 crew, media and technical observers, will fire four missiles tomorrow, and watch as the Halifax fires four more.
Fire an armed missile
This is a big deal. At $850,000 a pop, the navy doesn't often get to fire an armed missile, let alone eight in a day. The Sea Sparrow missiles they're firing are near the end of their useful life; built in the 1980s, they're due for replacement with a more sophisticated model.
There are 16 old Sea Sparrows left at the Halifax naval base. If they're not fired soon, they'll have to be dismantled - a process that's more expensive than firing them.
The Canadian navy hasn't had to fire a missile at an unfriendly target since the Korean War, and Fredericton's commanding officer, Capt. Gilles Couturier, has never had to fire on anyone in anger. It's been three years since the ship last fired a missile on exercise. But Couturier warns that his crew must be prepared to do it.
"If I don't get these guys to do the job regularly, and then we're in theatre and I'm expecting them to do the job for real, I'm not being fair to them," Couturier said yesterday.
It's also new that the navy can do missile trials so close to home, firing at its own, $50,000-a-pop Vindicator targets. Before this, the navy had to travel to American ranges, either near San Diego or Puerto Rico, and rent time on U.S.-owned targets. The U.S. targets are faster than the Vindicators, but they're also way more expensive.
Stand-in for terrorist plane
This time, the 11 Vindicators will stand in for small, slow-moving planes loaded with explosives and piloted by a terrorist on a suicide mission.
That's not until tomorrow, though. Yesterday, shortly after leaving port, Fredericton's crew practiced basic manoevres like fire drills, or rescuing a man overboard. These drills can come at any time during a concentrated time known as "XO's Delight" - meaning Fry gets to throw anything he wants at the crew.
Nobody has to go overboard, though. That's Oscar's job - a plastic dummy dressed in a sailor's uniform. The crew is supposed to find him, turn the ship around and send out a small inflatable to pick him up in six minutes, just before hypothermia would start to hit. Yesterday, it took 6 minutes, 15 seconds.
"That's unacceptable," said Fry. "Last time, we had it down to four minutes, 45 seconds."
The ship also practised identifying, then opting to fire at a hostile aircraft - actually a Provincial Air Lines plane hired by the navy to play the interloper. They didn't fire for real, though.
By mid-afternoon, it was time to try defensive manoeuvres, including a high-speed figure eight at 30 knots guaranteed to twist the stomach of any seasick landlubber aboard.
Fredericton tries to sneak up on other navy ships in exercise
By Rachel Boomer
The Daily News (http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=9649&sc=2)
ABOARD HMCS FREDERICTON - Her motto is "Stalker of the Seas" - and this week, that's exactly what HMCS Fredericton is doing.
Sometime between midnight and 7 a.m. today, the Fredericton will sneak up on comrades from the Canadian task group, including HMCS Halifax, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Preserver. By disguising her lights and speed to make her look like a container ship or a fishing vessel, Fredericton may just get close enough to - theoretically - do some damage.
This, of course, is exactly what an enemy might do, given the chance.
"They don't know where we're going to be, they don't know how we're coming at them," says Lt.-Cmdr. Allen Fry, the Fredericton's executive officer.
"It's fun for the crew, because they get to be evil, and try to get behind all these procedures. Every now and then, you get lucky."
Yesterday was the first day of a major four-day exercise for Fredericton. The ship, carrying 232 crew, media and technical observers, will fire four missiles tomorrow, and watch as the Halifax fires four more.
Fire an armed missile
This is a big deal. At $850,000 a pop, the navy doesn't often get to fire an armed missile, let alone eight in a day. The Sea Sparrow missiles they're firing are near the end of their useful life; built in the 1980s, they're due for replacement with a more sophisticated model.
There are 16 old Sea Sparrows left at the Halifax naval base. If they're not fired soon, they'll have to be dismantled - a process that's more expensive than firing them.
The Canadian navy hasn't had to fire a missile at an unfriendly target since the Korean War, and Fredericton's commanding officer, Capt. Gilles Couturier, has never had to fire on anyone in anger. It's been three years since the ship last fired a missile on exercise. But Couturier warns that his crew must be prepared to do it.
"If I don't get these guys to do the job regularly, and then we're in theatre and I'm expecting them to do the job for real, I'm not being fair to them," Couturier said yesterday.
It's also new that the navy can do missile trials so close to home, firing at its own, $50,000-a-pop Vindicator targets. Before this, the navy had to travel to American ranges, either near San Diego or Puerto Rico, and rent time on U.S.-owned targets. The U.S. targets are faster than the Vindicators, but they're also way more expensive.
Stand-in for terrorist plane
This time, the 11 Vindicators will stand in for small, slow-moving planes loaded with explosives and piloted by a terrorist on a suicide mission.
That's not until tomorrow, though. Yesterday, shortly after leaving port, Fredericton's crew practiced basic manoevres like fire drills, or rescuing a man overboard. These drills can come at any time during a concentrated time known as "XO's Delight" - meaning Fry gets to throw anything he wants at the crew.
Nobody has to go overboard, though. That's Oscar's job - a plastic dummy dressed in a sailor's uniform. The crew is supposed to find him, turn the ship around and send out a small inflatable to pick him up in six minutes, just before hypothermia would start to hit. Yesterday, it took 6 minutes, 15 seconds.
"That's unacceptable," said Fry. "Last time, we had it down to four minutes, 45 seconds."
The ship also practised identifying, then opting to fire at a hostile aircraft - actually a Provincial Air Lines plane hired by the navy to play the interloper. They didn't fire for real, though.
By mid-afternoon, it was time to try defensive manoeuvres, including a high-speed figure eight at 30 knots guaranteed to twist the stomach of any seasick landlubber aboard.