ASW capabilities are often considered of significant strategic importance, particularly following provocative instances of unrestricted submarine warfare and the introduction of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which greatly increased the perceived lethality of submarines.Īt the beginning of the twentieth century, ASW techniques and submarines themselves were primitive. Common weapons for attacking submarines include torpedoes and naval mines, which can both be launched from an array of air, surface, and underwater platforms. Sensors are therefore a key element of ASW. Typically, sophisticated sonar equipment is used for first detecting, then classifying, locating, and tracking a target submarine.

Successful ASW operations typically involved a combination of sensor and weapon technologies, along with effective deployment strategies and sufficiently trained personnel. Such operations are typically carried out to protect friendly shipping and coastal facilities from submarine attacks and to overcome blockades. Royal Navy officers on the bridge of a destroyer on convoy escort duties keep a sharp look out for enemy submarines during the Battle of the Atlantic, October 1941Īnti-submarine warfare ( ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, and/or destroy enemy submarines.

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