THE MOSCOW NEWS
Russia to splash out billions on anti-diving device
by Andy Potts at 11/02/2011
Once upon a time diving was just an ordinary Olympic sport – but when Sochi hosts the 2014 winter games there will be a sinister new focus on underwater antics.
Such are the fears of sub-aqua saboteurs that Russia is about to spend 14 billion roubles ($476 million) on a special “crustacean” weapon to painlessly disperse frogmen from the beaches of the Black Sea.
But maritime Spetsnaz officers may not have much luck with attempts to use hi-tech sonar pulses to thwart unwanted guests – many experts have dismissed the plans as unworkable and unjustified.
Safety first
The plan is to commission an underwater weapon which sends a targeted shockwave towards any suspect intruders as they swim to shore.
From a distance of 80 metres, saboteurs would be hit with a force equivalent to 15 atmospheres, generated by sonar pulses. If the devices operated out of the water, the sound waves would be at around 215 dB, gzt.ru reported.
Effectively, therefore, the device is a giant megaphone conditioned to send powerful ripples through water rather than amplify noise through the air.
And it is hoped that this will be safer than the current “best practice” of launching grenades at renegade divers.
Why bother?
There are growing fears that terrorists could use divers to prepare an attack on a major event like the winter Olympics.
And sabotage swimmers have been blamed by some for the destruction of the warship Novorossiysk in 1955 in one of the most famous Soviet maritime mysteries.
More recently, the Philippines’ military claimed in 2005 that it had evidence that South-East Asian terrorist groups with links to Al Qaeda were planning scuba divers for attacks at sea.
READ MORE
Russia to splash out billions on anti-diving device
by Andy Potts at 11/02/2011
Once upon a time diving was just an ordinary Olympic sport – but when Sochi hosts the 2014 winter games there will be a sinister new focus on underwater antics.
Such are the fears of sub-aqua saboteurs that Russia is about to spend 14 billion roubles ($476 million) on a special “crustacean” weapon to painlessly disperse frogmen from the beaches of the Black Sea.
But maritime Spetsnaz officers may not have much luck with attempts to use hi-tech sonar pulses to thwart unwanted guests – many experts have dismissed the plans as unworkable and unjustified.
Safety first
The plan is to commission an underwater weapon which sends a targeted shockwave towards any suspect intruders as they swim to shore.
From a distance of 80 metres, saboteurs would be hit with a force equivalent to 15 atmospheres, generated by sonar pulses. If the devices operated out of the water, the sound waves would be at around 215 dB, gzt.ru reported.
Effectively, therefore, the device is a giant megaphone conditioned to send powerful ripples through water rather than amplify noise through the air.
And it is hoped that this will be safer than the current “best practice” of launching grenades at renegade divers.
Why bother?
There are growing fears that terrorists could use divers to prepare an attack on a major event like the winter Olympics.
And sabotage swimmers have been blamed by some for the destruction of the warship Novorossiysk in 1955 in one of the most famous Soviet maritime mysteries.
More recently, the Philippines’ military claimed in 2005 that it had evidence that South-East Asian terrorist groups with links to Al Qaeda were planning scuba divers for attacks at sea.
READ MORE
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