Sailors load sonobuoys into a transport trailer. The small sensors are key for U.S. anti-submarine efforts, but production may be threatened in the coming years. (US Navy/Lt. Cmdr Alan Johnson/Released)
Defense News: US could lose a key weapon for tracking Chinese and Russian subs
WASHINGTON — A key tool in the U.S. Navy’s fight against Russian and Chinese submarines weighs eight pounds, is three feet long and it doesn’t even explode.
The sonobuoy is an expendable, waterborne sensor that has been air-dropped by the hundreds to detect enemy subs, a go-to capability for America and its allies for decades. The Pentagon wants to buy 204,000 sonobuoys in its fiscal 2020 budget request, a 50 percent spending increase over 2018.
But just as the U.S. military needs them most, this critical capability is under threat, and it’s got nothing to do with an enemy nation. Without government investment in the market, the Pentagon says it may no longer have a reliable supplier, according to officials who spoke to Defense News.
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WNU Editor: This is what happens when you depend on a single supplier.
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