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Navy tests âunambiguousâ devices to warn unwelcome craft
I think a 5-inch gun would be pretty unambiguous, but I can see how that might upset some people. EFL:Navy gunmen aboard the USS Blue Ridge shot flares, grenades and other explosives Thursday at an approaching boat to test new unambiguous-warning devices that could keep suspicious boats away. And a fun time was had by all. The shooters fired traditional deterrents such as flares and parachuted explosives, and tested a new âflash bangâ device the Navy is considering for development. The drill was designed to measure the success of the new devices in the real world. It also allowed the Navy to see the explosivesâ effect on a community like Yokosuka. Iâll tell you how Yokosuka reacted, they pitched a fit about the noise those damm americans were making. They bitched about everything else. The shots are nonlethal explosives that send an unequivocal message to boats that theyâre getting too close to Navy ships. âTo deter any type of small-boat attacks,â said Chief Petty Officer Alonzo Tate, a gunnerâs mate on the Blue Ridge. The deterrence might have helped prevent the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen three years ago, Tate said, when a small boat drifted up and exploded, killing 17 sailors. Ah, no, they were aproaching it deliberately. It would help you sort out the bad guys from the sloppy boat drivers, though. The flash-bang devices are designed to be a clear warning â unlike flares that can be mistaken for a distress call, or celebratory fireworks. The devices emit 175 decibels of sound and a flash equivalent to 6 million candles, said Carl Jarvis, with NAVSEA/ Crane, the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., where prototypes were created. Yeah, thatâll wake them up. Yokosuka is the first real-world location where the device was tested. âThereâs a big difference between shooting it out over a cow pasture [in Indiana] and shooting it out here,â Jarvis said. Yeah, the cows donât protest outside the gate. Master-at-arms and gunnerâs mates tested the explosives in daylight and at night, using 12-gauge shotguns and M-79 grenade launchers. No doubt the senior ranks decided this warranted their personnal hands-on attention. "Ah, Chief, I wanted to shoot one." "Shut up and hand me another round." Posted by: Steve 2003-09-19 |
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