British Aquaspace Walrus

 

Subfighter

Introduction

 

The British Aquaspace Walrus is a subfighter designed to operate in littoral waters either from fixed bases or from carriers. In service since the early 2270s the Walrus has been superseded with the Royal Navy by such designs as the Orca, Narwhal and Mako. However the Walrus still has a niche role to fill in support of surveillance, special operations and search and rescue. As a specialist craft the Walrus undertakes some of the riskiest missions and has some of the best crews available.

 

Narrative

 

For a craft capable of travelling at over 160 knots with the booster engaged the Walrus could be exceptionally quiet when it needed to be. Inside the subfighter the crew and their embarked troops had crept across the North Sea from the Pick Up Point in the Moray Forth, keeping as low to the sea bed as they could. They used whatever was available to mask their signature; pipelines, wrecks, debris from the ancient oil industry, currents, even pre-planned ship movements.

 

Now they were through the first layer of Scandinavian defences, or at least they hadn't triggered any response. You could never really tell when the enemy were on to you, until they arrived in force. The mission plan allowed for an 'exercising' Coastal Command Artemis to drop a message buoy to alert them if the SUDF appeared to have rumbled them. The 2nd Carrier Squadron with the power of HMS Revenge and HMS Illustrious was standing by off the Orkneys should any real problems occur. Ground based aircraft would be there soon after the Fleet Air Arm. However this was to be a covert, deniable mission profile.

 

The Walrus had now penetrated the Andfjorden utilising the Andøy-Torsken ferry for cover. There were two options; stand-off and let the SBS team use a RIB to get in, or close to and let them swim in. They chose the latter option, which was actually quieter. The Walrus would then wait for 24 hours whilst the marines infiltrated the perimeter of the air base at Andøya and set up their surveillance kit. The Walrus was ready to run into the pre-selected beach and rapidly extract the team if required, also some of the VLS cells had land attack munitions should the worse come to the worse.

 

Such exercises benefited both the British and Scandinavian militaries but were relatively infrequent. However they proved without a doubt that the Walrus was still an opponent to be respected.
 

Index


History

Configuration

Statistics

Weapons

Units

Mission Profiles
Acknowledgments


History


The Walrus was developed by British Aquaspace, the naval arm of BEx, in response to the Coastal Attack Submarine of the 70's, CAS70, program initiated in the early 2260s. CAS70 was the Royal Navy's response to the wave of next generation littoral subfighters then being deployed in the Caribbean, Baltic, Mediterranean and the South American littoral. Previously the RN had concentrated primarily on long range SSCV carried subfighters tasked with open ocean sub-surface supremacy and ASW missions. These however were far from ideal for missions close to the coast and outmatched by the latest Argentine, Scandinavian and Italian designs in those conditions.


The requirements for the CAS70 were to operate efficiently in the littoral combat area, to have enhanced survivability, to carry an effective ASW/ASuW and surface attack load and to be able to land an eight man team on an enemy coast.


There were two main contractors competing for the CAS70 project BAq and Vosper-Wolf. BAq had formed an industrial partnership with Netherlands and German contractors biding for similar contracts in those countries. Vosper-Wolf decided to go it alone and put forward a version of their heavy Manta subfighter.


BAq made slow initial progress but then made ground on the Vosper-Wolf whose converted hull design had limitations the BAq one did not. However engineering problems on the part of both teams pushed the initial prototype trials back to 2268 for both designs. It quickly became obvious that the VW design, known as the Wanklyn (after a RN WW2 sub ace) was the better design in terms of traditional subfighter virtues, however it lacked the versatility of BAq's newly named Walrus.


The Walrus had a larger internal payload, was somewhat less manoeuvrable but had better sustainability and stealth qualities than the Wanklyn. Eventually it was these qualities that enabled to the Walrus to win the CAS70 contract. Just over 60 Walrus were procured for the Submarine Service's Subfighter Division with the first delivered in 2273.


However the heyday of the Walrus was relatively limited in duration. As the capable S-Class Sub-frigates began to supersede the older O-Class and proved very handy in the littoral environment. The further development of the BAq Mako subfighter also rendered the Walrus a very cumbersome beast. The Walrus found itself to small to be a sub-frigate and too large to be a subfighter. However its troop carrying capability and its stealth made sure it still had a role to play with the RN.


The Walrus were slowly brought into the 10th Subfighter Flotilla which, in combination with four modified A-Class SSFFs makes up the 4th Submarine Squadron tasked to providing RN support to UK Special Forces. The 4th Submarine Squadron also has a Search and Rescue role in recovery of downed air and sub craft crews. It is in this role that the Walrus of the 10th Subfighter Flotilla gained their highest profile during the War of German Reunification.


As that conflict gained pace the British, Dutch and Scandinavian governments declared the North Sea Demilitarised Zone to try and prevent the Franco-German conflict spilling out from the continent. Both combatants broke the NSDMZ, with the Germans trying to infiltrate long range subfighters through the North Sea to attack French ocean lines of communication. However these were detected by the French on a number of occasions and prosecuted bringing German, British and Scandinavian fighters up in response. Sometimes both sides backed down but on at least three occasions shots were fired and all sides suffered losses.


The Walrus of the 10th Flotilla were moved into the North Sea to supplement airborne SAR assets which due to the threat often had to hang back until the situation calmed down. In the meantime Walrus could move in under booster and pick up the downed pilots, and on one occasion a German Navy subfighter crew. However one difficulty arose in that the Walrus shared the same hull as its German counterpart and on at least two occasions Walrus were attacked by French ASW assets, with one loss. While this was the most high-profile mission taken on by the Walrus covertly it has been deployed around the world in support of UKSF operations.


Since the War of Reunification the Walrus has been upgraded with newer sensors and other systems and remains in service with the 10th Flotilla. An older standard of Walrus, the SFA.3, equips RN subfighter Walrus detachments of the 15th Subfighter Squadron on Beowulf, Beta Canum and Joi, while some surplus Walrus have been sold on to Commonwealth nations including Wellon.
 

INDEX


Configuration


The Walrus has a fairly distinctive 'flattened shark' profile common to many designs of the era.


Hull


The hull of the Walrus was constructed using the same composites being used in the construction of the RSN’s Resolution Class Destroyers. This resulted in an immensely strong framework for the subfighter to be constructed around. The outer upper skin of the Walrus is a mission adaptive lining of advanced synthetic materials which changes shape to give the best hydrodynamic profile. The under side of the hull is ruggedised to allow the Walrus to rest on the seabed or run up on to a beach. Running throughout the outer skin are the capillaries for the Supercavitation Envelope Generation System (SEGS).

Internally the Walrus has two separate pressurised armoured compartments – one containing the crew, sensors and controls and one the all important powerplant and BG laser system. Outside of these areas the structure is unpressurised even the munitions are contained in open racks with only the weapons themselves loaded in their own pressurised containers.
 

The Walrus is a robust subfighter with a great deal of redundancy built into the design. The crew module in particular is equipped to ‘cut away’ should the subfighter become crippled, due to the shallow waters it works in the crew of a Walrus has a much greater chance of survival than their more glamorous counterparts should anything go wrong.


The Walrus’ crush depth has not been released. However it is assumed that the subfighter is more than capable of operating down to the continental shelf.
 

Powerplant


The Walrus has no fewer than three engines; a fuel cell, MHD turbine and a rocket system. The fuel cell is for internal power generation when the other systems are not in use, it can also be used for silent operations. The MHD turbine is used for routine operations and is the most frequently used system. The rockets are for pushing the subfighter through the supercavitation barrier in times of emergency, these are solid fuel rockets and if not as sophisticated as systems in use on the Orca are very reliable. The fuel cell and MHD power a hydrojet propulsion system.


The powerplant is provided by Rolls-Royce and includes one of their large Cyclops 20MW MHD turbines as well as a standard 5MW fuel cell. The rocketry is provided by BAq’s specialist submarine rocketry divisions and is similar to the systems used in heavy torpedoes. Also of note is the SEGS which is powered by the MHD and engages in combination with the rocket motor. The SEGS injects gasses into the supercavitation envelope to maintain its stability, especially during manoeuvres. However with the Walrus dependent on stealth for success it rarely uses its supercavitation capability.


The powerplant and fuel is contained in the aft pressurised compartment which is sealed off from the crew during operations. However the Walrus has a good reputation for reliability of its engines.


Sensors, Communications and Combat Systems


Like all subfighters the Walrus is packed with sensor equipment. Prime amongst them are active and passive sonar and blue-green LIDAR. In addition the subfighter has a MAD in addition to radar and optics mounted in a tethered buoy periscope. Supplementing these systems are an array of disposable sensors, such as sonobuoys and disposable surface sensors. Finally the Walrus can operate a number of unmanned systems such as short ranged UUVs and UAVs.


The Walrus’ Type 4067 sonar system has been procured from the Dutch company KMC who specialise in littoral sonar systems. The Type 4067 has a vast number of conformal arrays built into the hull of the ship; in addition there is a 100 metre towed array to enhance passive detection at slow speeds. The Black Arrow Type 10 BG LIDAR system utilises the impressive power of the Quantum Industries L62 1MW BG Laser and is capable of detecting torpedoes at 5km and larger submarines out to 25km. The BG LIDAR comes into its own as soon as the subfighter begins to move at serious speeds when the sonar is drowned out by water noise. When supercavitating the LIDAR is the Walrus’ only means of acquiring and tracking targets and is vital for navigation.


The Walrus has the reliable Type 4020 MAD system which is used for locating stationary and stealthy targets. However its use is not frequently a major part of the Walrus’ operations. To give the Walrus eyes and ears above the surface there is a tethered periscope buoy which can be deployed up to the surface. This is equipped with radar, ESM, radio, satcoms and enhanced optical package including TI and high magnification optics. However this can only be used at low velocities.


The disposable sensors in use include Mk.111 Sonobuoys which have active and passive sonar capabilities and the Mk.115 Sonobuoys which use BG LIDAR. Both of these types can either be tethered with lightweight FO cable at a distance of up to 3km or sonically broadcast encrypted data which can be picked up by the Walrus’ own sonar. Other systems include Mk.85 surface sensor buoys with ESM, communications and panoramic optics and has similar constraints to the sonobuoys. All these systems can be programmed for use as emergency communicators.


Unmanned reconnaissance systems in use with the Walrus include the Sea Otter UUV and the Puffin UAV. The Sea Otter is built to the same dimensions as the standard medium torpedoes. It is equipped with sonar and LIDAR systems and has good stealth characteristics. It can be used tethered with a range of 5km or in autonomous mode travelling a preset track and reporting back only any event within preset parameters by audio broadcast.


The Puffin is a low cost unit and each fits in a standard VLS cell, it has two main components a tethered base station and air unit. The whole unit is dispatched from the subfighter and once on the surface the air unit activates and begins flying. In contact with the base unit it can be operated from within the Walrus, however if the base unit cuts away it will fly a preset course and attempt to regain contact with the mothership and send back any data. If the base unit hasn’t been cut away and the sea state is low the air unit can reattach and be re-gathered. If not the air unit will ditch and be discarded.


The Walrus has a complicated communications suit which utilises BG lasers, acoustics, conventional systems in the periscope and ULF radio transmissions through the towed array. The system also includes S1067 Datalinks which use BG lasers to link in with nearby friendly assets, naturally these reduce the stealth characteristics of the subfighter. The Walrus has a Yellow Bird ESM and ECM system linked into its sensor array. This provides it with some protection against enemy attacks and is linked to an array of decoys that are released and used in combination with the countermeasures. The Sea Otter, if carried, can also be used as a decoy.


All of the systems are linked through the Black Arrow SFIS-4 combat system which provides information to the weapons and crew. This also includes the Walrus’ auto-helm, a relatively simple system.


Crew Aids


The crew compartment is located in the bow of the subfighter and has two main parts; the crew section and a large airlock, separated by a bulkhead. The crew section is home to the three crew and up to eight embarked crew at full occupancy, although it is very crowded and while the life support can support this for a week the claustrophobia engendered usually cuts this dramatically. With just the three crew the Walrus is remarkably comfortable.

 

The air lock can, at a pinch, allow all 8 embarked troops to pass through in one go, although it is usually used to house their equipment as well. If operating embarked troops the inner airlock bulkhead is usually left open to give more space. When on the surface both inner and outer bulkheads can be opened simultaneously.


The crew’s instrumentation in the early Walrus’ was remarkably old fashioned; however with the SFA.7 refit the same interface systems in use on the Mako were introduced. A Jones Industry helmet mounted VHUD is available to each crew member, while the control interface is via the usual VTAS systems. It should be noted that there is no portholes on the Walrus and the crew must rely on the sensor packages and hull cameras to get a view of the outside world.

 

The Walrus has a reputation as a very easy craft to helm with no serious handling problems, even under rocket boost. The crew seats are protected against very high level of impacts, a common fit following early problems with boosting subfighters broaching at high speeds. The crew are equipped with suits that resemble flight suits combining immersion suit, shrapnel and fire protection and gel filled full-body G-suit. Should the subfighter become badly damaged the whole crew compartment can be ejected. If this is not possible the crew can either use basic rescue techniques to reach the surface if in shallow water or wait for rescue.


The most dangerous manoeuvre routinely carried out by the Walrus is beaching to allow direct infiltration or exfiltration of a recce team. To pull back the midship intakes for the hydrojets need to be immersed in water so the beaching cannot be on too shallow a gradient or driven too high up the beach. Having to have your Walrus pushed off the beach is a mistake you only make once on exercise or in wartime.

 

For the purposes of crew comfort there is a chemical head on board and a micro-galley for hot water and the heating of rations. Many crews also bring hammocks and sleeping bags with them for extended missions.
 

INDEX

Statistics


British Aquaspace Walrus SFA.7


Type:
Obsolete Subfighter

Nation: Britain
Crew: 3 (Pilot, Commander and Engineer)

Weight: 100 000kg
Armour: 100AV all aspects
Armament: See below

Signature: 10
Evasion: 0
Sensor Range: TBC
Cargo: TBC + 8 passengers
Max Speed: 300kph (rocket engaged)
Cruise Speed: 60kph
Combat Movement: TBC
Off Road Mobility: N/A
Power Plant: 20MW MHD, 5 MW Fuel Cell, Rockets
Fuel Capacity: TBC
Fuel Consumption: TBC
Endurance: TBC
Price: Lv 17M
 

INDEX

Weapons
 

The Walrus is equipped with two major weapon systems. A 1MW BG Laser and a Mk.5 Subsurface Weapon System which has swim-out and VLS munitions with a total of 6 medium and 20 light weapons.


Quantum Industries L60A3 1MW Rapid Fire Blue Green Laser System


The L60A3 RFBGLS is a key system for the Walrus. It is used not only as a weapon system for engaging close-in targets and destroying incoming torpedoes but it also provides the subfighter’s LIDAR and S1067 BG datalinks.


The main body of the weapon system is located within the engine compartment and is linked by photonic cables to emitters located around the hull giving almost complete coverage around the Subfighter. The only blind spot is almost directly underneath the craft.

 

Type: 1000-01 Laser Weapons System

Country: Britain

Weight: 240kg

Length: N/A

Action: Single shots

Magazine: five 100mj LMS cells powered by main engines

ROF: 5

Aimed Fire Range: 1000m (underwater)

DP Value: 24 (500m) 6 (1000m)

Price: Lv2,500,000

 

Mk.5 Subsurface Weapon System


The Mk.5 SWS has now been superseded in service by more advanced systems but remains a reliable and well regarded system. The Mk.5 SWS combines racks for a range of medium and lightweight VLS munitions. The medium racks are located either side of the crew compartment in the bow whilst the VLS racks are located either side of the engine compartment. The Mk.5 also provides interface between the weapons’ internal systems and the Walrus’ Black Arrow SFIS-4.


Medium Weapons


British Aquaspace Pike Medium Torpedo


The Pike is the standard British heavy subfighter torpedo and is also used on other ships and submarines of the Royal Navy. It is a typical weapon of its kind in service with the world’s navies. It has been used for the best part of two decades and is now upgraded to Mod 6 standard. The Pike has both stealth and supercavitation attack profiles with a terminal attack speed of some 250kph.


It can be launched with a command wire, BG datalink or in Fire and Forget modes with pre-programmed attack parameters. It has its own active LIDAR and vestigial passive sonar sensors, in stealth modes it relies on updates from the launch platform. The Pike has a significant punch and can disable many medium sized surface and subsurface vessels, it is assured of a kill against a sub-fighter should it hit.


Type
: Medium Torpedo

Nation: Britain

Launcher Weight: 30kg

Missile Weight: 220kg

Range: 50km (plus 10km under stealth mode)

Guidance: Guided by gunner or Automatic following lock on or Automatic

Homing Value: - / 25 / 20

Attack Angle: Direct

DP Value: As tamped explosion EP60

Launcher Price: N/A

Missile Price: Lv 1M


British Exospace Penguin Sub-launched Stand-Off ASW Missile


The Penguin is the standard British stand-off ASW missile used on a range of vessels and aircraft. It allows the rapid persecution of ASW contacts with a torpedo warhead being lunched rapidly into the target area on a missile. The Walrus can carry the sub-launched version of the Penguin which climbs to the surface when launched from the subfighter and then operates in the same way as the conventional missile.

 

Once in the water the torpedo part of the weapon begins a rapid LIDAR search informed by the last updates it received from the firing platform. If it acquires the target it then immediately prosecutes with a rocket assisted supercavitating attack. The warhead is smaller than that on the Pike but can still cause serious damage to medium sized targets and kill most subfighters. The Penguin is not as effective when deployed from a subfighter as from a ship, but still gives a useful rapid reaction stand-off attack.

 

Type: Medium Stand-off ASW Missile/Torpedo.

Nation: Britain

Launcher Weight: 30kg

Missile Weight: 220kg

Range: 50km (missile) 10km (torpedo)

Guidance: Automatic following lock on or Automatic

Homing Value: 20 / 15

Attack Angle: Direct

DP Value: As tamped explosion EP30

Launcher Price: N/A

Missile Price: Lv 1.1M


Dominion Dynamics Sea Bolt Tactical Attack Missile


The Sea Bolt is essentially a cut-down version of the Blue Bolt air launched cruise missile. It is a missile designed for use in attacking point targets and uses excellent stealth characteristics extremely low altitude flight profiles to reach its targets. Whilst very effective, volleys of Sea Bolts should be used when attacking well defended targets. The Sea Bolt can also be used to attack surface ships, although it is perhaps a little too slow to be truly effective in this role without an element of surprise. There are also versions of the Sea Bolt available with area attack payloads for attacking tactically dispersed targets.


Type
: Medium Tactical Attack Missile.

Nation: Britain

Launcher Weight: 30kg

Missile Weight: 220kg

Range: 250km

Guidance: Automatic

Homing Value: 23

Attack Angle: Direct

DP Value: As tamped explosion EP20

Launcher Price: N/A

Missile Price: Lv 30 000


British Aquaspace Sea Otter UUV

The Sea Otter is described in the sensors section above. It is a remote UUV sensor system that can be deployed away from the subfighter.

Type: Medium Underwater Unmanned Vehicle
Nation
: Britain
Launcher Weight
: 30kg
Missile Weight
: 180kg
Range
: 200km
Sensors
: 12km (+1)
Missile Price
: Lv 0.25M

Lightweight VLS weapons

British Aquaspace Piranha Interceptor Torpedo

The Piranha is the standard British point defence torpedo used on virtually all surface and subsurface warships. The Piranha has a very high speed linked with an active LIDAR seeker and an excellent short range warhead. The Piranha is optimised for the interception of incoming torpedoes but is equally adept as targeting other subfighters. However its main limitations are its short range and limited penetration of its warhead, which makes it of little use in engaging larger targets.

Type
: Point Defence Torpedo
Nation
: Britain
Launcher Weight
: 30kg
Missile Weight
: 110kg
Range
: 5km
Guidance
: Automatic following lock on or Automatic
Homing Value
: 30 / 25
Attack Angle
: Direct
DP Value
: As tamped explosion EP15
Launcher Price
: N/A
Missile Price
: Lv 0.1M

British Exospace Sea Asp

The Sea Asp is a sub-launched version of the Asp SRAAM used on many British fighter aircraft. The Asp is used to counter air threats to the Walrus. The missile is launched from the Walrus and acquires the target on reaching the surface where it ignites its engines. Naturally the NEZ for the missile is much lower than when launched from an air platform but is very useful against ASW drones and tilt-rotors. The missile also has a secondary ARM capability.

Type
: Vehicle Mounted Multi-Role Missile
Nation
: Britain
Launcher Weight
: 30kg
Missile Weight
: 120kg
Range
: 35km
Guidance
: Automatic following lock on
Homing Value
: 31
Attack Angle
: Direct
DP Value
: EP30
Launcher Price
: N/A
Missile Price
: N/A

British Exospace Sea Streak

The Sea Streak is a sub-launched, long range variant of the Sky Streak anti-armour missile in use with the British Army. The Sea Streak has an extra rocket stage which is used to get it within 10km of the target from where it can accelerate to hypervelocity. The Sea Steak is used to engage both surface vessels and land targets. It can also engage air targets if the subfighter can get a good enough target lock, however these targets are usually best left to the Sea Asp.

The Sea Streak is a kinetic energy weapon with a seeker head and is ideal for attacking point targets. In the anti-shipping role the Sea Streak cannot kill a ship of significant size, but it can be used to overwhelm defences and pound the ship with repeated smaller strikes disrupting its systems for a ship killer. Against land targets the Sea Streak can either attack pre-programmed targets or targets designated by troops, drones or aircraft in the area. The Sea Streak is too fast for an effective roaming ‘hunter-killer’ role.

Type
: Vehicle Mounted Kinetic Kill Missile 
Nation
: Britain 
Launcher Weight
: 15kg 
Missile Weight
: 60kg 
Range
: 45km 
Guidance
: Automatic
Homing Value
: 30 
Attack Angle
: Direct 
DP Value
: 480  
Launcher Price
: N/A 
Missile Price
: N/A 

British Exospace Puffin UAV

The Puffin is described in the sensors section above. It is a remote UAV sensor system that can be deployed away from the subfighter.

Type
: Medium  Unmanned Air Vehicle
Nation
: Britain
Launcher Weight
: 15kg
Missile Weight
: 90kg
Range
: 50km
Sensors
: 12km (+1)
Missile Price
: Lv 0.05M

INDEX

Units

The Royal Navy’s Walrus’ are now concentrated in a single operational flotilla. The 10th Flotilla operates out of the Clyde, but has squadrons deployed around the world and elements on a variety of colony worlds as well. The Royal Wellon Navy also has a squadron of Walrus while the Alician Defence Force Naval Wing is known to have at least four.

10th Subfighter Flotilla

The 10th Subfighter Flotilla is responsible for all of the Royal Navy’s remaining Walrus operations. This is mainly an administrative headquarters but is also tasked with developing Walrus doctrine, operational techniques and liaison with the unit’s main ‘customers’; UK Special Forces, Fleet Air Arm and so on. The 10th Flotilla is based at Holy Loch on the Clyde close to the Submarine Service’s HQ at Faslane. The flotilla’s squadrons are notable for their large size, 12 subfighters, twice the size of normal squadrons. 10th Subfighter Flotilla attracts many of the best and the brightest of the RN’s subfighter crews due to its unique role. The unit has a fine reputation for its professionalism.

9th Subfighter Squadron

9 SFS is stationed at HMS Canopus in the Falkland Islands and is one of the most operationally experienced of the squadrons. It performs SAR, CSAR and SF missions in support of the South Atlantic Fleet and 6th Division protecting the British South Atlantic Territories. Rumours persist of its operations against the Argentine littoral and in their Antarctic territories. It undertakes exercises with UKSF elements practising the response to the seizure of ocean resource platforms. It also has forged close links with its Brazilian counterparts and also undertakes training with the Azanians.

15th Subfighter Squadron

15 SFS is responsible for British Walrus operations on the colony worlds of Beowulf, Beta Canum and Joi, with 4 Walrus’ deployed on each world. Its crews are usually on their second tour on Walrus’ and are trusted with a great deal of discretion. 15 SFS’s detachments on Beta Canum and Joi were heavily involved in operations against the Kafers.

19th (OTDU) Subfighter Squadron

19 SFS is collocated with 10th Flotilla at Holy Loch and acts as the Flotilla’s Operational Training and Development Unit, as well as being a reserve for the frontline squadrons. 19 SFS undertakes conversion training onto the Walrus and provides crews and subfighters for the development of doctrine, weapons and other systems on the Walrus. Some of the experienced crews are called upon to provide support for exercises on the West Coast.

37th Subfighter Squadron

37 SFS is the Walrus Squadron assigned to the Home Fleet and is stationed at Rosyth Naval Base with a detachment at Portsmouth. 37 SFS concentrates on the SAR and CSAR roles but still practises the SF role. It was 37 SFS who bore the brunt of the SAR duties in the North Sea Demilitarised Zone during the War of German Reunification.
 

INDEX

Mission Profiles

The Walrus currently has five major mission profiles, several of which are unique to this craft in Royal Navy Service.

Search and Rescue

Civilian Search and Rescue of air, surface and subsurface craft in difficulty has become a speciality of the Walrus thanks to its passenger carrying capacity and long endurance. This is especially true in conditions that make it difficult for tilt-rotors to make rescues from the sea or stay on station for long duration. Also the Walrus can make sub-surface rescues impossible for aircraft.

It is common for Walrus’ to be called out as part of a rescue package usually including Coastal Command or Fleet Air Arm aircraft such as the Artemis and Osprey which will take the lead in command and control of the incident. The Walrus will then normally make a best speed passage to the incident area. Routinely the aircraft will be able to deal with the problem and evacuate crew and passengers. The Walrus will then be on hand if any problems develop or the incident has taken place on a subsurface vessel.

On SAR missions the Walrus will routinely be un- or minimally armed and have a diver/paramedic team on board.

Combat Search and Rescue

The use of subfighters as CSAR platforms has developed through the Rio Plato Wars and really found its niche during Japanese-Manchurian combat over the Sea of Japan during the Central Asian War. The pre-deployment of subfighters into the area likely to be fought over meant that these assets could quickly reach downed aircrew. Although slower than tilt-rotors the subfighters were usually able to get in under the still dangerous combat zone quicker than the more vulnerable tilt-rotors. This is the system used by the Walrus’ of 37 SFS in the North Sea during the War of German Reunification.

The Walrus’ will be deployed covertly into likely combat areas and remain on station for several days with their periscopes deployed to the surface waiting for any distress call. It was common for the Walrus’ to use their rockets to get into position and also broadcast their positions to the belligerents. (During the Central Asian War Manchurians and Japanese both respected the operations of CSAR subfighters, although one British Walrus was destroyed by accident by French ASW operations.) The Walrus’ will close on the position and collect the pilot. Similar techniques were used by 15 SFS on Beta Canum.

The RN also practises for CSAR operations in a less benign environment involving packages of aircraft, subfighters and major warships to project a protective envelope over the Walrus’ operating area. However the principle of covert forward basing remains the same.

Subfighters can also become involved in on-shore CSAR operations, either providing on-shore firepower or a means of picking up a stranded pilot at the shoreline. These missions will generally follow the same profile as SF or NFS missions.

On CSAR missions the Walrus usually carries the normal range of medium weapons and a VLS loadout with an equal number of Sea Asp and Piranha weapons. They will usually carry a diver/medic team.

Special Forces

Special forces insertions are a major part of the Walrus’ repertoire. These depend almost entirely on very well planned covert infiltration and exfiltration profiles without which the Walrus will be discovered by the enemy.

The aim of the mission is usually to get a special forces as close to the shore as possible. The team will then leave the subfighter underwater and either swim to shore or use light underwater or surface craft to complete the move to shore. Alternatively the Walrus can move right up onto the beach and drop the team off, although this is only rarely done.

The Walrus will then wait in position, or move further out and stand-off, and wait for the return of the SF team to be picked up. If the mission goes wrong the Walrus can provide extra firepower and move quickly in to expedite the exfiltration. However should a mission become this compromised the Walrus is in great danger and the crew has two choices; to either sneak out or to move away at the highest possible speed.

On missions such as these the weapon load of the Walrus will include a large number of land attack weapons. Teams of four or eight commandos will be carried.

Naval Fire Support

The Walrus is capable of providing responsive subsurface firepower in support of ground troops. The Walrus can close with the coast and loiter either waiting for calls for fire from the soldiers on the ground or searching for targets using its own Puffin drones and then engaging with its on-board tactical attack weapons. The Walrus has a much greater endurance than CAS aircraft and is largely immune to most land based counter fire.

These missions are usually practised with the Royal Marines, but proved very useful in action on Beta Canum while covering the evacuation of Franco-American troops from the French Continent during the abortive 1st Liberation. A Walrus from 15 SFS also penetrated far up the Uwa-Wan River on Joi to give support to hard pressed Japanese and Gurkha troops holding a bridge. It is likely that NFS will become a higher priority for the Walrus fleet in the future.

Littoral Warfare

Whilst no longer regarded as a frontline subfighter the Walrus is still capable in littoral warfare thanks to its stealth and relatively heavy armament. It is capable of engaging a whole range of targets that might be encountered. Whilst the Walrus can make a high speed run from the combat area it is largely reliant on stealth, countermeasures, terrain masking, interceptor torpedoes and the BG Laser to keep it safe from enemy return fire.
 

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to David Gillon for various ideas on subfighters and feedback from the Etranger list.

INDEX


Copyright 2009, D Hebditch