WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The doctrine for any joint U.S.-Russian-European operation against the pirates operating from the Somali coast against international shipping should reach beyond interception and destruction of the pirate vessels.
It also should employ its technological advantages over the pirates, including night vision capabilities for ships and aircraft; unmanned aerial vehicles -- UAVs -- for intelligence and interception; satellite image reconnaissance; eavesdropping on the pirates' satellite phones; and strategic surprise through nighttime commando raids.
In order to accomplish such goals, a naval task force that combines well-armed naval ships of smaller tonnage, such as frigates and corvettes, is needed. A good example are the Eilat-class -- Sa'ar 5 -- corvettes built by the United States for the Israeli navy in the 1990s by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems -- formerly Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. of Pascagoula, Miss. -- based on Israeli designs.
Although this 1,227-ton, 260-foot ship is called a "corvette," its weaponry and 33 knot speed are comparable to those of a frigate. It has a stealthy design, sonar, torpedoes, missile launchers, a gun mount, and a helicopter hangar large enough for a U.S. Navy H-60 helicopter. The U.S. Navy could greatly increase this frigate's lethality by adding the U.S. Army's new EFOG missile system to strike small craft and targets ashore.
The Sa'ar 5 ships are considered the Israeli fleet's most advanced, costing "only" $260 million each -- almost one-third of what the U.S. Navy paid for its Littoral Combat Ships -- LCS -- such as USS Freedom, which was $480 million over budget.
Yet, an LCS Freedom may be a welcome addition to the Somali task force. With its 378-foot semi-planing steel mono-hull, it will help the U.S. Navy defeat growing threats and provide access and dominance in littoral battlefields.
Reaching speeds of over 40 knots and displacing 3,000 metric tons, the USS Freedom is a fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant with operational flexibility to execute focused missions, such as surface warfare, maritime interdiction and humanitarian/disaster relief. It is also capable of mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare -- ASW.
Some of the non-lethal systems deployed against the pirates may include a directed sonic energy weapon called a Long-Range Acoustic Device. An American cruise ship used one to deter a pirate attack in 2005. Defensive systems like the Long-Range Acoustic Device can be helpful but do not represent a comprehensive solution, as pirate groups inevitably would develop counter-countermeasures, such as sufficient hearing protection, for example, which can defeat the effects of the Long-Range Acoustic Device.
In the longer term, the whole Somalia "pirate coast" will need to be brought under control. It will need to be done by the Somali central government with more robust support from the African Union, Western governments and the United Nations. The rule of law, and alternative sources of employment, such as agriculture, fishing, pearls, aquaculture and, yes, tourism will need to be developed.
Yet, all this will come only after the pirates are defeated and destroyed, as their predecessors were before them -- in the Caribbean Sea and along the Barbary Coast.
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("Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., is Washington author and expert on geopolitics and energy security.")
