Sailing by Starlight. How a carrier strike group operates.

[capnsensible]

Thought this may interest some people.

'Sailing by Starlight': How USS Abraham Lincoln is navigating Arabian Sea without GPS or radar

 

[Biggles Wader]

Deja Vu all over again. Not very different to how it used to be done fifty years ago although I suspect some of the kit might be better and calculations done quicker.

 

[lustyd]

Interesting that they bother with sextants when the data is immediately input into the ship's computer. The measuring of the angle would be a fairly trivial thing to do electronically these days with no human intervention, especially on an advanced warship with essentially no budget constraints

 

[capnsensible]

What does an electronic sextant look like?

Digital Sextant DS-10 — Bluewater Superyacht Bridge Services

 

[Blue Seas]

Carrier Strike Group can be easily tracked. Having been cleared by the 'Sheepdogs' it's the only bit of sea with no AIS signals, no lights, and no wakes. It's like an ink blot at 6 knots.

 

[lustyd]

What does an electronic sextant look like?

Digital Sextant DS-10 — Bluewater Superyacht Bridge Services

That’s what the 1990s thought it might look like. A modern version would look like a phone or plotter, or on a ship it’d be a gimballed camera array connected to the ship computer.
The user interface would look identical to GPS, just a cross on a chart and some coordinates. There’s no reason a user of such a system would interact in any way with the sky.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Interesting that they bother with sextants when the data is immediately input into the ship's computer. The measuring of the angle would be a fairly trivial thing to do electronically these days with no human intervention, especially on an advanced warship with essentially no budget constraints

That's exactly how spacecraft do it, and have done since the 60s. Star/sun/planet trackers are routine for that sort of thing, and can achieve incredible accuracy.

 

[lustyd]

The trouble is, spacecraft and warships can afford to have atomic clocks aboard, I suspect any consumer solution will rely entirely on GPS for a time signal

 

[capnsensible]

Quantam navigation is the solution and both the UK and USA have prototypes afloat.

However the article in the op is describing what is happening now and not in a fantasy future. And they know what they are doing....

 

[capnsensible]

Carrier Strike Group can be easily tracked. Having been cleared by the 'Sheepdogs' it's the only bit of sea with no AIS signals, no lights, and no wakes. It's like an ink blot at 6 knots.

Submarines and targets.....

 

[lustyd]

However the article in the op is describing what is happening now and not in a fantasy future. And they know what they are doing....

Do you think that’s the full and genuine description of what they’re doing? Sending a nice warm body on deck at night seems contradictory to the rest of the article, for instance.
We weren’t talking about fantasy future either, as AP said it’s been in use since the 1960’s that we know about.

 

[Greemble]

What does an electronic sextant look like?

Digital Sextant DS-10 — Bluewater Superyacht Bridge Services

I do so hate it when they have 'Contact us for price...'
Yeah, I get that "if you have to ask..."

Still, if anyone is curious, it's here LEEYUNG SND - Digital Sextant DS-10, for a mere £6k

Alternatively, the same site has a manual version Sextant Astra IIIB Deluxe, yours for less than £800

 

[lustyd]

I don’t think those prices are unreasonable for what is a very niche item. Everything is cheaper with scale and vice versa. The Navy won’t be too concerned as they need them so the cost is justified.

 

[Greemble]

I would suspect that the article is playing a bit too much emphasis on the star-sighting by their crew.

Likely they have the electronic systems, but send out a few young navigation officers to keep up their practice - Personally, although it's probably not necessary, I would see it as a good thing, regardless.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The trouble is, spacecraft and warships can afford to have atomic clocks aboard, I suspect any consumer solution will rely entirely on GPS for a time signal

Not in the 60s, they didn't, and for short periods (up to months) quartz timekeeping is good enough.

 

[Greemble]

I don’t think those prices are unreasonable for what is a very niche item. Everything is cheaper with scale and vice versa. The Navy won’t be too concerned as they need them so the cost is justified.

I don't imagine they sell many - and I doubt the navy would want them as they're likely to be using the electronic things AP describes

 

[lustyd]

Ah but in 2026 where does one update ones Casio quartz watch . I believe dialling 123 is no more and Radio 4 LW is going away

 

[lustyd]

I stand corrected. 123 is still alive and well

 

[Greemble]

I stand corrected. 123 is still alive and well

Well, there you have it!

They can just use their mobile phones to call...

Oh, wait...

 

[capnsensible]

Do you think that’s the full and genuine description of what they’re doing? Sending a nice warm body on deck at night seems contradictory to the rest of the article, for instance.
We weren’t talking about fantasy future either, as AP said it’s been in use since the 1960’s that we know about.

It's about the current conduct of operating a task group in electronic silence. So of course you need eyeballs. Why would they lie?

Anyway as I said, it's for people who are interested. Not many people ever get exposed to the art of naval warfare and may like to read about it.