Putin needs to behave. It is not a new idea.
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Russian ships might get access to the Baltic as long as they behave.
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In the stand off we do not have the power to deny them. That would be an act of war.
Blockade of ports is indeed an act of war. But so is invasion of a neighboring country.
This is merely another escalation step.
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There is a limit to the esculation.
We need to see if TFG sidesteps Ukraine or forces somehow others to rush for the exits. I doubt anything changes but escalation that is half-hearted is even worse.
Blocking the passage of ships is hardly consistent with âevade detectionâ.
Russia should pay some penalty for damaging cables between Nato countries. Deny, deny, deny is not acceptable.
How about attaching mines to cables that trigger when disturbed?
I guess youâd have to put the mine on/near the bottom, then release it to float up near the surface before detonating to be effective.
So now what happens if it accidentally releases?
And how do you safely go about doing maintenance and/or replacing.
Maybe just put a dye in it that releases (like they do in bank robbery bill packs) and stains the ship and releases a buoy that transmits home an alarm.
But then, how many of these do you need to litter all over the place?
Mike
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How about trained dolphins with laser blasters on their heads?
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Bouncing betty land mines are well known. They release, pop up and spray the area with shrapnel. Detection and release of a magnetic mine should be easy.
Yeah, except in the area weâre discussing you want to let some ships through. Itâs one thing to completely close off a waterway, quite another to make it safe transit for one side but not the other.
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I would release a magnetic mine only when the cable is disturbed. And that could be a tracking mine or even a marker mine.
You would not run mines along the line across the bottom of the waterway.
Instead you have sonar pick up noises and launch torpedoes. They travel sideways to places instead of floating up slowly and missing.
Magnetic mines that detect a ship above are well known.
Sure, but they need to be within a close proximity, otherwise the explosion dissipates over distance. So the mines used to be tethered to the bottom, but âfloatingâ below the surface at about ship-hull level.
Again, you can do that where you want your own ships to also be able to pass.
Officials in Taipei discovered that four cores of an international submarine cable, which transmits data to Americaâs AT&T, were left ruptured early on Jan 3âŚ
Chinese-owned vessels have previously been accused of deliberately damaging critical sea cables in the Baltic Sea in October 2023 and November 2024.
DB2
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Re: they need to be in close proximity.
I think a magnetic mine should be able to find a large mass of steel above it. AI not required.
Re: they need to be in close proximity.I think a magnetic mine should be able to find a large mass of steel above it. AI not required.
You keep skipping over this part:
Again, you can do that where you want your own ships to also be able to pass.
Which is why the mine is triggered only when cable damage is detected.