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The Last Resource
their military secrets by keeping one step ahead with ‘electronic
counter—counter—measures’ such as jamming devices which ood
the spy ship’s receivers With meaningless noise.
80 long as military minds grapple in the mysterious Shadows of
this electronic warfare, the world is probably safe, but as an incu—
bator of wide—spread conict, the open sea is difcult to beat.
Patrolling submarines equipped with missiles are just one more
uncertainty to add to the balance of ignorance about what is happen—
ing within the seas, and this ignorance permits a fantasia of threats
to be conjured up. Could secret missile silos be established? Is it
possible to build a submarine which could lie hidden on the ocean
oor? Ferhaps a mobile ocean—bottom system which creeps along
very slowly might be better? Men can already live for weeks on the
continental Shelf, why not establish hidden bases close to an enemy
coastline? Such thoughts spur on the military investigation of the
oceans. If some of the more devions schemes were ever to become
realities, then the world would once again face the prospects of a.
confrontation as frightening as the Cuba crisis of 1962.
While submarines prowl beneath the surface of the oceans,
the naval fleets above are easily outnumbered by the mer—
chant marine which is responsible for maintaining most of the
world’s trade. Even landlocked nations depend on the marine
transport system, relying on the good services of their neighbours
for outlets to the sea, and many a dispute between nations has
resolved into a struggle for access to the oceans. But although the
merchant marine services so much of the world’s commercial
activities, its ships have not remained immune to competition
between companies and seafaring nations. Just as on the land, one
of the basic ways of cutting costs has been to start automating the
work of the crew. Such savings in expensive manpower is seen in
ships ranging from trawlers to the largest tankers aoat. There are
now
systems, for example, which provide direct control of the
ship’s engines from the bridge. In a conventional ship, an order
such as ‘full’ or ‘half ahead’ is given on the engine telegraph on the
bridge and the engineer on watch, after acknowledging the signal,
sets the engine speed as instructed. In an automated ship, the
engine room can be left unmanned for most of the voyage: instruc—
tions from the bridge control go to a computer which controls the
engines and ensures that they perform as directed. No doubt
automation of all manner of jobs will continue unabated during
The Last Resource
their military secrets by keeping one step ahead with ‘electronic
counter—counter—measures’ such as jamming devices which ood
the spy ship’s receivers With meaningless noise.
80 long as military minds grapple in the mysterious Shadows of
this electronic warfare, the world is probably safe, but as an incu—
bator of wide—spread conict, the open sea is difcult to beat.
Patrolling submarines equipped with missiles are just one more
uncertainty to add to the balance of ignorance about what is happen—
ing within the seas, and this ignorance permits a fantasia of threats
to be conjured up. Could secret missile silos be established? Is it
possible to build a submarine which could lie hidden on the ocean
oor? Ferhaps a mobile ocean—bottom system which creeps along
very slowly might be better? Men can already live for weeks on the
continental Shelf, why not establish hidden bases close to an enemy
coastline? Such thoughts spur on the military investigation of the
oceans. If some of the more devions schemes were ever to become
realities, then the world would once again face the prospects of a.
confrontation as frightening as the Cuba crisis of 1962.
While submarines prowl beneath the surface of the oceans,
the naval fleets above are easily outnumbered by the mer—
chant marine which is responsible for maintaining most of the
world’s trade. Even landlocked nations depend on the marine
transport system, relying on the good services of their neighbours
for outlets to the sea, and many a dispute between nations has
resolved into a struggle for access to the oceans. But although the
merchant marine services so much of the world’s commercial
activities, its ships have not remained immune to competition
between companies and seafaring nations. Just as on the land, one
of the basic ways of cutting costs has been to start automating the
work of the crew. Such savings in expensive manpower is seen in
ships ranging from trawlers to the largest tankers aoat. There are
now
systems, for example, which provide direct control of the
ship’s engines from the bridge. In a conventional ship, an order
such as ‘full’ or ‘half ahead’ is given on the engine telegraph on the
bridge and the engineer on watch, after acknowledging the signal,
sets the engine speed as instructed. In an automated ship, the
engine room can be left unmanned for most of the voyage: instruc—
tions from the bridge control go to a computer which controls the
engines and ensures that they perform as directed. No doubt
automation of all manner of jobs will continue unabated during