Anti-submarine warfare

Press, 2 March 1984, Page 14

Anti-submarine warfare

Sir, — Nick Lee-Frampton’s article on New Zealand’s Orions and anti-submarine warfare gives a misleading impression of the role of the-, latter in modern nuclear warfare. In January, 1979, a United States Congressional Research Srvice report warned of the American potential for a disarming firststrike - capability against Soviet submarines. Not only land missile silos are seen to be at risk today. The United States is far ahead of the Soviets in anti-submarine warfare techniques and Orion aircraft would be the main strike weapon against pinpointed Soviet submarines. New Zealand is currently involved in anti-submarine warfare research and strategy which destabilises the nuclear balance. Antisubmarine warfare techniques could help to monitor a South Pacific nuclear-free zone, but instead they promote American firststrike strategy, fail to deter the occasional “unidentified sub-sur-face contact” admitted to by Mr Thomson, the Minister of Defence, and make us a nuclear target. — Yours, etc., D. K. SMALL. February 29, 1984.