Lodamun

[imperialpearl]

In an announcement which came following statements from the Department of Defence that it would be conducting minor upgrades to the SOSUS (sound surveillance system) network between Lodamun and Dolgava, the Lodamese Navy confirmed that it had deployed a series of acoustic hydrophones throughout numerous points across the Mad Dog Ocean, the Artanian Sea and the Southern Ocean, with the basic intent of monitoring acoustic signatures throughout these near bodies of waters for the purpose of tracking submarines. The announcement, which is largely unprecedented as it marked the first time the Lodamese Navy had openly admitted to its intent of monitoring the movements of submarines from all states, has come a mere month after a recent study by the Office of Fiscal Responsibility confirmed that the decades-old SOSUS network which runs between Lodamun and Dolgava and has been collecting acoustic data on all maritime traffic which has flowed through the Karzon Strait since, was in need of minor upgrades, particularly to its sensors. The Lodamese Navy had long depended on the SOSUS network to build an “acoustic library”, which holds the unique acoustic signatures of various ships throughout the world, from cargo ships to submarines. The project had been primarily managed by the Bureau of Naval Intelligence, a sub-department of the Office of Defence Intelligence, Lodamun’s premier military intelligence agency. Although the BNI has not been forthcoming on the broader details of the subsea surveillance network, this otherwise public announcement has signified a major shift in posture. Whereas the agency’s publicly known surveillance operations had been primarily based out of the SOSUS network in the Karzon Strait, the decision to now expand said network to the Mad Dog Ocean, the Artanian Sea and the Southern Ocean has been dubbed as “significant” by numerous defence analysts.

There is very little information regarding the hydrophone system beyond what the Department of Defence has revealed and what an analysis from the Williamson Institute was able to speculate. According to the Williamson Institute, this new hydrophone network would likely to be comprised of a combination of fixed and partially anchored hydrophones which would relay information, primarily oceanic sound patterns, for eventual satellite uplink. It noted that as the DoD’s preliminary map, points to some hydrophones being in open/international matters, these hydrophones would likely be anchored to hover within the SOFAR Channel (a layer of the ocean where sound reportedly travels for vast distances), which would provide the BNI with the ability to passively monitor oceanic noises over vast distances through triangulation. An official from the DoD wishing to speak under anonymity stated that although Lodamun shares its acoustic library with Kalistan, plans for the positioning of hydrophones of this nature are currently off the table, pending both an assessment of its usefulness to the Lodamese Navy and mutual interest by the Kalistani Government. The official also noted that the DoD was not concerned that by making the position of its hydrophones public, once deployed, they might become targets of sabotage by potential adversaries. “From what I’ve come to understand that the Lodamese Coast Guard, which continues to patrol the western coast of Seleya, where the vast majority of these hydrophones would likely to be deployed, would work with the Lodamese Navy and the BNI on mantaining the hydrophones and ensuring they don’t drift off into other areas, notwithstanding their partial anchoring.