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Argentine submarine 'San Juan' missing/lost at sea.

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  • #16
    So, as feared it looks like the search for survivors has been officially abandoned and it is now a mission to locate and if possible recover the wreck. My deep condolences to the to the families of the crew. Hopefully the bodies of their loved ones can be recovered and the cause of the accident determined, although given the depths involved the latter will probably be a big ask.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-0...e-crew/9216042

    Related to this I think this accident could well spell the end for Argentina's submarine service. The following is only guesswork on my part of course but their Navy only has one fully operational sub left (the Santa Cruz) which is currently going through exactly the same cut price, 'mid-life refit' the San Juan was put through. (I know they have the Salta but my understanding is that it is restricted to 'training' duties only and it seldom if ever puts to sea, let alone conducting long duration operational missions.)

    Even if the Navy decides to continue with that refit the need to run over every detail three times over to eliminate any possible error will blow their time-line for completion out into the early 20's (at best) by which time the Santa Cruz will what? 37/38 years old!

    And if they don't refit then the Argentine Government would have to go through the process of going to tender and purchasing new/used replacement vessels (assuming they could find the money). A process which I doubt at this stage could be completed before the refitted Santa Cruz was due anyway.

    Either way looks to me like there will be a lot of hard decisions to make in Buenos Aires shortly.
    Last edited by Monash; 02 Dec 17,, 03:33.
    If you are emotionally invested in 'believing' something is true you have lost the ability to tell if it is true.

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    • #17
      Good points Monash.

      Its a reminder that choosing to operate certain sorts of systems demands the willingness to commit the resources to getting it right. In peace time having; poor or mishandled guns might kill soldiers one at a time; poor or mishandled tanks might kill a few more; poor or mishandled aircraft might kill a dozen or more; poor or mishandled ships & subs can end many, many more lives than that.

      There is a fair bit of evidence that Argentina's naval ambitions do not remotely match its willingness to invest in them. It may just have cost them dearly. Might be time for some very serious re-thinking.
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      Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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      • #18

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        • #19
          News Flash - Wreck of the ARA San Juan discovered.

          http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-1...antic/10507924

          At least now the families of those lost have some resolution. I suppose Argentine authorities could organize a salvage effort in order to determine what went wrong but I doubt it. Apart from the the technical and financial issues involved the Argentine Government would be very much alive to the fact that not only would they be disturbing a mass grave but they would also be raising 'proof' of their own Navy's technical incompetence/negligence and therefore by default the incompetence of the Argentine State.

          As I noted previously I doubt the Argentine submarine service, if it continues to exist at all will do so on anything other than paper. For my part I hope the crew of the San Juan rest in peace.
          Last edited by Monash; 17 Nov 18,, 13:04.
          If you are emotionally invested in 'believing' something is true you have lost the ability to tell if it is true.

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