Surface Forces: The Sand Weapon

Archives

October 28, 2005: In early October, the American carrier USS Enterprise got stopped cold by sand. No, not a sand bar, but sand that got sucked into its condensers, which jammed them up and crippled the ships power system. This has happened before, and is one reason ships with condensers stay out of shallow, or "sandy" water. The navy has been developing a "sand weapon" for use against ships that refuse to be boarded, or are otherwise giving you a hard time, but not so much that a missile or torpedo is required.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close