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More on the Swedish Stealth Ship

Dr.Knackerator writes "The BBC is running a story on Sweden's new carbon fibre stealth ship, the Visby. As well as being the first stealth ship, it is controlled by 'state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system'. 'But Kockums and the Swedish Navy deny it could be sabotaged by hackers and say that even if it did they could fall back to traditional steering and navigation'." We had a previous story about this as well.

532 comments

  1. Am I the only one by Brie+and+gherkins · · Score: 1, Funny

    feeling slightly moist at the phrase "Swedish Stealth Ship" ? -

    --
    If I promise to be a good boy can I have some better karma?
    1. Re:Am I the only one by Dogers · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      yes, you are.

      --
      I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
    2. Re:Am I the only one by misleb · · Score: 1

      Hell, you're probably the only one here even capable of feeling "moist."

      --
      "THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
    3. Re:Am I the only one by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

      Well, after saying it, my monitor had all these multicolored dots on the screen...

    4. Re:Am I the only one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably, since you are the only female /.er

    5. Re:Am I the only one by NeedleSurfer · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I know this is a totaly foreign territory for slashdotters but for your infos misters
      man=hard
      woman=moist

      In the above statement you can actually change the word moist to hard to get an idea of how the woman feels.

    6. Re:Am I the only one by Brie+and+gherkins · · Score: 1

      I'm afraid I have to piss on your chips there, I'm more of a phallus rampant than a purse of plenty. Have you never used 'moist' in a metaphorical way?

      --
      If I promise to be a good boy can I have some better karma?
    7. Re:Am I the only one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you never used 'moist' in a metaphorical way?

      Uhhh, no, real men wouldn't - hence the confusion.

    8. Re:Am I the only one by MandoSKippy · · Score: 1

      Har Har... Yeah, and unfortuanly, your VERY clever comment will go over the heads of so many here... a shame. Mod Parent up, Insightful!!!!

  2. And now... In Swedish. by lewko · · Score: 5, Funny

    Zee BBC is roonneeng a stury oon Sveden's noo cerbun feebre-a steelt sheep, zee Feesby. Bork bork bork! Es vell es beeeng zee furst steelt sheep, it is cuntrulled by 'stete-a-ooff-zee-ert cumpooters useeng a Veendoos NT oopereteeng system'. 'Boot Kuckooms und zee Svedeesh Nefy deny it cuoold be-a sebuteged by heckers und sey thet ifee iff it deed zeey cuoold fell beck tu tredeeshunel steereeng und nefeegeshun'." Ve-a hed a prefeeuoos stury ebuoot thees es vell.

    --
    Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
    1. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 2, Informative

      Boot Kuckooms und zee Svedeesh

      Germans say 'und' for and, whereas swedes say och, and would have no reason to use that word. You fail!

    2. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Judge_Fire · · Score: 1

      ... as if spoken by Gov. Schwarzenegger while under facial anaesthesia.

      J

    3. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Och va fan vet du? Snorunge.

    4. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It's not about replicating Swedish, you bafoon. It's the Swedish Chef from dialectizer... You know, as in the FUCKING MUPPET, which did say 'und'?

    5. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's not about replicating Swedish, you bafoon. It's the Swedish Chef from dialectizer... You know, as in the FUCKING MUPPET, which did say 'und'?

      Yes, I know. He was wrong too.

    6. Re:And now... In Swedish. by MeanSolutions · · Score: 1

      I didn't know the 'swedish' chef was dutch... /A

      --
      Swedish, but resident in the UK since 1996.
    7. Re:And now... In Swedish. by BiggyP · · Score: 1

      surely you mean buffoon.

    8. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Men chilla idiot.

    9. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's not about replicating Swedish, you bafoon. It's the Swedish Chef from dialectizer... You know, as in the FUCKING MUPPET, which did say 'und'?

      Yes, I know. He was wrong too.


      What kind of Swedish Chef impersonation would it be if he went around correcting the flaws the original had? Then, you're just impersonating some random actual Swedish guy, and that's no fun. That's like correcting grammar mistakes in movie quotes. It's not the same thing if you 'fix' it. Therefore, it logically follows that if the Swedish Chef had some errors as part of his character (and yes, he had a ton of them...that's part of what made him funny) then anyone wishing to imitate him would neccessarily imitate them as well. As an aside, Huuurdy vuuurdy hooooo.

    10. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 1

      What kind of Swedish Chef impersonation would it be if he went around correcting the flaws the original had? Then, you're just impersonating some random actual Swedish guy, and that's no fun. That's like correcting grammar mistakes in movie quotes. It's not the same thing if you 'fix' it. Therefore, it logically follows that if the Swedish Chef had some errors as part of his character (and yes, he had a ton of them...that's part of what made him funny) then anyone wishing to imitate him would neccessarily imitate them as well. As an aside, Huuurdy vuuurdy hooooo.

      Hint: I was trolling.
      But thank you for explaining the Swedish Chef to me, there's nothing like explaining a joke to kill it.

      What is this sense of humor that you speak of?

    11. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      Hint: I was trolling.
      But thank you for explaining the Swedish Chef to me, there's nothing like explaining a joke to kill it.

      What is this sense of humor that you speak of?


      Hint: revealing your trolls invalidates them.
      BTW, thank you very much for your reply.

    12. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 1

      Yup, no problem, here's another one.

    13. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      Thanks again!

    14. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 1

      My pleasure.

    15. Re:And now... In Swedish. by jchoyt · · Score: 1

      The next one to reply is a rotten egg!

      --
      Sometimes the truth is arrived at by adding all the little lies together and deducting them from all that is known.
    16. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah?

      Well, I had sex with your wife!

    17. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      !gge nettor a si ylper ot eno txen ehT

    18. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YHBT

    19. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      I really appreciate it.

    20. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      Thank you for entirely missing the point.
      Better luck next time.

    21. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 1

      I've written a simple perl script for you to interface with. It will respond to your posts with random quotes and keep you entertained.

    22. Re:And now... In Swedish. by leonbrooks · · Score: 1
      The next one to reply is a rotten egg!

      Don't you mean...

      Zee next oone-a tu reply is a ruttee igg! Bork Bork Bork!
      --
      Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
    23. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      I've written a simple perl script for you to interface with. It will respond to your posts with random quotes and keep you entertained.

      Hey, cool! Thanks! I'm sure it will post more intelligently than you, as well, which is an added bonus.

    24. Re:And now... In Swedish. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh you're so fucking funny.

      Vilken idiot - ska va australisk dessutom. Idiot. Antagligen kan bara engelska, inget annat. Sett alla Mupparna-avsnitt.

      Sketen snorunge.

    25. Re:And now... In Swedish. by kunudo · · Score: 1

      Hey, cuul! Thunks! I'm soore-a it veell pust mure-a intelleegently thun yuoo, es vell, vheech is un edded bunoos. Bork Bork Bork!

    26. Re:And now... In Swedish. by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      Bork!

  3. -1 Redundant by unixbugs · · Score: 1, Funny

    'state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system' OMFGLOLROFLMFAO

    sorry... couldn't help it.

    --
    You are about to give someone a piece of your mind, something which you can ill afford...
    1. Re:-1 Redundant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      are you sure you know what redundant means?

    2. Re:-1 Redundant by kgarcia · · Score: 1

      should have been -1, Oxymoron.

      Redundancy is repeating yourself by restating a point, and thus being repetitive. An oxymoron is two contradicting points used together, such as "Free, with purchase".

  4. You mean "when we are hacked we can fall back..."? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    And the Swede's are using traditional stearing in 5...4...3...

  5. Ah... by koi88 · · Score: 1

    First I read the ship's name as "Visibility"... guess that would be illogical...

    --

    I don't need a signature.
    1. Re:Ah... by BetterThanCaesar · · Score: 3, Informative

      Visby is the capital of Gotland, which is an island off the east coast of Sweden where the (historic) Goths lived. In case you wondered.

      --
      "Stop failing the Turing test!" -- Dilbert
    2. Re:Ah... by grazzy · · Score: 1

      the historic goths? :)

    3. Re:Ah... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      the historic goths? :)

      That's right. They drees in black, pretend to be vampires, and re-enact the Battle of Hastings. It's just creepy.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    4. Re:Ah... by LarsWestergren · · Score: 1

      [Gotland] is an island off the east coast of Sweden where the (historic) Goths lived.

      This was claimed for a long time, not only by nationalists, but also by reputable historical researchers. However, most of them today believe that the theory that the eastern Goths and the Visigoths came from Gotland is wrong. The best link I could find on the subject:
      NationMaster.com

      --

      Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die

    5. Re:Ah... by BetterThanCaesar · · Score: 1

      Well, as opposed to the ones who think black is a color.

      --
      "Stop failing the Turing test!" -- Dilbert
  6. Why stealth? by aixou · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is everyone all of a sudden gunning at the Swedish ships?

    Maybe the powers that be saw Tomorrow Never Dies one too many times.

    1. Re:Why stealth? by Erwos · · Score: 1

      If it's an intelligence gathering vessel, hiding from rader could be a very useful thing.

      -Erwos

      --
      Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
    2. re: why stealth? by ed.han · · Score: 2, Informative

      if you can see it, you can sink it. radar is how a lot of guided weapon systems (missiles primarily) acquire a target lock. smaller signature = longer ship life. however, some military scientist or sailor will probably weigh in (weigh anchor?) to explain in greater detail just how important this really is on the modern battlefield.

      ed

    3. Re:Why stealth? by mgs1000 · · Score: 3, Funny

      They don't want the Finns or the Norwegians to get any ideas. :)

    4. Re: why stealth? by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 1

      Simple. It can get within 30km of a conventional warship without the other ship seeing it. It, on the other hand could see the other ship 100km away. Given suitable ship-ship missiles, who's going to blow up whom first?

      --
      When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
    5. Re:Why stealth? by nyekulturniy · · Score: 1

      "They don't want the Finns or the Norwegians to get any ideas. :)"

      Or the Russians: in 1981 there was the infamous "Whiskey on the Rocks" incident, when a Soviet sub on a reconnaissance mission ran aground in Swedish territorial waters near the Karlskrona naval base. NATO subs would also test their stealth capabilities against the Swedish navy, and vice-versa.

      Sweden, like Switzerland, believes that having a strong military was a way to ensure its neutrality in war.

      --
      Nyekulturniy... Proudly confusing readers and editors since 1981!
    6. Re: why stealth? by sentientbeing · · Score: 1

      In a nutshell, if the Visby was 100km from an enemy vessel it could see the enemy on its radar but not vice versa. It could get within 30km of the enemy before being spotted.

      Surely its low radar profile is useless once they switch their own radar on? itd light up like a christmas tree and every detector in theatre would lock onto it.

      --

      ------
      beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
    7. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When you look at the justifications given, half of advantage seems to be 'it can get within 30 miles of a target and use deck guns instead of million dollar cruise missles to attack targets'.

      I'm all for saving money, really, but hmm.... Iowa class battleships can get within 30 miles of a target and use deck guns -- they aren't stealthy, but they don't need to be either, they are armored up the ying-yang. They have much, much (much much much) more effective guns than any destroyer, with a much longer range to boot. But most importantly, *WE ALREADY HAVE THEM*. They were paid for 60 years ago!! We don't need to pay a fortune (again) for inferior solution to what we already have.

      The Arleigh Burke destroyers and Perry Frigates work fine for all other purposes, and have nice small crews ... and we've already paid for these too.

      I wish the government would stop wasting our money under the guise of defending us again non-existant threats.

    8. Re:Why stealth? by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      For a long time Sweden had to maintain its neutrality and independence while at the same time being firmly wedged between NATO on one side, and the Soviet Union on the other.

      Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Navy tested Sweden's defences constantly. Although the Cold War is over, I'm sure the Swedes want to avoid floating a second-class Navy.

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    9. Re: why stealth? by Exitthree · · Score: 1

      Unless they are detecting the enemy radar from 30-100km while remaining invisible and not using their own radar at all...

    10. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just to clarify: the guns vs. missiles argument in the article was about similar US ships. The Visby probably won't have (surface to ground) cruise missiles, just (surface to surface) anti-ship missiles. Probably the same excellent (Swedish) Robots that Finnish navy uses. And a pack of vertically launched anti-aircraft missiles. And the Bofors cannon, fairly small calibre, thus largely unusable against shore targets. And a Swedish chef. And...

    11. Re: why stealth? by Wanderer2 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Surely its low radar profile is useless once they switch their own radar on? itd light up like a christmas tree and every detector in theatre would lock onto it.

      Indeed. In general your own radar emissions can be detected upto twice as far away as you can detect the returns.

      However, you don't have your radar on all the time (in some cases at all) to be able to detect an enemy and fire at them.

      Imagine if both sides have airborne radar, sonar buoys and/or shore-based radar stations and their information is linked to the fleet. Perhaps both sides have scout ships that only fire off their active radar for short bursts at occasional intervals (and then sprint away to avoid getting clobbered) and the data from the returns is passed to every vessel in the fleet. In these cases it helps to be as stealthy as possible.

      Similarly, if someone fires a missile at you, it helps if the missile's radar has trouble detecting you if/when you turn your own radar off.

      --
      I say we take-off and slashdot the site from orbit... it's the only way to be sure
    12. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you for including Finland in the Soviet Union. Apparently the two wars in 1939-44 that ultimately kept Finland independent went unnoticed by you.

    13. Re:Why stealth? by Erwos · · Score: 1

      Finland was typically thought of as a client country to the USSR back in the days of the Cold War, or at least very much in the Soviet sphere of influence. This is not really a reflection on how the Finns felt about the Soviets so much as how easily the Soviets could roll right over Finland in the event of WW3. If the guy next door to you is armed to the teeth and you've got a pocket knife, you better do what he says, regardless of how much you like him.

      -Erwos

      --
      Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
    14. Re:Why stealth? by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      I am well aware of Finland's WWII history and how the relatively small Finnish Army heroically held back the Soviets throughout that first winter in 1939. Of course, what is not always mentioned, is Finland's alignment with Germany during the "Continuation" war two years later. I've always wondered if there was some more sinister connection with that weird blue swasitka that the Finns sported on their aircraft.

      At any rate, Finland managed to keep from becoming just another Soviet satellite, which is admirable.

      However, I was not thinking of the Soviet Army with regard to Sweden. From a Naval standpoint -- and this story is about ships, remember -- Sweden was right up against the Soviets. The island of Gotland only sits, what, 150km from Latvia (a former Soviet republic)?

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    15. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The sentiment in Finland during the Cold War was that the Soviets very much wanted to invade and would have done that (WW3 or not), had the Finnish Army not offered enough perceivable opposition to make it not worth the trouble. Would NATO have bothered to stop them?

      (I served in the Finnish Army a decade back, and ever since WW2, the strategy and tactics up to Battalion level have all been based on essentially guerrilla warfare and exhausting the better knowledge of terrain. It was believed that the Soviets military planners saw sufficient virtue in that.)

      So I'm suggesting it was at least a hunting knife in the hands of an agile guy on his home turf, give me that much ;) Agreed that everything possible short of voluntary ceding was done to not provoke anything, although occasionally top Finnish politicians got better at playing the Kreml game than their Soviet counterparts...

      [And now I'm extremely happy to be living at a time when some of my best friends ever are from St. Petersburg and Moscow... :) ]

    16. Re:Why stealth? by ttsalo · · Score: 1
      Iowa class battleships ... are armored up the ying-yang.

      No they aren't. Everything above the deck is essentially unarmored.

      *WE ALREADY HAVE THEM*

      ...in a museum, where they belong.

      --

      --
      If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, where does the road paved with evil intentions lead to?
    17. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Okay, point taken. (I'm the grandparent.) Agree about Sweden's position. What with the Whiskey on the Rocks and everything...

      About the blue swastika (note, not placed diagonally like the Nazi variant), it was in use ever since 1917 when Finnish Air Force was founded. IIRC, it came from the coat-of-arms of the Swedish count von Rosen who donated the first aeroplane. (Remembering that swastika is an ancient Germanic symbol.)

      The alliance with Nazi Germany is indeed a sad fact. (Then again, there wasn't any other help to choose from. By the time the Soviet Union attacked, Great Britain and France, who had actually been making real arrangements to help Finland in the imminent attack, were more than busy with Germany.)

      However, there was an occasion when the Germans (was it Goebbels on a visit to Finland?) demanded comphrehensive information about Jews in Finland. They were tactfully denied any; instead the documents of the visiting German delegation were intercepted, and families potentially in danger were warned and even relocated out of Helsinki. IMHO this incident is a faithful portrait of how Finland reacted to the "Nazi" part of Nazi Germany.

      Okay, I have to be off now... Thanks for your kind compliments (I'm hopelessly patriotic), I apologise for my grumpiness in the grandparent, and hope you get something useful out of this quick response. :)

    18. Re: why stealth? by Weh · · Score: 1

      Stealth is only of so much use on ships. Naval vessels should be worried about their acoustic signature too. I bet a sonar operator wouldn't think this ship is particularly stealthy.

    19. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No they aren't. Everything above the deck is essentially unarmored.

      Not exactly true, critical sections are armored -- even above deck (but yes, they use an all or nothing armor scheme. It provided the best trade off for what they were designed to do -- fight other battleships).

      ...in a museum, where they belong.

      Two of them are still in reserve: Iowa and Wisconson. Are they ancient museum pieces? Definately. But we already paid to upgrade them, so who cares? This isn't about impressing anyone, and we don't have anything better for shelling coastal targets (the mission described in the article). The battleships provide a wonderfully low tech solution for a low tech problem. No country we are fighting these days, or are likely to fight in the forseeable future, can hope to hurt a battleship (although they *might* just get lucky against an unarmored frigate or destroyer with an imported missle).

    20. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just popped in to briefly refer a googlage to back up some of my commentary above:

      http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/vjw/Finland.htm l

      "During the Finnish-Russian War of 1939-40 (the Winter War), Finnish Jews fought alongside their non-Jewish fellow countrymen. During the Finnish-Russian War of 1941-44, in which Finnish Jews also took part, Finland and Nazi-Germany were co-belligerents. Despite strong German pressure, the Finnish Government refused to take action against Finnish nationals of Jewish origin who thus continued to enjoy full civil rights throughout the War. There are many interesting anecdotes from this period, concerning, among others, the presence of a Jewish prayer tent on the Russian front virtually under the Nazi's noses and the food help given to Russian-Jewish POWs by the Jewish communities of Finland."

      Unfortunately, the references I have to the said interception are all in Finnish, and mostly dead tree versions, so I cannot offer direct proof of that for your convenience :(

    21. Re:Why stealth? by LinuxTard · · Score: 1

      But it makes you wonder if the ship will turn blue and show up on RADAR on a BSOD instead of a spy-implanted mine.

    22. Re: why stealth? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Here is an idea I have, and I incorporated it into some drawings I created to supplant the Burkes, in my effort to create a UN/new UN world police force, the fictitous or real mission of which is to "deprecate all flag-waving/power-projecting navies into nothing more than own-shore coastal patrol units".

      My idea is this: Take several of the Harpoon cannisters (or if insufficient, resize them or replace them, such as with some of the VLM silos) and insert into them missile bodies which deploy surveillance drones. They can be autonomous, or they can be self-hovering by gas or other device. They act in the same manner for surface contacts as the P-3 Orion/its successor for subs.

      Alternatively, for plane guard duties in really hot areas, a cannister can be a launcher for small rubber boats with a motor, medkit, food, and small arms for the pilot who ditches but is too much of a risk for the action group to stop for. At least with the small boat, and small radar signature, such a downed or ditched pilot could at least keep near the unit, or better yet, act as a live decoy. Even better, the rescue drones could be deployed to act as decoys if atmospheric and other variables lend favor to the fleet trying to gain tactical advantage.

      David Syes/"TAO"

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    23. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm Norwegian.

      During the war with the Soviet union Norwegians collected money and equipment and sent to the Finns. Some Norwegians even volunteered to help the Finns.
      After the Germans invaded Norway, those people who went to help Finland were looked more upon as Nazi collaborators. Escpecially since those who went after 1940 did so as part of the SS, and swore a personal allegiance to der Führer Adolf Hitler.

      Finland had to walk a bit of a tightrope after WWII so they remained neutral, and had good trade relations with the Soviets. When the Soviet market fell away after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Finland went into economic depression. A depression that was battled with High Tech. Think Nokia cellphones.

      Documents that surfaced afterwards showed that the Soviets were discussing a possible alliance with Finland to take Scandinavia into Communism. Nothing came of that, thankfully.

      I have a lot of historic respect for Finland. And mad props to Boomfunk MCs.

    24. Re:Why stealth? by Nunar · · Score: 0

      YEAH! All you have to do is wait for the first tuesday of the month (patching day). Then, when the Sweeds are re-booting.... BLAMMO!!!

      I don't hate the Swedish, I just don't like the idea of other people thinking I don't hate them.

    25. Re:Why stealth? by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the information.

      My remarks about the blue swastika were tongue-in-cheek. I know that the swastika was originally a good-luck symbol (even Coca-Cola used it in promotions) before the Nazi party hijacked it for their own use.

      I first heard about the Finnish experience in WWII as a child. I've always tried to put myself in the Finnish "shoes", at that time. How difficult it must have been being attacked by the Soviets for no reason, and at the same time not being able to get help from any of the allied powers, because of political problems.

      Finland is fortunate that it did not end up like so many of the Balkan peoples who sided with Germany against the communist partisans.

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    26. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed :)

    27. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Norway sure had a hard time in WWII, and had heroes of her own too...

      I'd wager those discussions were never seen in any positive light on the Finnish side, although diplomacy prevented saying it out loud to the Soviets. Perhaps more likely it was unilateral Soviet planning rather than bilateral negotiations?

      -- Hey, you have Dimmu Borgir ;) Some of my friends give mad props...

    28. Re: why stealth? by spyfrog · · Score: 1

      Actually, the test ship that was before this ship (to test the technique) was actually very quiet thanks to a catamaran hull and a impeller drive system.

    29. Re:Why stealth? by random_static · · Score: 2, Informative
      No country we are fighting these days, or are likely to fight in the forseeable future, can hope to hurt a battleship

      i wouldn't be so sure about that. the big gunboats were designed to stand up to the equivalent of their own weapons; artillery shells of a couple metric tons apiece, loaded with (oh, i dunno, at a wild guess) maybe a couple hundred kilograms of explosive charge each, coming in ballistically and relatively slowly, without active guidance.

      the problem is, there are three major threats to surface vessels today, and none of them look like a big-gun barrage. surface-to-surface missiles come in at supersonic speeds, skimming the sea, and carrying much larger warheads than any arty shell would, with excellent guidance and accuracy - plus they can much more easily use shaped charges.

      aerial attack is similar except usually from a higher angle; aerial bombs come in slower than missiles or shells, but again carry more explosives, and are also usually more accurate than arty. (well, okay, the U.S. navy doesn't have to worry about this one, but still.)

      torpedoes are still slow (well, except for the supercavitating ones, but there's only one of those in service and the russkis aren't much up to attacking anybody anytime soon). however, they have evolved better guidance, better independent target-seeking, and better warheads than their ancient WW2 predecessors - which were already enough to sink a gunboat, with a couple good hits and some luck. good submarines are expensive, but the smaller littoral subs are plenty effective enough, and have seen at least some proliferation - maybe not to the miserable third-world ends of the earth the U.S. is likely to be attacking, but you never know.

      yeah, if you're shooting artillery shells at your opponent's water line, a battlewagon is the thing to have. but modern-day navies, armies, air forces and submariners don't play that game any longer. a big sea-going artillery platform might still be nice to have for supporting amphibious operations and coastal assaults, just as the B-52 is still a very handy bomber even though its original nuclear mission is long obsolete. but it wouldn't necessarily have to be a WW2-era battleship just to lob shells towards land. they might well be just the wrong thing for that use, even, for reasons that might be as simple as economics. how many crewmembers did you need to run one of those things, again...?

    30. Re: why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nope, you dont need to! Latest cruise missiles dont need a link up from the mother ship! like the Latest gen Tomahawks have terrain and contour mapping and a link up to the satellite. So if you have supersonic cruise missile, you can just fire em from 100nm range and the lock on your next target.

    31. Re: why stealth? by timpaton · · Score: 1
      Another factor not mentioned in the article is that carbon fibre (and other polymer composites) is often used in millitary vessels to avoid detonating mines. Sea mines often use magnetic means in deciding when to go "kaboom".

      However, all the radar and magnetic stealth in the world won't help if Outlook is spraying MyDoom worms out from their "state of the art" NT system to anybody who cares to listen, and an unsecured SMTP server is relaying spam to the enemy...

    32. Re:Why stealth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The big crew (1200 - 2000+) is the stated reason the Navy mothballed the battleships (again). There is no doubt they will never again serve as a general patrol vessel, but under specific circumstances (shelling shore targets) they might well be used again. Fielding the Iowas costs about a million bucks a day. Too expensive for peace time perhaps, but a bargain during a sustained bombardment or war.

      It is true somebody *could* make guided missles or torpedos that could destroy a battleship with enough hits, but:

      (1) Nobody is making such missles. There are only two ships with that kind of armor that even *might* see service anywhere again ... Nobody is going to carry special missles for them, and conventional ship missles just aren't designed for these ships. One of the Iowas was suppose to have been hit by a sea skimmer (Exocet) already, and while an Exocet was sufficient to split poor Shiny Shef in half during the Falkland island dispute, it was completely ineffectual against the Iowas (designed to pierce only 2.75 inches of steel, not 6 to 17 inches!).

      (2) Keep in mind it took 10 500lbs bombs and 12 torpedoes to sink Yamato, and 19 torpedoes and 17 bombs to sink her sister ship. These are not fragile ships, and the Iowas now have modern missle and AA defenses, and are only likely to be deployed with a nice screen of modern destroyers and complete air surpremacy anyway. I really wouldn't give anyone much of a chance of sinking one in any conceivable circumstance. They are just a platform to pop off lots of explosive on the cheap! I wasn't suggesting fighting another modern Navy under anything resembling a 'fair fight'.

  7. Why???? by BWJones · · Score: 5, Insightful

    it is controlled by 'state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system'. '

    First off, I am not sure I would call an NT system "state of the art". Next, I have to wonder just why folks are using a commodity platform to perform literally "mission critical" operations in a combat environment. Particularly one whose history of security is dubious at best.

    --
    Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    1. Re:Why???? by esenterre · · Score: 0

      I totaly agree. If we were on the 1st of April I would think this is a funny April's fool. I don't know how someone can think of putting Windows NT in a plane at all.

    2. Re:Why???? by micromoog · · Score: 1

      Or even a boat, for that matter . . .

    3. Re:Why???? by shnarez · · Score: 3, Insightful
      controlled by 'state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system'
      First off, I am not sure I would call an NT system "state of the art".
      I read it as saying the COMPUTERS are top-notch state-of-the-art, but they are running some crappy OS...
    4. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      totaly agree. If we were on the 1st of April I would think this is a funny April's fool. I don't know how someone can think of putting Windows NT in a plane at all.

      Is it a plane? Is it a ship? No, it's supertroll!

      Ho hum. Someone else who hasn't even RTF headline, let alone RTFA.

      Posted as AC to preserve what little karma is left.

    5. Re:Why???? by AtomicBomb · · Score: 2, Interesting

      In most cases, the reporters are refering to the monitoring/ high level control software (SCADA). It should not be that bad as long as NT is not controlling anything lower level and not connected anyhow to the outside...

      If they really use windows for this kind of operation, I am not that surprise they are using NT rather than win2k/xp. The reason is simple. The ship was commissioned a while ago... At that time, winxp may not even come out, and win2k was not that stable. They need something that have an okay track record and reasonable stable. NT is a rational choice (although I would probably state away from MS OS for this sort of thing)....

    6. Re:Why???? by SnapShot · · Score: 2, Funny

      In fact, though the OS is NT, the language used to program the ship was state-of-the-art Java. It was very simple to create the stealth ship; they just used the method call:

      this.setVisby(false);

      --
      Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
    7. Re:Why???? by dasmegabyte · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, the security of poorly administrated Windows systems is dubious. But none of the 25 Windows 2000 machines in this office has ever gotten a virus in the past three years...basically, since I took over as administrator.

      Why? First thing I did was install a firewall. Second thing I did was disable unneccessary services. Third thing I did was patch them regularly.

      And that's it. I am the only admin for the company and I spend maybe two hours a month working on Windows (most of which is spent convincing the Exchange server to run a little bit longer). Why is Windows security so bad? Because most Windows administrators are lazy and would prefer to let things go for a few weeks than test the effects of the patch themselves.

      And as for Windows systems NOT being state-of-the-art...would you like a list of hardware that had Windows support YEARS before Linux got it? You probably don't, it's quite long and includes such obscure technologies as "USB." Not dissing on Linux overall (and I realize support for new tech has gotten MUCH better), but if you're a company that needs support for cutting edge technology and you don't want to write your own drivers, sometimes Windows is the only option. All that bloat? Yeah, some of it is Minesweeper and that retarded dog, but some of it is also features.

      --
      Hey freaks: now you're ju
    8. Re:Why???? by pantherace · · Score: 1
      Compared to some/most of the computers controlling ships in the US Navy, It's state of the art. Now, some of the supporting computers on Navy ships are most certainly state of the art, but not in terms of running common OSes. It works, and do you really want to be testing new guidance systems every year or few on a ship whose maneuverability will not improve with new computers (.00001 sec faster responses don't matter or .1 sec for that matter)

      Also, to point out: Fly-by-wire fighters started being in production, when? Are their computers 'state-of-the-art'? (The originals, not counting any upgrades.)

    9. Re:Why???? by MeanSolutions · · Score: 1

      Well, NatWest (bank in the UK) shifted their whole banking system, including cashpoints, to Windows NT. It took them a long time, they based it on NT 3.51 which was heavily re-written to strip a lot of crud out and was patched heavily for security and usability at large expense.

      Once the system went live they had a well publicised problem where NT did not appear to release ports (fast enough or at all) causing the links between the cashpoints and the main system to fail, so customers went for a couple of days unable to withdraw cash from the cashpoints.

      Now however, it appears to be working better. But it is hardly the WinNT you could get your hands on at PCWorld...

      (I would not use NatWest on principle because of them running NT, but that is a different issue.)

      --
      Swedish, but resident in the UK since 1996.
    10. Re:Why???? by BenBenBen · · Score: 1

      And don't forget that NT is certified secure by the DoD (providing it's not plugged into any sort of network)...

      Also relevant; this article from 1998, titled "Should Feds Trust Windows NT?"

      --
      The Slashdot Paradox: "100% Overrated"
    11. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Particularly one whose history of security is dubious at best.

      This isn't as big a problem as you would think, because the systems on the ship are isolated from the outside world. They're not going to get hacked or pick up a virus, because they're not online.

    12. Re:Why???? by Bandit0013 · · Score: 1

      My uncle works for a US Navy contractor. The warships he has worked on do run a version of Windows NT. However it has little in common with the NT you see in the business marketplace.

    13. Re:Why???? by Leadmagnet · · Score: 0

      It should really be a true entrprise platform with great security and stability, like VAX .

      --
      http://www.leadmagnet.50megs.com
    14. Re:Why???? by natmakarvitch · · Score: 1
      trying to use MS-Windows as a critical system was a bad choice on the Navy (read about the USS Yorktown, "stealthed" by port-stalling). I know that some think that it is a hoax, but did not see their evidences.

      moreover the US Army understood and officialy adopts more and more free software (read "Evidence shows that Linux is more stable. We are moving in general to where the Army is going, to Linux-based OS" in an article about the future land warrior (already referenced in a /. comment)

    15. Re:Why???? by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Next, I have to wonder just why folks are using a commodity platform to perform literally "mission critical" operations in a combat environment. Particularly one whose history of security is dubious at best.

      The history of NT's security is hardly dubious. It is rated for secure operations by the US government (something also met by *NIX variants) when it is not on a network. I imagine that they will not have an open 802.11b AP on the ship, so if you were to want to hack it, how would you get access?

      An NT machine in a locked cabinet (no physical access) not on a public network with the keyboard and monitor in a public place and properly configured is quite secure. I would expect that the reason they are using NT is because there is a secure version out there.

    16. Re:Why???? by Krezel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You're forgetting something...

      Hardware companies PAY PEOPLE to write drivers for their "state-of-the-art" hardware.

      The Linux devs were lucky if they could get technical docs, let alone support from the hardware manufacturers. Things are a bit harder when you have to reverse-engineer everything.

      Things are a lot better now, except for the video card market. The competition is so tight there that the last thing they want is an open-source driver.

    17. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hate to break it to you but Linux has had USB support since 1996, far longer than Windows.

    18. Re:Why???? by kevlar · · Score: 1

      perform literally "mission critical" operations in a combat environment

      When was the last time the Swedish did anything with their military... WW2??

    19. Re:Why???? by MasTRE · · Score: 1

      > Third thing I did was patch them regularly.

      So I guess you don't get much sleep, do you?

      (Sorry, that was olbigatory ;)

      --
      Must-not-watch TV!
    20. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, the security of poorly administrated Windows systems is dubious. But none of the 25 Windows 2000 machines in this office has ever gotten a virus in the past three years...basically, since I took over as administrator.

      What did you say your IP address was again??

    21. Re:Why???? by dasmegabyte · · Score: 1

      Why is this obligatory?

      Windows update is automatic and has been for years. Training everybody in the company how to do it, from the secretary up to the owner, took about 45 seconds.

      Again, the only people who spend a lot of time managing Windows are control freaks.

      --
      Hey freaks: now you're ju
    22. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? That's news to linux-usb.org, which claims support since kernel 2.2.18. A quick check on kernel.org shows that was released Dec 10, 2000. But then again, maybe you're just a moron and that's the problem.

    23. Re:Why???? by dasmegabyte · · Score: 1

      But you do understand that this problem isn't going away just because we know it exists. If your company needs drivers for some obscure device -- say, a jet boat engine -- and the hardware company will only provide Windows drivers, you don't have much choice. You use Windows.

      --
      Hey freaks: now you're ju
    24. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The last time the Swedes went to war it was on horse back ;)

    25. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If your company needs drivers for some obscure device -- say, a jet boat engine -- and the hardware company will only provide Windows drivers, you don't have much choice. You use Windows.

      Uh no, you say "Fuck you Jack. We'll get our jet boat engine from someone else."

    26. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We did not go to war ourselves, we stayed behind the Finns.

    27. Re:Why???? by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      Next, I have to wonder just why folks are using a commodity platform to perform literally "mission critical" operations in a combat environment. Particularly one whose history of security is dubious at best.
      The security features are essentially irelevant, because the systems in question are not connected to the internet. When you think combat control systems etc. you need to shed your PC preconceptions, as they are operated and managed quite differently from home/business machines.
    28. Re:Why???? by spyfrog · · Score: 1

      I belive it was the napoleon wars or perhaps the occupation of Norway. About 150 years ago...

    29. Re:Why???? by Fallen_Knight · · Score: 1

      so before you go to war make sure you all patched up!!

      and ever 2nd day of said war delcare a patch break so both sides can go patch their windows boxes!

    30. Re:Why???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First off, I am not sure I would call an NT system "state of the art".

      First off...nobody called Windows NT state of the art...go back to skool

      Secondly, security is not an issue on a computer that is not connected to anybody else on the "outside world".

      And lastly, Sweden is a neutral country protected by virtually all of Europe, so this is just an exercise in wasting money (or showing off)

      Thirdly, they must have practiced (and practiced and practiced) their daily "REBOOT DRILL" alongside their fire drills and such, so they should have no problems contrary to what you Anti-Microsoft slashdotters are trying to imply!

    31. Re:Why???? by ssstraub · · Score: 1

      Then your company must not have laptops, not use IE (or have an internet connection at all), or use outlook.

      Unless you personally read everyone's email and delete the viruses that come in BEFORE the virus people have definitions in place to detect said viruses.

      You are aware that there are exploited outlook/IE/windows holes that are STILL unpatched, right? Maybe you haven't been hit by them, but many have!

    32. Re:Why???? by MasTRE · · Score: 1

      > Why is this obligatory?

      It's a joke.

      --
      Must-not-watch TV!
  8. Windows NT you say? by seanvaandering · · Score: 1, Funny

    Ahoy matey, thar' she blows!! Sez the one hax0r to another..

    1. Re:Windows NT you say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Username: administrator
      Password: thevisby123

      Have fun!

    2. Re:Windows NT you say? by superdan2k · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wouldn't that be spelled, "4h0y m4t3y, th4r 5h3 bL0WZ0RZ!"?

      --
      blog |
  9. Coolest part... by mobiux · · Score: 3, Funny

    The m.c. ecsher paint job.

    1. Re:Coolest part... by BWJones · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, cryptic paint schemes go back as far as the early 1900's in war ships designed to conceal edges and make it difficult to determine which direction a ship may be traveling in. They have been used on and off for years, but most commonly on smaller littoral combat platforms rather than larger ships.

      --
      Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    2. Re:Coolest part... by mmaddox · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And I would argue that the submarine is the first "stealth ship."

      --

      What'dya mean there's no BLINK tag!?

    3. Re:Coolest part... by goober1473 · · Score: 1

      But what's the point? Who exactly are the enimies of the Sweedish Navy? Does this signal more Viking hordes invading Western Europe? Anyway this technology is genrally used against radar and so technologicaly advanced enemies - so how does this help stop the terroroist who can see the ship in port?

    4. Re:Coolest part... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do know this is the 'art of not being seen', don't you?

    5. Re:Coolest part... by lc_overlord · · Score: 1

      That's the M90 camofulage for ya.
      It makes plain things look all techno, cool an stuff.
      But allthough it has straight edges, it blends suprisingly well into the background when used on uniforms and other things.

      --
      - "There is nothing quite like an ineffective solution to an nonexistant problem"
    6. Re:Coolest part... by lc_overlord · · Score: 1

      Hopefully we(with we i meen sweden) got no enemies, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
      Besides, military technology has a habit driving the technological evolution.
      But then again, be afraid.

      --
      - "There is nothing quite like an ineffective solution to an nonexistant problem"
    7. Re:Coolest part... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think there are several reasons for the "radical" design:

      - Sweden contributes military resources (albeit, on a small scale) to UN operations. These ships might find themselves in an actual war situation where stealth is useful.
      - The new Visby class ships will be faster, lighter and cheaper to operate than the older ships it will replace. It requires less personell, less maintenance and the number of ships can be reduced since the new ship is more powerful.
      - Then there's the usual "marriage" between government and domestic weapons manufacturers.. Swedens neutrality requires a somewhat independent domestic weapons industry.

      Mattias

    8. Re:Coolest part... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I would argue that the submarine is the first "stealth ship"
      submarines are boats, not ships...

  10. Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by DeTHZiT · · Score: 2, Informative

    I remember seeing a US stealth ship in Wired I think, it's black and it floats on two pontoons, so that it's sonar signature is reduced... ANyone else know what I'm talking about?

    1. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Exactly; this Swedish ship isn't the first stealth ship, it's the first stealth ship that didn't work. So know everyone knows about it.

    2. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Quila467 · · Score: 5, Informative

      You're probably thinking of the Lockheed Martin "Sea Shadow" which was a stealth ship built by the same group that built the F-117 stealth fighter and the SR-71. It was built by Skunk Works in the mid 80's as a test ship to test stealth technology on ships. If you google for skunkworks sea shadow, you should be able to find a picture of it.

    3. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1
      If you google for skunkworks sea shadow, you should be able to find a picture of it.

      So it didn't work then?

    4. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    5. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by dustinbarbour · · Score: 1

      Yes, Lockheed developed a stealth ship called the Sea Shadow as a technology testbed, not something that was to deployed for combat. The idea behind the ship was to make it a missile ship. It would travel 200 kilometers ahead of a strike force and launch surface-to-air missiles at oncoming bombers and attack aircraft.

      Lockheed's Skunkworks also drew up plans for a stealth submarine, but when they presented the design to the Navy brass, they were told "The Navy doesn't build ships like that" and was ignored everafter. I don't understand the lack of foresight, but I, personally, can't think of another service that relies on sonar and stealth moer than the submarine service!

    6. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      The reason why this is the "first" stealth ship is that Sweden's ship is in sea-trials now, and is expected to go on duty in January.

      The American and British ships are just prototypes. They are not even ready for sea-trials yet.

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    7. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by SB5 · · Score: 1

      It worked... Just I don't think they had the budget or real use for it... Nice gee-whiz factor, and good technology to have incase we ever needed to do a large scale amphibious landing... Then again, we don't use that anymore, we can bomb anything back into the stone age in a couple of days....

      --
      If what you are reading sounds funny, or sarcastic, lame, or stupid
      it is because it is supposed to be. just laugh
    8. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by dustinbarbour · · Score: 1

      Incorrect. The Sea Shadow had many hours of open-water trials. Granted, it was never intended for actual duty, but that doesn't negate the fact that the Sea Shadow has undergone sea trials.

    9. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It used to be anchored in San Diego bay, a number of years back.

    10. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I read in a book about the skunkworks that the real problem with the Sea Shadow was that it did not take a very big crew....and what Navy commander in his right mind would feel good about commanding 10 people? The old brass just did not like the idea of it.

    11. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      When you consider that the stealth airplanes looses their special stealth-painting when it _rains_. I seriously doubt the abilities of skunkworks stealth-ships, especially if based on the same technology.

    12. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thats a problem with the B1 not the F117A. Even then its not a huge problem as the B1 can fly over weather.

      In good weather it can do a lowish approach, and in bad whether it can do a high approach (And when you consider that an electrical storm will also reduce radar effectiveness, it should be a huge problem).

    13. Re:Doesn't the US have a stealth Ship? by Maniac483 · · Score: 1

      I wonder if this Swedish ship will have the same problem the sea shadow did? Whenever they put the sea shadow out at sea for testing the radar trying to detect it would just show a blank spot in the ocean where there were no waves. So all you really would have to do to find it is look for where the ocean seems to be mysteriously calm and roughly the size of a ship.

  11. Not so worried about it being hacked... by Trogdorsey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd be more worried about it crashing

    1. Re:Not so worried about it being hacked... by etnoy · · Score: 0

      I'd be more worried about it crashing

      The computers or the boat itself? :P

      [OFFTOPIC]
      Well, I got your point, but as a little side note (and as being a Swedish sailor myself), boats from Sweden and nearby countries are differently constructed than those from the Mediterranean and most other countries
      Why?
      The answer is very easy. In most countries the coast line is like a wall, and it gets deep very fast. Also, most of the shallows are made of sand and therefore boats hitting it wont take too much of damage than to the painwork.
      Therefore neither the customers or the boatmakers are very concerned of making tough boats, they want it light and fast instead.
      But in Sweden you have the extraordiary beutiful archipelagos (ever sailed in Stockholm?) and therefore a lot of islands. The shallows are made of solid, robust rock, which has made that swedish boats often are stronger than most others. The keel of a swedish sailboat usually survives a crash, even if it occurs at relative high speeds.

      [/OFFTOPIC]
      Oh, I got really of the storyline there. Forgive me :)

      --
      Quantum hacker.
  12. Obligatory comment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Remember the Yorktown:
    http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0, 1282,13987, 00.html

  13. The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80's by Flounder · · Score: 5, Informative
    but if I told you about it, I'd have to kill you.

    Sea Shadow

    --

    No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova

  14. Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by femto · · Score: 1
    Couldn't you find and 'invisible' ship by the hole it makes in the water when it displaces water by floating?

    Oh, by the way, the secret angle is 30.56 degrees. :-)

    1. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by Claire-plus-plus · · Score: 1

      yes you could, and the waves hitting it will be bent and you cound detect that. And you could hear it's engines, and it's propeller moving in the water using old fashioned sonar, a completely "silent" boat engine is impossible.

      --
      99 bottles of beer in 175 characte
    2. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by barnzi · · Score: 1

      A bogon field detector is also useful in detecting the presence of Windows NT.

      --

      Official threat to Homeland Security
      University of Surrey - http://www.surrey.ac.uk

    3. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by micromoog · · Score: 1

      Did you run naked through the streets screaming "Eureka!" when you thought of that?

    4. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by hfolkers · · Score: 1

      There was such a ship (maybe here in the netherlands), it could be detected by a empty spot on the radar, there was no rustle on the ship. The buiders put some extra stuf on the skin but forgot the stairs, their own radar and so on. So in the end this stealth ship was again vissible becous it produced to much rustle... (no my english is bad, but I ask you to speak dutch and I now it can't beat my english)

    5. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by BananaPeel · · Score: 1

      "In a nutshell, if the Visby was 100km from an enemy vessel it could see the enemy on its radar but not vice versa. It could get within 30km of the enemy before being spotted" ..Er surely that means that the Visby is using active radar. So whats the point of making it non radar reflective then sticking a huge beacon on the top. Besides it still creates a wake visible to satellite, so I would think it's main advantage is a lower profile to surface to surface missiles.

    6. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      rustle = echo?

    7. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably means noise due to turbulance, which is actually a form of rustle.

    8. Re:Detecting a 'Stealth' Ship by Dr.+Smeegee · · Score: 1

      Why are my pants all tight now?

  15. This is not the first stealth ship. by filledwithloathing · · Score: 2, Informative

    This is not the first stealth ship., this is.
    http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ ships /ship-sea.html

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    1. Re:This is not the first stealth ship. by filledwithloathing · · Score: 1

      Linkified Stealth Boat Link More Pics More Pics

      --
      Are you a VF grad? Check out the VFMA Alumni Forums VFMA Alumni Forum
    2. Re:This is not the first stealth ship. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your reference failed. It must have been removed already

  16. First one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I remember seeing the picture of a US prototype stealth ship many years ago, during the period when the F117 and the B2 were all the craze. And no, it wasn't from a 007 movie...

  17. Re:I hear that... by Brie+and+gherkins · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think perhaps if you bomb it a bit, it comes apart.

    --
    If I promise to be a good boy can I have some better karma?
  18. James Bond by Claire-plus-plus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well at least James Bond will find that one easier to destroy than the last stealth ship he dealt with, all he would have to do is give it's IP to some script kiddies.

    --
    99 bottles of beer in 175 characte
    1. Re:James Bond by tasinet · · Score: 1

      kick ass movie!

      scene 1: bond phones scr1pt-k1dd13 [h4XX0r] [0:15 duration]

      scene 2: scr1pt-k1dd13 [h4XX0r] googles "ms04-007.exe", downloads and runs [0:23 duration]

      scene 3: The end

      No wonder the ships run *nix in movies:)

  19. Hmmm. by Faust7 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    First off, I am not sure I would call an NT system "state of the art".

    Well, the article says the computers are state-of-the-sart, not the operating system.
    However, I doubt they're running NT 4.0 in any case. Windows 2000 or Server 2003, most likely, and those are simply not operating systems to be laughed at.

    1. Re:Hmmm. by Flounder · · Score: 4, Funny

      Windows 2000 or Server 2003, most likely, and those are simply not operating systems to be laughed at. No laughing at Windows 2k or 2k3?? You do realize this is /. we're talking about, remember?

      --

      No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova

    2. Re:Hmmm. by SlamMan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No chance they're running 2003. Its been out how long?

      MIlitary development testing takes so long, I'm vaguely surprised if its not running Windows for Workgroups.

      As an example, look how long it took to get the m-16 into production.

      --
      Mod point free since 2001
    3. Re:Hmmm. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha ha ha ... I laugh at any operating system that requires the use of a mouse to administer. Point-and-click loosers!

    4. Re:Hmmm. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is sweden remember? I think their reseach into m16s consisted of "yes, I would like one."

    5. Re:Hmmm. by lcsjk · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Enlighten Me. How long did it take to get the M-16 into production?

    6. Re:Hmmm. by hype7 · · Score: 1
      those are simply not operating systems to be laughed at.


      Especially not when you're running state of the art military hardware... putting Windows in something like that is no laughing matter.

      -- james
    7. Re:Hmmm. by Geekenstein · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, NT is the most likely OS. Military hardware takes years of design and testing to be put into service. If you look at the computer specs for the newest USAF fighter prototypes, you'll see they have about the computing power of a 486. Once things are certified and stress tested, you don't go changing the design on something that works.

    8. Re:Hmmm. by robslimo · · Score: 1

      Ha ha ha ... I laugh at any operating system that requires the use of a mouse to administer.

      So, which OS does that? Pretty much any administration that needs doing can be done in Windows at the command prompt.

    9. Re:Hmmm. by illumina+us · · Score: 1

      Hardly, the F-22 has the computing power equivalant to two cray supercomputers. However, it often requires an in-flight reboot of all systems. Perhaps that is because they are running Windows NT as well?

      --
      -illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
    10. Re:Hmmm. by martingunnarsson · · Score: 1

      Yes, most ignorance per MB in the world!

      --
      Martin
    11. Re:Hmmm. by SlamMan · · Score: 1

      About 8 years. But google could have told you that.

      --
      Mod point free since 2001
    12. Re:Hmmm. by borgboy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, having been in the defense industry, I can say with the timeline this warship was developed that it's entirely probable that it does run Windows NT 4.0. You dont change specs like that on a project of this scope lightly. NT also has been rated C2, in certain specific configurations.
      Good? Bad? Evil? Not my argument.

      --
      meh.
    13. Re:Hmmm. by duffbeer703 · · Score: 1

      You'd probally be wrong.

      And while NT 4 sucks in some ways, so does HP-UX and Solaris that you find in other ordinance.

      --
      Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
    14. Re:Hmmm. by Geekenstein · · Score: 1

      I've seen the article you're quoting, and that was probably the case when it was written. However, to quote another source, the processor in the F-22 is capable of 10.5 Billion Ops/sec with 300MB of RAM. Hardly "two cray supercomputers" today. globalsecurity.org

    15. Re:Hmmm. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First of all, I've got to jump on the 'no, it probably is NT' bandwagon. Second, most people would recommend the use of an OS like VxWorks or possibly QNX for critical systems like this. I'm having trouble imagining a requirements worksheet that would leave NT (or even 2000) as the best choice for the OS.

    16. Re:Hmmm. by pohl · · Score: 1

      Well, I think the Cray supercomputers would still perform today like they did in when they came out. Not even supercomputers get better with age. AFAIK there are no current Crays to compare to, since Cray Research ceased to be in the year 2000...so obviously a comparison of some machine today would necessarily be with respect to a Cray of yore. I'm sure you could find a Cray of the appropriate vintage to make the article text a forgivable analog.

      --

      The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...

    17. Re:Hmmm. by illumina+us · · Score: 1
      Taken from:http://www.f22-raptor.com/f22briefing.pdf

      Common Integrated Processor (CIP) - heart of integrated avionics suite - with 100 times the computing power of the Space Shuttle

      There are two CIPs in each F-22, with 66 module slots per CIP. They have identical backplanes and all of the F-22's processing requirements can be handled by only seven different types of processors. Currently, 19 of 66 slots in CIP 1 and 22 of 66 slots in CIP are open and available for expansion.

      Each module is limited by design to only 75 percent of its capability, so the F-22 has 30 percent growth capability with no change to the existing equipment. There is space, power and cooling provisions in the aircraft now for a third CIP, so the requirement for a 200 percent avionics growth capability in the F-22 can be easily met.

      There is coordinated plan for technology growth that will help keep the CIP at state-of-the-art levels. As electronics continue to get smaller and more powerful, it is conceivable that there could be 300 percent increase in avionics capability.
      http://www.edwards.af.mil/articles98/docs_html/spl ash/apr98/cover/CIP.htm
      --
      -illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
    18. Re:Hmmm. by ckaminski · · Score: 3, Informative

      You have to remember that the M16 was a weapon made by a private concern looking to sell it to the military. It was a weapon looking for a problem. Vietnam provided that problem. Then the M16 provided a whole boatload of problems all by it's own, when the Army made it out to be less maintenance than a rock. A lot of early M16 adopters are dead because the damn thing wouldn't serve it's primary purpose, discharge bullets at the enemy.

      The M16 was not a government project. Political concerns delayed getting the weapon fielded for at least 5 years, IIRC. Which I think was your point.

      HAND.
      -Chris

    19. Re:Hmmm. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i.e. about the power of 2 original Pentium chips. Not that much ;-)

    20. Re:Hmmm. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Err...no. Sweden uses the AK-5

    21. Re:Hmmm. by npsimons · · Score: 1

      Windows 2000 or Server 2003, most likely, and those are simply not operating systems to be laughed at.

      Sure they are. I laugh at them everyday, or more accurately, I laugh at their users when they ask me for help. Then I tell them to call Microsoft for help, that's what they pay them for. You pirated it? Oh, well then, I guess you're screwed. Wanna copy of Debian? I'll even help you install it, for free!
    22. Re:Hmmm. by Fnord · · Score: 1

      Except that Cray Inc. was reborn and they've made recent super computers. Not piddly little beowulf clusters or boxes of a hundred commodity processors, but real vector supercomputers that have kept up to today's technology. Take a look at the X1 (formerly known as the SV2, the successor to the relatively widespread SV1).

      An F22 doesn't have the equivalent power of even an SV1, I can tell you.

      (disclaimer: I used to work for cray and I still have a fondness for those lumbering beasts of machines)

    23. Re:Hmmm. by EulerX07 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think he meant the F-16, which took three years for the final design to be accepted after the release of the specs requirement. A boat is a much larger structure, but like the F-16, they were constructing the boat using different technologies already available and tailoring a production model to the swedish army's specs.

    24. Re:Hmmm. by Kent+Recal · · Score: 1

      Windows 2000 or Server 2003, most likely, and those are simply not operating systems to be laughed at.

      Laugh? Never heard that. Crying is more common...

  20. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, and the Nazis had cruise missiles, a beta stealth plane and lots of other BS in the 1940s... so what's your point?

  21. Holy Christmas by TouchOfRed · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Cant wait for the new Splinter Cell, Sam Fischer covertly gains access to Microsoft HQ in Redmond, battling the BSOD!

  22. Sea Shadow by Genady · · Score: 3, Informative

    As well as being the first stealth ship,

    No, I'm afraid that that honor goes to Sea Shadow. True, it was only a technology demonstrator, but it WAS the first stealth ship. This Swedish upstart may be the first PRODUCTION stealth ship, but it certainly ain't the first.

    That said, lessons from Sea Shadow were incorporated into the Burke class Destroyers. So this isn't even the first 'stealthy' ship out here.

    --


    What if it is just turtles all the way down?
    1. Re:Sea Shadow by zazas_mmmm · · Score: 1, Redundant
      Actually, my guess is that this was the first stealth ship.

      Just because we eventually came to know how to detect it, doesn't mean it was any less stealthy in its time.

      --
      I'm a friend of a friend of the working class.
    2. Re:Sea Shadow by Genady · · Score: 1

      Actually, my guess is that this was the first stealth ship.

      That's not a ship, that's a boat, as any submariner will tell you.

      --


      What if it is just turtles all the way down?
    3. Re:Sea Shadow by Seehund · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Background: The Sea Shadow program was begun in the mid-1980s."

      The Swedish stealth ship program (which includes previous results such as HMS Smyge and this latest YS2000 Series 1 (Visby corvette)) was launched in 1986.

      --
      Help savingAmigaOS and a free PowerPC market
    4. Re:Sea Shadow by tovash · · Score: 1

      And also not the first production Stealth ship: the Royal Dutch Navy has 4 stealth frigates. And by the way: Stealth does not mean 'invisible' to radar. It means 'not recognizable' by radar....

    5. Re:Sea Shadow by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      The french navy even have several stealth ships in service. The swedish mility is just trying to create some publisity in hope that someone will but their expensive (usually) outdated technology.

  23. Been there done that! by 10Ghz · · Score: 5, Informative

    Finnish Hamina-class. Maybe not as radical as this ship, but stealth-ship regardless. And packed with high technology.

    So what makes this Swedish ship "first stealth-ship", when there are already stealth-ships in use in Finland? And they have been in use for quite some time already.

    --
    Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
    1. Re:Been there done that! by Nodatadj · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey, this is /.
      What you're expecting quality journalism?

    2. Re:Been there done that! by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      Hey, this is /.
      What you're expecting quality journalism?


      Yeah! It's not like this is the New York Ti..hmm, er...the Tampa Bay Tribune...hrm. I think you could replace /. in your first statement with just about any media outlet these days. Sensationalism sells! Fuck truth, fuck checking facts and sources, that shit takes too long. Let's make sure that no matter how bad our media outlet is that it's first with stories about stupid Germans that don't know how to have sex.

    3. Re:Been there done that! by richie2000 · · Score: 2, Funny
      So what makes this Swedish ship "first stealth-ship", when there are already stealth-ships in use in Finland?

      I'm sorry, we just couldn't find the Finnish ships to report about them. I know they're around here somewhere...

      Seriously, there have been stealthy ships before, but the Visby-class is the first of a new generation.

      --
      Money for nothing, pix for free
    4. Re:Been there done that! by mgs1000 · · Score: 2, Funny
      So guess this is just the beginning of an arms race between Sweden and Finland. :)

    5. Re:Been there done that! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or for that matter the Swedish stealt catamaran
      http://www.3ysflj.mil.se/photo.php?id=3 0456&aid=58 64 don't know when it was built but it sure looks similar to the Sea Shadow

    6. Re:Been there done that! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And here comes the question, since it is a finnish ship:
      Does it run LINUX ?

      No, well the question for the beowulf cluster won't make sense then.

    7. Re:Been there done that! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the "first stealth-ship" just as much as Santa is from Finland. That is to say, probably not. Santa is definetely from Sweden. So there! :-)

    8. Re:Been there done that! by razmaspaz · · Score: 1

      Finland? Finland's not a country!

      --
      I tried for 5 years to come up with a clever sig...only to realize that I am not clever.
    9. Re:Been there done that! by fredrik70 · · Score: 1

      don't forget about smyge (please searchj for smyge), the test vessel from the late 80's

      --
      if (!signature) { throw std::runtime_error("No sig!"); }
    10. Re:Been there done that! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quite sure it is actually.. Or where the hell have i been living at for the past 26 years..

  24. Probably OK by W2k · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If this boat is running anything like the NT systems I used when I was in the army (the Swedish army that is) I'd say it's pretty stable and secure. Windows NT has had quite some time to mature as an operating system and has had most of its bugs fixed by now. Obviously, they won't be connecting these things to the Internet, so no need to worry about hax0rz.

    I, for one, welcome our new Swedish Navy Stealth Ship overlords.

    --
    Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
    1. Re:Probably OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know about secure, but I agree that it's relatively stable if one doesn't go about installing all kind of crap on it. What kind of mice are they using? Is Logitech a part of the military industrial complex now?

    2. Re:Probably OK by Nobody+You+Know · · Score: 2, Funny

      You're probably right, but here I was looking forward to articles about the world's first warship capable of delivering 50 57mm shells and 10,000 penis enlargment e-mails per minute.

    3. Re:Probably OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      No F-16's here, we use our own developed fighter.
      www.gripen.com

    4. Re:Probably OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I am not an expert in computer security but we have focused a lot on that and this ship has a lot of firewalls and clever ways of avoiding it (being hacked)." RTFA! If they aren't on the internet What the hell are they doingwith thier firewall? ... Toasting marshmallows? ;)

    5. Re:Probably OK by lala · · Score: 2, Informative

      > Then again, I'm sure the Sweedish air force might have a few F-16s or C-130s; but how many American jets, planes, tanks, and boats have Swedish software running them?

      Sweden has its own military aircraft manufacturer in SAAB Aerospace (SAAB actually stands for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, freely translated Swedish Aerospace Inc).

      The newest aircraft is the hightech Gripen, which btw rumour has it runs an VisualBasic-app to control the steering...
      SAAB Aerospace Gripen

      But I agree with your point, it really seems odd that the military doesn't love the control they can have over the sourcecode in opensource-OSes.

    6. Re:Probably OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "(SAAB actually stands for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, freely translated Swedish Aerospace Inc)."

      No, it stands for Svenska Aeroplanaktiebolaget (or Svenska Aeroplan AB, if you will). Stop separating Swedish words, dumjävel.
      And a less free but more accurate translation would be Swedish Aeroplane (duh!) Inc.

    7. Re:Probably OK by duffbeer703 · · Score: 1

      What are the "arguably better" non-foreign operating systems?

      If you are suggesting that a Linux circa 1996 is ready for the task, you are foooling yourself. One of the attractions of using Windows is the huge number of people familiar with the Windows API.

      Operating systems are commodity products. Using a US-produced OS is like using Korean steel... you may not like using it, but it works.

      --
      Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
    8. Re:Probably OK by W2k · · Score: 1

      In the event that a foreign infiltrator gets onboard, plugs his laptop into the first ethernet outlet he can find, and hacks away, I'd say a firewall would be pretty useful.

      Also, the Swedish Army has its own network, very similar to the Internet in construction, called FMIP (think Sweden's DARPAnet here), which this ship could potentially connect to. So a firewall would be a good thing to have in case an attacker got access to that.

      --
      Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
    9. Re:Probably OK by thorgil · · Score: 1

      probably between computers on the LAN...

      --
      Warning: This sig contains a small bug. ==> *
    10. Re:Probably OK by sbowles · · Score: 2, Informative
      These firewalls would be setup to separate combat systems from each other as well as non-combat systems. This would be to protect against inside jobs (isn't it usually the galley cook ;^) or systems gone-wild.

      As well, these ships would have externally accessable wireless IP-based systems to support strategic and tactical communications. These would also require appropriate protections

      --
      You sly dog: you got me monologuing! - Syndrome
    11. Re:Probably OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that the one that falls out of the sky???

    12. Re:Probably OK by b1ng0 · · Score: 1

      I don't know about that - Windows NT brought down America's USS Yorktown in 1998. Take a look http://www.gcn.com/archives/gcn/1998/july13/cov2.h tm

    13. Re:Probably OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously, they won't be connecting these things to the Internet, so no need to worry about hax0rz.

      And on a similar note.
      In the Swedish military you're aren't even allowed to work with open (as in non-restricted) information on the internet.
      And even if they did, the firewalls are pretty strong.

  25. Lockheed Stealth Ship by sphealey · · Score: 1, Redundant

    > As well as being the first stealth ship,

    The Lockheed Skunk Works built a stealth ship for the US Navy back in the early 1980s. For various political and technical reasons the design was never accepted for production, but most "navy of the future" articles you see in both the popular and trade press use that design as the basis for their concept art.

    sPh

    1. Re:Lockheed Stealth Ship by sphealey · · Score: 1, Redundant
  26. WTF? Sweden has a warship? by operagost · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sweden has a warship? Like a ship with guns? When did this happen? Holy shit!

    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    1. Re:WTF? Sweden has a warship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thats ok, it was furnished by ikea.

  27. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From the page it seems like proof of concept/research/only one build thing.

  28. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Vacuum+Sux · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As your link states, the Sea Shadow is a test craft. The Visby corvette is going to be in active service in the swedish navy.

    --
    In Soviet Russia, the profit overlords welcome you!
  29. the neXt big ship by phauxfinnish · · Score: 2, Interesting
    American designers are working on the US Navy's own fleet of stealth ships, the DD(X) destroyer, which is due to enter service in 2011.

    Why does every new thing have to have a X in the name? Being in parenthesis, its almost like an after thought.

    Maybe it signifies that this ship will also be run by Microsoft software... A Beowulf cluster of X-Boxen!!!

    1. Re:the neXt big ship by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 2, Interesting

      X has generally stood for eXperimental. For example the X-15 rocket plane. This is still often used in the millitary.
      Only since many of the more famous experimental craft did some really impressive/exciting things that captured public attention, comercial concerns began to use the x lable to indicate somthing new! exiting! fast! and so on ad nauseum.

      Mycroft

      --
      https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
    2. Re:the neXt big ship by Lodragandraoidh · · Score: 1

      Here are some definitions of X for your reading pleasure.

      It seems X has been traditionally used in mathematics as the most common unknown variable in equations. This usage predates, and carried over into all the other modes of its use - particlarly regarding secret or unknown qualities.

      --

      Lodragan Draoidh
      The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
  30. It may be invisible to radar... by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...but it'll be easily spotted by all the outgoing packets coming from the spyware, troyans and virusses "installed" on WinNT!

    --
    Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    1. Re:It may be invisible to radar... by ktulu1115 · · Score: 1

      Yeah I think they meant it would be invisible to radar, not Ethereal.

      --
      # fuser -v /dev/attention | grep work
      #
  31. WindowsNT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > it is controlled by 'state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system'

    An oxymoron if I've ever heard one...

  32. Re:You mean "when we are hacked we can fall back.. by gauchopuro · · Score: 1

    ...What do you mean, they disabled the fallback system??!?!?!!!

  33. Not the first by still+cynical · · Score: 3, Informative

    The headline is not quite right. First off, the first stealth ship was the U.S. Navy's Sea Shadow, but it is only a technology testbed and demonstrator. This is the first stealth ship to see operational service.

    --
    Ignorance is the root of all evil.
    1. Re:Not the first by Chokai · · Score: 1

      What exactly is stealth is a little debatable. I think the Slashdot community is focusing a little to much on radar. Fact is that sound is exceedingly important to naval engineers. Just look at submarines as the perfect example. But in regards to surface ships the Sea Shadow and Visby aside, there are numerous ships with "reduced observability" features in service. Much of this has focused on making anti-submarine vessels quieter so that they cannot be detected by the sub they are hunting but there has also been focus on radar and infrared signatures.

      Many of these "features" have limitted to no realistic effect but they do none the less exist. Examples of ships with such technology include the US Navy's Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers and the United Kingdom's Type 23 (Duke) Class Frigates. Other navies I can think of that operate ships with similar features include the French, Japanese (spinoff of Burke class) and the Spanish.

      Major european ship builders are even preparing to sell ships with such features as part of what I call thier modular 'kit' frigates that they often sell to 3rd world countries. We all love to wonder why the US loves to sell high-tech equipment to countries that have no need for it. (Military-industrial complex anyone?) Fact is that sadly, the Europeans are often times no better. Even the final aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class will incorporate reduced observability features. Although one wonders with the rather large vertical surfaces on a carrier exactly how much difference you can make. :-)

    2. Re:Not the first by phayes · · Score: 1

      The USA sells very few ships to the rest of the world compared to Europe. This is partially because the US only sells off the ships that it is downsizing out of the navy & also because the ships are much larger & need more men to man than anyone else can handle. Even when the USA is offering the ships essentially free, it makes no sense for Australia to pick up a used destroyer if would take too big a chunk of their manpower to staff it.

      Europe sells smaller vessels (mostly frigates) that are better adapted to their needs.

      --
      Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
    3. Re:Not the first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldn't the Lafayette apply for this title? Magnificent ship.

    4. Re:Not the first by Chokai · · Score: 1

      The US is predominately a technology and weapons system provider not a ship provider. There are exceptions. The US has provided either through construction or plans frigate class ships to Taiwan, Spain and Australia (O.H, Perry class frigates) in the 80's and early 90s when these designs were still "modern". Most US ships are "given" as you state through FMS.

      As for manning requirements the US is behind the curve. In Europe several new ship classes a year are introduced, but they usually only number 5 or 6 ships. The US due to it's size may introduce a new class every 20 years, but it builds 40 of them.

      The larger problem is that US shipyards are simply put to reliant on US defense contracts to build ships for other countries. This can be seen in that essentially no freighters, cruise ships et al built in the US. Simply put the DoD has them in thier pocket (or vice versa) ;-)

    5. Re:Not the first by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      The headline is not quite right. First off, the first stealth ship was the U.S. Navy's Sea Shadow, but it is only a technology testbed and demonstrator. This is the first stealth ship to see operational service.
      No, it's not. The Israali Eliat-class corvettes have been in service since 1993. The USN Arleigh Burke class destroyers have been in service since 1991 with stealth 'features', although not a fully stealth warship.
    6. Re:Not the first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.janes.com/defence/naval_forces/news/jdw /jdw010607_2_n.shtml

      This FAC (Fast Attack Craft) has been in use in Norway for several years. Apparently it is virtually invisible on radar, as well as being very quiet. (The Norwegian parliament has also decided to spend the money to build more of these.) I don't see what the big deal is with these Swedish ships.

    7. Re:Not the first by Carewolf · · Score: 2, Informative

      Not even that: Most militaries have stealth ships and have had for some time. I would make a joke about swedish military being hopelessly behind, if it wasnt for the fact that they _also_ already operates a few stealth ship.

      I other words, it is not the first, not even the first swedish one.

  34. This day and age??? by DaveLozier · · Score: 1

    Honestly, who are they hiding their ship from? Any percieved enemies are probably without the ability to fight a ship to ship battle for an extended amount of time. But, this may be of interest to smugglers. LoL

    1. Re:This day and age??? by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      They are not hiding their ships from people; but from radar-guided weapons.

  35. Ahh.. I can se it now by MaGGuN · · Score: 2, Funny

    The phrase "Where would you like to go today ?" could not be more fitting in this case.. question is, where do you actually end up ?

  36. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by D_Gr8_BoB · · Score: 3, Funny
    There's clearly a lot of "secrecy" surrounding stealth ship technology. Best quote from the article:

    "We use a secret angle on our Type 23 frigates which enables our ships to reduce their radar signature to an absolute minimum." (emphasis added)

    WTF? There are only so many angles in the first place, and can't you just look at the ship to figure it out?

  37. The US Does by millahtime · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The US has a stealth ship. I read about it in Wired and saw something on TV awhile back on it. The ship is black, floats on 2 pontoons, travels pretty quick, leaves no wake, is black and uses the same stealth technology as the stealth fighter and bomber.

    It is housed in the San Fran area and is inside a large barge that can open up to let it out for testing but no one can see it coming and going.

    1. Re:The US Does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My country has one too but it's not just black, its completely invisible. I read about it on Slashdot.

    2. Re:The US Does by chrwei · · Score: 1

      oh, and it's black too

      --
      - Disclaimer: Information in this post deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
    3. Re:The US Does by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Common, it's supposed to be modded Funny not Interesting people...

      You tin hat people have no sense of humor :)

      ...but no one can see it coming and going.

  38. The Navy's Hydroplane by Kismet · · Score: 1

    If I'm not mistaken, the U.S. Navy once built a hydroplane vessel using the same sort of technology that is used on the F117 stealth fighter. The ship even had the characteristic radar-mangling facets.

    I could be wrong.

    1. Re:The Navy's Hydroplane by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've seen some concept art of stealthy US Navy hydrofoils, but if you mean the Sea Shadow, it's a perfectly normal wawe piercing catamaran. (Much like the pioneering Incats.) Facet glory, yep!

  39. Re:I hear that... by phayes · · Score: 3, Insightful

    However, the resin used to bind the fibers is much easier to damage & burns easily giving off noxious fumes. Damage control in case of even a minor hit is going to be lots of fun...

    --
    Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
  40. Stealth cars by DataCannibal · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was at a job interview recently and those of us who were there being interviewed were chatting about fun jobs we'd like to have.

    One of the guys there told us that a friend of his, who had previously worked for an arms company, was being recentltly interviewed for a job at a Formula 1 racing team. When asked what he could tell them about his previous job and how he could use that experience in the job he was interviewing for he repliad that, because of the classified nature of his work he couldn't tell them much about what he had been doing. He could, however, help them to make their racing cars invisible to radar.

    --
    No but, yeah but, no but...
    1. Re:Stealth cars by crovira · · Score: 1

      Cool. I can just see what a stealth car would to your gas consumption though. All those angles and shit. Take a look

      --
      MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  41. You forgot the Sea Shadow by Baldrson · · Score: 0, Redundant
    As well as being the first stealth ship

    The Sea Shadow stealth ship used to be parked inside a huge aquatic "hangar" back behind the NeXT headquarters at the same time Rolling Stone magazine conducted an interview of Steve Jobs there back in 1994.

    PS: The NSA loved NeXT's computers.

  42. Blue screen of death! by orion41us · · Score: 1

    The new ship is also controlled by state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system. But Kockums and the Swedish Navy deny it could be sabotaged by hackers and say that even if it did they could fall back to traditional steering and navigation. Mr Nilsson said: "I am not an expert in computer security but we have focused a lot on that and this ship has a lot of firewalls and clever ways of avoiding it (being hacked)." Windows NT? - MS is not eaven supporting this OS, firewalls? Does that mean that the ship has incoming/outgoing ip traffic? Why anyone would realy on a none realtime/fail-safe system is beond me. Can anyone say winNuke?

    1. Re:Blue screen of death! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you think that the navy is insane enough to allow external traffic to the systems? The main threat that I can see, would be a physical takeover, but then wouldn't it be simpler to just sink the ship with some kind of projectile?

    2. Re:Blue screen of death! by westlake · · Score: 1
      Does that mean that the ship has incoming/outgoing ip traffic?

      You were thinking maybe that the ship communicates by signal flags and morse?

  43. moron building vessels that float on any suBStance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    we're still working on it, see you there?

  44. Clippy by merky1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see that you are attacking a lesser third world country. Would you like to

    0 - Launch Missiles
    0 - Fire Cannons
    0 - Hide

    --
    --WooooHoooo--
    1. Re:Clippy by Kidbro · · Score: 1

      I see that you are attacking a lesser third world country.

      That's just a feature in the model we ship to the U.S. ;)

    2. Re:Clippy by FoboldFKY · · Score: 1

      Microsoft: the future of warfare...

      (click "Launch Missiles")

      Clippy: I'm sorry, the feature you requested isn't installed. Please insert the Microsoft Warfare 2003 CD to continue.

      (inserts CD)

      MSI: I'm sorry, this machine has changed too much since the last install, and you will need to re-activate your copy of Microsoft Warfare.

      Reason: hardware removed: S3 Savage
      hardware added: USB ICMB Launching Tube

      (insert copius swearing in swedish)

      --
      We're geeks... We're the sorcerers of the modern-day world. --
    3. Re:Clippy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (insert copius swearing in swedish)

      kukhuvud! javla microsoft fitta fan helvetet!

  45. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by the_mad_poster · · Score: 2

    ...can't you just look at the ship to figure it out?

    Spend a lot of time hanging around secured naval bases taking measurements of the weaponry?

    --
    Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
  46. Windows NT at the helm by LabRat007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So the crew would look something like...

    1 Captin

    1 First Mate

    50 Enlisted To Man Stations

    103 System Admins to keep NT's "blue screen of death" from sinking the ship

    --
    "Capital punishment makes the state into a murderer. Imprisonment makes the state into a gay dungeon-master"
    1. Re:Windows NT at the helm by Dr.Knackerator · · Score: 1

      heh heh heh

      Maybe that's the problem with Sealab 2021 as well? NT running the reactor?

      "This place is a bomb on stilts" - Sparks

    2. Re:Windows NT at the helm by JohnDoe.Slashed · · Score: 0

      The true story about what happened to Kursk: http://www.kaitaia.com/funny/jokes/text563.shtml

    3. Re:Windows NT at the helm by Anime_Fan · · Score: 1

      Actually, no...

      You can't fit 155 men on a Swedish naval vessel.

      Visby will carry a crew of 43, and I doubt that more than 2 will be regular NT sysadmins.

      Now, if this was a US ship, I have no doubt they would require no less than 200 people to admin BSOD's...

  47. Re:I hear that... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 2, Informative

    In the US Navy, at least, all crewmembers are trained in fire and damage control, for good reason. One ship's entire damage control crew was wiped out in a blast, and nobody else was trained in damage control. The ship survived the experience, though.

    Again, in the US Navy, the standard firefighting gear includes an oxygen mask, so the fumes shouldn't be a problem. Treating crewmembers caught in the fumes before they could get their equipment on will probably require some additional training for the medical personnel, though.

  48. And with the new Bonzi Buddy interface... by jejones · · Score: 1

    ...sailing will be truly user friendly!

  49. Flawed. by earthstar · · Score: 0
    The ship is runnning an "American" s/w to protect sweden!What a flaw!
    First of all the susceptibilty of hackers.
    Second,The US Govt, in the event of war ,"in interest of the Nation ", could ask Gates to cough up the "backdoors" which they had planted in WinNT (would'nt they have?).
    They are basically running (if US becomes enemy) the enemy's s/w!

    They talk about development in Radar evading technology....Wont the Radar Detecting technology also improve over the years?
    How could that be ignored?

    ------- some spice:
    He said the DD(X) would save the US Navy a fortune in running costs because it would have 200 less sailors to operate it than the existing Arleigh Burke class.


    Outsourcing or no outsourcing , the Govt wants to chuck workers off and save $$$$$$'s.-and it is raising so much hullabaloo against outsourcing, when the aim is the same!
    Huh! -----
  50. Trypo!!! by Himring · · Score: 1

    Trypo!!!

    'state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system'

    Corrected:
    'state-of-the-art computers using not-so-state-of-the-art operating system'

    --
    "All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
  51. Ummm...sea-search radarsats? by Doug+Loss · · Score: 1

    Sea-search radar satellites generally locate ships by the radar reflections of their wakes. Even if all these stealth ships are radar-invisible, they'll generate wakes whenever they're underweigh. How does anyone think they won't be detectable? Maybe not to small countries without satellite resources, but I don't think the US Navy will have any trouble with them.

    1. Re:Ummm...sea-search radarsats? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      whenever they're underweigh.

      That's OK, not many people put warships on scales.

    2. Re:Ummm...sea-search radarsats? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe that the Sea Shadow tests actually had issues with too much reduction in radar reflection. Particularly in rough conditions with large waves, the water produced a stronger radar signature than the boat. Hence, "holes" showed up on radar that immediately indicated where the boat resided.

    3. Re:Ummm...sea-search radarsats? by jotok · · Score: 1

      No, he got it right, which just goes to show he's probably pissed more water than you've sailed over.

  52. "We had a previous story about this as well." by Moderation+abuser · · Score: 1

    OK, so It's a dupe, but this time you know it's a dupe.

    I forsee a story bounce situation arising in the future. Someone sees a cool story, posts it on /., someone in a large news organisation sees story and files it for future research/publication. When it's published, someone reads it and posts it on /.

    Repeat.

    --
    Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
  53. Hopefully, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The UK will not not use NT. I would like to think that some part of the western Navy will be able to operate during wartime, since both US and now Swedes are using NT for Navy control and will be out of commision during a real attack.

  54. Re:You mean "when we are hacked we can fall back.. by tasinet · · Score: 1

    Roll Back failed: RPC service not available.
    Please update your war.

  55. At last ... by turnin · · Score: 1

    Windows got into stealth mode.

    p.s. Ship navigators should be on HIGH alert at the follwing port 135, and they should be READY to take control into their hands, if anything happens.

    1. Re:At last ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually they tried to bring Windows NT to stealth mode ... but end-up with building a ship to do so.

  56. Re:You mean "when we are hacked we can fall back.. by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

    Out of order?! Fuck! Even in the future, nothing works.

  57. from won kingdumb to another by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it looks a little foggIE from here?

  58. Duplicate, perhaps? by slavefishy · · Score: 1

    We had a previous story about this as well.

    I mean, I've heard some unsightly rumours that the moderators sometimes miss duplicate stories on Slashdot, but really this is just a joke...

    1. Re:Duplicate, perhaps? by BattleTroll · · Score: 1

      Maybe the first post was actually a stealth post and went right under the moderator's radar? That would explain a lot....

  59. people will never learn by NeedleSurfer · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    We have WindowsNT but our version is secure and stable, turns out Bill was keeping a copy of it for us. It's a special magical copy of Windows that has been stripped out of every bug (they're listed in the registry, you just have to know how to find the .bug file related to the registry entry and voilà). It's a special version, for special client, people who actually have the capacity to kill Bill... like the navy for example.

  60. Oh come on, Mods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was a funny comment. Stop being so...so... sensitive.

    1. Re:Oh come on, Mods by wcrowe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Well, it's funny if one's ignorant concept of Sweden is the Swedish Chef and porn.

      If one knows even a little bit of history, however, the only appropriate mod is "dumbass".

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    2. Re:Oh come on, Mods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > If one knows even a little bit of history, however, the only appropriate mod is "dumbass".

      Absolutely, Sweden has a proud history of powerfull warships. Like this one...:-)

      Quote from the description of her maiden voyage: "After having been towed out from the quay the sails were set. A gust of wind caught her and she capsized and sank in 25 fathoms of water."

  61. How to scare the enemy... by LabRat007 · · Score: 1

    Take that NT network backbone and add a few win98 and win3.11 workstations to it to control weapons fire. No on in their right mind would engage that ship - even if they could find it.

    --
    "Capital punishment makes the state into a murderer. Imprisonment makes the state into a gay dungeon-master"
  62. Re:In your face, uptight toolbag moderator by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yea but if you read the Slashdot FAQ, it says Funny +1 moderation doesn't raise Karma... but Since negative moderation does affect Karma, the grandparent's total REAL karma score is still probably negative, in spite of being +5 Funny.

  63. Re:I hear that... by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Funny

    These days if any kind of vehicle gets hit with any kind of major ordnance it's a crater anyway - or in this case, a rapidly filled hole in the water.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  64. dork, dork, dork. by twitter · · Score: 0, Troll
    Well, the article says the computers are state-of-the-sart, not the operating system.

    Anyone who would call NT "state of the art" is incompetent and not a good judge of hardware.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:dork, dork, dork. by cos(0) · · Score: 1

      Once again, the adjective "state-of-the-art" was clearly referring to computer hardware, not to Windows NT running atop it.

    2. Re:dork, dork, dork. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Moderators: Please note that "twitter" is a known fanatical psycophant whose obnoxious offtopic rants are legend here on Slashdot. It doesn't matter what the topic is, he'll find a way to scrape in some pointless Microsoft bashing. While nobody expects us to love Microsoft in any way, his particularly tepid style of calling anyone he replies to "troll" or "liar" or "fanboy" because he happens to disagree with whatever they're saying is well documented and should not be rewarded. If anything, twitter is the type of person that should not be part of the open source/free software community. He is an anathema to all that is good about free software.

      I'm posting this so that you (the moderator) have some context to consider twitter and not mod him up whenever he posts his filler preformatted rants about installing Knoppix or whatever that unfortunately get him karma every single time and allow him to continue posting his trademark toxic crap (read on) day in and day out. You may consider this a troll - I consider it community service. And I ain't kidding.

      If you're a /. subscriber, I invite you to look through some of his posting history. I guarantee that you'll be hard pressed to find someone that is more "out there" than twitter. You'll also probably notice he's got quite an AC following. Don't just read his posts, make sure you go through the replies.

      To get an idea of what I'm talking about, check this post out. I mean, this is an article about email disclaimers, right? The parent of the post is complaining about the ads in the linked page and so on, and twitter actually goes off on a rant to blame it on Microsoft and recommend Lynx. WTF?

      Here's another. In this post twitter not only calls the OP a troll but attempts to "tell it like it is" while making some vague argument about "GNU". Yes, if you're confused, you're not alone. The reply (modded +4) proceeds to simply destroy his bogus argument. You will notice he did not reply. This is what some people call "drive-by advocacy". A sort of I'll just leave you with my thoughts here and move on to the next flamebait kind of deal. In fact, he almost never replies because he knows that his fanatical arguments simply do not hold up to any sort of discussion. It's not that he's chosen the wrong cause - he's just going at it in a completely wrong way.

      More? Just read though this post and the subsequent replies. I guess this stands on its own.

      More? Bad spelling in astounding conspiracy theories, more offtopic FUD and uninformed "I'm right, look at me" rants, promptly proven wrong. Worse even, twitter wants to be RMS, apparently (that first one is a winner). I mean, really. You think?

      FUD, FUD, FUD, FUD, offtopic FUD

  65. Sweden Loses Ship by KilobyteKnight · · Score: 1

    In other news, after returning to dock from it's maiden voyage and unloading the crew, Sweden has apparently misplaced its new stealth ship.

    The Captain of the ship was quoted as saying, "I know we brought it back... after all we were on it." He remains adament it will turn up somewhere, he just can't remember where he parked it.

    --
    When will Windows be ready for the desktop?
  66. Sarcasm? by polyp2000 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    "state-of-the-art computers using a Windows NT operating system"

    Are they trying to be sarcastic or something ?

    Ultimately this has a "Titanic" ring to it.

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  67. If you can see it, can you call it Stealth? by lcsjk · · Score: 1

    Was that "Blue Screen" in windows invented to help ships blend in with the water?

  68. Not so stealthy ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    US Submarines have picked up a distinct signal from the Swedish ship's galley "Bork a Bork a Bork!"

  69. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

    No, but I imagine you could use software to produce a 3D model from two photographs taken at different angles. So I doubt there's more than one public photo of the beast.

  70. Bad for the war movie by paiute · · Score: 1

    so like when war breaks out and the allies all go like man, where's the swedish navy, the other guys can go like man they're all around us, i bet

    --
    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
  71. Can i ask a serious question.. by sinner0423 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Exactly what USE would these people get out of building such a ship? This seems to me like a completely waste of money. Can you name any recent naval battles in the past 20 years or so that warranted having a stealthed ship that would not be picked up on radar?

    And please, i'm not talking about deploying troops or anything like that. This serves basically one purpose for the swedish navy R&D guys = We're bored, look what we did with your money!

    Carbon fiber too.. all they need now are some vinyl stripes, a big fartcan muffler, and TYPE-R on the side, and I bet somebody in the states would buy it.

    1. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      How about for tracking smugglers? This ship could follow them without showing up on the smugglers radar.

    2. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by duffbeer703 · · Score: 1

      It's pretty simple, actually.

      You cannot shoot what you cannot see.

      The Swedes need to stay prepared in order to maintain their security... there's no telling what the next 20 years can bring in terms of conflict.

      --
      Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
    3. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by mikael_j · · Score: 1
      Actually, if I were to smuggle something into Sweden I'd just drive across the bridge from Denmark or cross the border from Norway.. There's no need to get your own ship when you can drive a truck across the border without anyone noticing.

      /Mikael

      --
      Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
    4. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by Kap'n+Koflach · · Score: 1

      Can you name any recent naval battles in the past 20 years or so that warranted having a stealthed ship that would not be picked up on radar?

      ~15 months ago the Brits conducted amphibious landings in the Al Fawr peninsula (Gulf War 2). They were shot at. I don't know if the Iraqis used radar-guided weapons, but others might do. If I was the landing force it would be nice to have a stealthy mothership for my landing craft, etc. Accrording to the article, this ship is designed for littoral (coastal) ops.

      22 years ago the Brits were in a shooting war with the Argentinians, and lost non-stealthy ships (and crew!!) to radar-guided weapons. If the Brits had lost one of their carriers in the same way they might have lost the war itself.

      The peacekeeeping ops in Somalia (U.S.) and Sierra Leone (U.K.) also involved amphib. landings

    5. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by msi · · Score: 1
      During the Falkland war six British war ships where sunk and 17 were damaged by Argentinean aircraft. here

      The General Belgrano(sic) was also sunk in the by a British Submarine, yes it was a sonar detection but the stealth ship is also very quiet.

      The Israelis have sunk Arab war ships in the past with radar homing missiles.

      During the First Gulf war the Iraqi's launched several silk worm missiles at the assorted Navies in the gulf.

      Finally why isn't the ability to deploy troops with out being stealthy important enough?

    6. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a stealthy coastal patrol boat could be very successful in the export market.

    7. Re:Can i ask a serious question.. by Dynedain · · Score: 1

      Lets say you were looking for smugglers, drug or otherwise. (Sweden does have a lot of waterfront). Which is gonna be better at finding them, sting operations, etc....a huge, loud, diesel tuna boat or this thing?

      --
      I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
  72. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Haxors began buying up old games of 'BattleShip'

  73. You forgot something... by Rufus88 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Ve-a hed a prefeeuoos stury ebuoot thees es vell.

    Bork Bork Bork.

  74. Wet Feet by panda+attack · · Score: 0

    I can't see the ship but there's 43 guys in a sitting position in the middle of the North Sea :S

  75. NT is a good choice... by Rick.C · · Score: 4, Funny
    ... if all you want to do is steer. Oh, and control engine speed. No problem. And maybe integrate the radar. Still no problem. And run LSASS to make sure that there are no NT license violations. And RPC to check if anyone wants to use the C$ share. And SVCHOST and SPOOLSV and WINLOGON. And CSRSS and SMSS and maybe WOW. And IE4 for the user interface. And MSTASK to monitor it all...

    Captain to Engine Room (through the low-tech voice tube): Switch to manual control IMMEDIATELY!

    --
    You were 80% angel, 10% demon. The rest was hard to explain. - Over The Rhine
    "Math in a song is good."-Linford
    1. Re:NT is a good choice... by MenTaLguY · · Score: 1

      Don't laugh, I can't find the article link at the moment, but I read that the captain did absolutely insist on keeping an old-fashioned steering wheel as a backup.

      --

      DNA just wants to be free...
  76. Correction: Moron the Swedish Stealth Ship by tbase · · Score: 2, Funny

    Named after the person who decided to use NT for the "State of the art" computers.

    --

    666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
  77. Re:I hear that... by falcon5768 · · Score: 1
    ^ thats actually a very interesting story... it was the vietnam war and a plane accidenatly dropped it ordanence because someone on the ground forgot to lock it on. The bombs went through the deck and exsploded.... The pilot made it out and ran and then the damage control crew went in to fight the fire only to have the bombs that where left on the plane overheat and explode taking out the damage control team.... after a while, and severe damage to the ship from both bomb, rocket, and secondary explosions they managed to fight the fire.

    And the pilot who got away, only the world luckiest SOB alive having survivied this AND being shot down and captured by the Vietcong

    ... Senator John McCain.

    --

    "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  78. You left out... by drinkypoo · · Score: 0, Troll

    ...BORK BORK BORK!

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  79. Detection? by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

    "A lot of modern submarines are extremely hard to detect, but that is always going to be difficult for a surface ship to match."

    howabout ?

    ping visby.somewhereintheatlantic.gov

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  80. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    -1 NASIOC OT shout out.

    (BTW SRT-4 is f4sta!)

  81. Re:SILENT boat engine?? by lcsjk · · Score: 1

    One of my nightmares is that I'll be 30 miles out and discover that I suddenly have one of those "silent" boat engines.

  82. Can't they apply this technology to their fish? by lobinator · · Score: 2, Funny

    Mmmmm. Swedish Stealth Fish.

  83. Re:men dom kan ju dra åt helvete for all I ca by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    haha ägd, ingen tycker du är rolig :)

  84. I think the Swedes are missing the point... by Dagny+Taggert · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...on this. The US Navy did experiments with the Sea Shadow in the 80's (see previous posts), but it was determined that too much everyday utility would have to be sacrificed to acheive true stealthiness. However, some of the features of the Sea Shadow were integrated into new convential ships-of-the-line (like the Arleigh Burke-class guided missle destroyers) such as "secret angles" (LOL) that reduce radar signatures. This Swedish ship isn't much more than a large patrol boat. That's not to say that it can't do it's job effectively; however, it's not designed for long-endurance blue water operations. IMHO, the stealth moniker is for public consumption more than anything else. The best seaborne defense is not stealth, but good defensive weapons such as Sea Sparrows and CIWS (Phalanx)

    --
    Don't be a looter...and yes, I know that it's spelled with an "A" instead of an "E".
  85. Guess this rules out a U.S. invasion of Sweden by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Darn. I was hoping plunder some penis pumps.

    Iceland anyone?

  86. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Dr.+Smeegee · · Score: 5, Funny

    I vish to use a protractor on your steelth wessels!

  87. USS Forrestal? by Creepy · · Score: 1

    Sounds like the fire on the USS Forrestal. I believe both the first and second groups trying to control the fire were wiped out by explosions.

    There's some pretty shocking film footage of the whole thing which has been aired a couple of times on the History Channel.

    1. Re:USS Forrestal? by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

      It's required viewing for Navy basic training. My brother told me about it.

      It's interesting to note that the USS Forrestal later sank, on a different mission. I think it was similar circumstances, but I'm not sure.

    2. Re:USS Forrestal? by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      I was in the Navy in the 80's. I've had to sit through the Forrestal film more times than I can count.

      Another siginificant blaze (and one which is lesser known) is the one on USS Enterprise in 1969. I don't know about the TV footage which is shown, but in the Navy's movie, some of the footage shown is actually from the Enterprise and not the Forrestal.

      The Navy learned a great deal from these incidents and developed firefighting systems and training programs in response.

      BTW, the Forrestal's nickname became the "USS Forest-Fire" after that.

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
    3. Re:USS Forrestal? by davidsyes · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And, the USS Ranger became "The Danger Ranger";

      Kitty Hawk became "The SHITTY KITTY"

      USS Brooke was nicknamed "The Broke-dick Brooke", since she reputedly was always having problems getting underway...

      Ahh, the affectionate names we came up for our ships.

      My first ship was the USS Flint (AE-32), an ammo ship, named after Flint, Michigan. Many ammo ships have names like Pyro, Haleakala, etc. We nicknamed ours "Flexible Flint", since our then-CO, a Commander, was charging hard for Rear Admiral. Seems we got volunteered for almost anything ServGru One in Alameda had going.

      My second ship was USS John A. Moore (FFG-19), nicknamed "The Jammin' John", since we seemed to charge hard for stuff. Our main space seemed to be spiffy, and that might be why, when as a NRF (Naval Reserve Force) ship, we were selected for advanced deployment to the Gulf in Nov 1987, from a pool of several other FFGs. But, we were given official notice maybe July. We got there.

      But, remember the Yorktown, which, while using winbloze NT, went broke-dick in the Atlantic and had to be towed in disgrace, thanks to a divide by zero error. Has to STILL be embarassing for the USN.

      As for finding the stealth ship... Just fly some RPV (drones) that drop or spew their own dronelets. Build a mesh over the target area. Anything that moves is going to be found, even small wave caps. Same principle as to how the stealth planes over Iraq were detected years ago: A bunch (or few) innocuous cell phone towers were built in strategic locations. The towers were sort of like inverse radars: Always on, but any aircraft passing thru created disruptions in the "mesh", giving away the location of the low-flying aircraft.

      If enough "mesh-making" dronelets are spewed over an op area, NO navy, not even the vaunted USN would stay invisible except in the presence of extremely foul weather and the absence of aircraft or RORSAT. Maybe the subs would be the only hard-to-detect ships, but blue-green laser and other improvements might upset that advantage in some scenarios.

      David Syes
      "TAO" (not the real one, just the nick-named one, due to my on-the-spot scenarios, such as: "Why do the Russians need to TORPEDO a carrier? Why not just swarm-lob low-yield nukes in the direction of the carriers, warp the flight deck, and make it tough for aloft birds to land. A CV without a flight deck is almost USEless..."

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  88. You're right -- someone give him an Underrated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    He needs a karma shot that counts to offset the two -1s (offtopic and overrated (coward gave him the latter)) that he's gotten.

    Help a brother with a sense of humour out.

  89. Re; ..stealth...YOU MUST BE RIGHT by lcsjk · · Score: 1

    I went there and could not see it. Good stealth boat if I ever saw one. Whoops! I mean didn't see one.

  90. Dept correction by nmnilsson · · Score: 3, Funny

    Most scandinavian fjords are actually found in Norway.
    Never heard of a swedish parrot pining for the fjords, have you? ;-)

    --
    No sig to see here. Move along.
  91. The new Swedish Navy fight song? by The+Ultimate+Fartkno · · Score: 1

    When we are hacked
    We then can fall back
    And rejoin the attack
    With guns and ack-ack!

    Booma-locka
    Booma-locka
    Goooooooo Sweden!

    (anybody know if writing anthems for a foreign Navy will affect my passport?)

  92. It's often used for 'Experimental'. by LordPixie · · Score: 1

    Most (US) military names use 'X' to signify an experimental design. In this case, I think the 'X' is to indicate the project is to be used for multiple ship classes. Kind of like a variable in a mathematical formula. (Evidence - the program will now be called "DD(X)" to more accurately reflect the program purpose, which is to produce a family of advanced technology surface combatants, not a single ship class)

    All that being said, X sure does get used a lot, often in the most retarded of ways. It's just the alphabet's sexiest character. What can you do ?


    --LordPixie

  93. uhhh, it's not the first... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    As much as the euro-bowing socialites of Slashdot would love to have everyone believe that somehow Sweden managed to make the world's "first stealth ship", it is incorrect.

    I believe the distinction of being the first actually goes to good-ol USA's Navy, ARPA, and Lockheed Martin: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ships /ship-sea.html

    You can see lots of other examples from other countries here: http://www.lowobservable.com/shipwor.htm (as always, mod- for trumpetting the evil US as being somehow superior to Europeans on /.)

  94. Inter-Norden warfare by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 1

    They don't want the Finns or the Norwegians to get any ideas. :)

    Okay, where are the Norski jokes?

    1. Re:Inter-Norden warfare by princewally · · Score: 1

      I don't think I've ever heard a joke that starts "Ole and Lena were in the Navy."

      I guess I can't help with the jokes.

      --

      -
      "Vengeance is fine," sayeth the Lord.
  95. Isnt it funny ? by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

    Isnt it funny how geeky we all are ? I mean heavens above! they develop some "really cool" technology to create this uber-stealth ship using fancy carbon fibre techniques etc. And the first thing we do (myself included) is pick up on the use of an aging, buggy and unsupported operating system (Win NT). I just think its amusing ; someone ought to do a study on our behavior here at slashdot. They cant get everything right!

    What about the cool things in the story?

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  96. Re:I hear that... by Mick+Ohrberg · · Score: 1
    Well running NT and all... I can hear a potential opposing force now:

    "Quick! Fire lots and lots of ICMP packets at it!"

    --

    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.

  97. Re:Sea Shadow NOT the FIRST by lcsjk · · Score: 1

    The first truly Stealth ship has not YET been detected. And as long as it remains truly stealth, you will never hear about it or see it. So There!! Bad exclamation- "So not there!"

  98. BETTER PICTURES HERE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    http://www.reserve-info.de/marine/schiffcz/visby.h tm

    http://homepage.tinet.ie/~steven/images/visby3.j pg

  99. A submarine isn't a ship... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 2, Informative

    A submarine isn't a ship, it's a boat.

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
    1. Re:A submarine isn't a ship... by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      They ARE ships. Affectionately, and for "community differentiation" the sneakers make sure they are different from the blackshoes (surface community), just as the brownshoes (aviation) community does.

      Submarines over 50 feet long essentially are boats in "parlance" but not in practicality. They can sail for months, remain submerged til their food runs out or they suffer a fire or some other environment-poisoning casualty, or have been lobbed some depth bombs which migth be the international code for "surface-on your own in one piece, or we shall FORCE you to surface or break you up for not surfacing under orders."

      Boats are craft that can be hauled aboard a servicing or mother ship. Or they can be craft that are somewhat too large to haul aboard any number of sihps, but more often than not they have such limited duration for independent operation that they effectively depend upon outside resources to resupply, refuel, and repair.

      Subs initially were so small they were boats that could, for a limited duration, submerge. Now, thanks to nuclear power and long-charge batteries, subs as big as they are, effectively are ships that submerge.

      However, or moreover, submarines' endurance can exceed that of some surface craft described as "ships".

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    2. Re:A submarine isn't a ship... by mmaddox · · Score: 1

      Well, the Swedish "Stealth Ship" isn't a ship, either. Didn't see three masts in a ship-rig, did you? Dorks.

      --

      What'dya mean there's no BLINK tag!?

    3. Re:A submarine isn't a ship... by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Informative
      A submarine isn't a ship, it's a boat.
      The usage of the term 'boat' for submarines is actually in a shadow land between slang and semi-official. Regardless of that, they are and have long been, considered ships.

      In Naval usage a 'boat' is a small auxilary craft, not a fully fledged warship. Those few boats which are combat craft invariably have a "B" (as in PBR) in their designation. The (originally mildy derogatory) slang term of 'boat' arose because the earliest submarines could be, and often were hoisted onboard other ships in the same manner as other auxilary boats.

      Derek L - USN Submarine Service 1981-1991

    4. Re:A submarine isn't a ship... by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Tell me, Derek,

      How can I get modded up to your score? It seems we both agree, in tone and detail...

      David Syes

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
    5. Re:A submarine isn't a ship... by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      Well, how various modded posts are viewed by you depends on how your preferences are set. The way to get the karma bonus is to have good karma, the way to good karma is to write lots of good messages so they get modded up.

      It's all in the FAQ.

    6. Re:A submarine isn't a ship... by davidsyes · · Score: 1

      Thanks.

      BTW, if you like yacts that look like surface ships, see the 223' Skat, by Lu^..rseen (sorry I don't know how to create uumlat, or the double dots above the "u")

      http://www.tankfill.com/yachtjobs/hpcompressors/ sk at233lurssen/

      http://www.tankfill.com/yachtjobs/hpcompressors/ sk at233lurssen/doorway.html

      Subarines:

      http://www.tankfill.com/submersibles/submersible s. shtm

      http://www.robbreport.com/Articles/Wings-Water/2 00 3-Articles/The-Best-of-the-Best-2003-Megayachts-Lu rssen.asp

      http://www.yachtforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47

      A rendering, with questions about when Larry Ellison was going to buy his new yacht is at:

      http://powerandmotoryacht.zeroforum.com/zerothre ad ?id=55&postid=1020

      Maybe the Swedish stealth craft use these kinds of underwater lights (from whatever nation provides competitive pricing, I suppose... the one I linked here is just for visual use...):

      http://www.underwaterlightsusa.com/pdf/products/ Br onze-fiberglass.pdf

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  100. First stealth ship? by Squapper · · Score: 3, Informative

    The sea shadow was publically revealed in 1993...the prototype for Visby, the "Smyge", was uncovered in 1991...

  101. Tjuv by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 1

    Thats ok, it was furnished by ikea.

    No, that was furnished by SatireWire.

  102. Re:I hear that... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

    Wrong on two counts. McCain wasn't the pilot, though he was nearby. Also, it was a missile that was launched from a plane on deck that caused the fire.

  103. Not the first Swedish Stealth-ship.. pics! by deadog · · Score: 2, Informative

    1986, designstart of "Smyge", publically showned in 1991. it was a testbed/prototype and a smaller littorial craft.
    U.S Secretary of Defense William Cohen was demonstrated to it in 1997.
    pic

    1996, designstart of the Visby class... as of 2004 two of these ships have been delivered, the HMS Visby (2001) and HMS Helsingborg (2003). after 2 years of sea trials they are ready to enter full service.
    pic! pic

  104. More like... by sirgoran · · Score: 0

    NT has detected you're in the middle of a mine field. would you like to:
    ( ) Install detected mine(s)
    ( ) Find a safe path out
    ( ) Re-start Windows
    ( ) Kiss your butt goodbye

    Why they would choose a Win OS is beyond me.

    -Goran

    --
    Carpe Scrotum - The only way to deal with your competition.
  105. This Message Just Intercepted From #STLTHSHP by AstroAndy · · Score: 1

    ("Translated" of course)

    Sweed d00d: WTF?? BSOD!!! BSOD MAY DAY!!! MAY DAY!!

    733t F1n: LOLOL!! IN$T4L L1NUX, PR0BL3M S0LV3D!!!

    Sweed d00d: Damn you NT...

    N0RW4Y R0xx0R$: OMG NORWAY RUSH!!!

    Sweed d00d: Oh shi...

  106. Re:I hear that... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

    Actually, England tested armor that allowed a tank to survive direct hits by both armor-piercing and incendiary shells. Saw it on Modern Marvels a few weeks ago.

  107. State of the Art Computers by illumina+us · · Score: 1

    Assuming that the computers are "state-of-the-art" they are running a somewhat archaic OS. In fact the OS cannot even recognize the hardware that is currently in my box right now. I say, unless they reworked the NT kernel to support more RAM and faster CPUs and wrote their own drivers for every piece of hardware that they cannot have a "state-of-the-art" computer. Unless of course they are saying it was state-of-the-art back when the first model of this boat was built. Then I may have to agree.

    --
    -illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
  108. BSOD by keoghp · · Score: 1

    Blue Sea Of Death

    --
    For problems, seek only the simplest solution, complexity brings with it more problems.
  109. Sounds like a really bad... by zaren · · Score: 1

    ...title for a pr0n flick:

    "Kockums and the Swedish Navy"

    --
    Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
  110. Re:I hear that... by falcon5768 · · Score: 1
    i would call having your plane be the one to explode being a little more than just being nearby

    But your right it was the missles than the bombs, not the other way around

    --

    "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  111. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by jdew · · Score: 1

    The angle is 23 degrees :)

  112. aluminum is bad enough by zogger · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ships made out of aluminum are hugely vulnerable to damage from a relatively cheap cruise missile, as proved in the falklands (was that the sheffield? One of you brits or argentines help me out here).

    carbon fiber, although lighter and etc etc with the article, will not be able to take much damage at all before it is ineffective, it just won't. I know the *idea* is to be stealthy so you don't take damage, but as soon as you release one shot of anything, your position is out there.

    Navies in general are becoming less and less relevant with the advances in air warfare. They are OK until you really have to fight, they are good as offensive platforms with an enemy that has little in the way of ordance they can shoot back with, but as soon as it approaches some sort of even-ness, ships start to lose. The carrier battle group is the last effective sort of naval enterprise for actual *fighting* on any realistic scale, and that is primarily because it has it's own aircap and satellite remote sensing and protector subs set out in a perimeter. And only because they haven't been used in a nuclear environment, once nukes start getting used, well, missiles and nukes are still hard to stop, you lose. Right now, a large enough swarm of much cheaper sea skimming cruise missiles can overload any defenses and inflict significant damage, that is why they are trying hard to get the laser weapons operational. It's interesting to see where this will go, sucks they are doing it though. The planet (very generally speaking, applies to all nations and peoples) is still run by at best a few hundred seriously intelligent and seriously insane megalomaniacs, and all these other millions of people still "follow their orders".

    1. Re:aluminum is bad enough by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      Ships made out of aluminum are hugely vulnerable to damage from a relatively cheap cruise missile, as proved in the falklands (was that the sheffield? One of you brits or argentines help me out here).
      Niether. Both the US and UK had stopped building ships with aluminum superstructures years before.
  113. This isn't meant to be an offensive ship... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    OK, tell me how Sea Sparrows and CIWS will help you sneak up onto a suspected smuggling vessel?

    This ship isn't built for offense. Heck, with a fibre glass hull it's not even built for defence. It's a large patrol boat, just like you've theorised. When you're a politically neutral country, with nothing but peaceful nations around you, why would you need anything more?

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
    1. Re:This isn't meant to be an offensive ship... by 16K+Ram+Pack · · Score: 1

      what do you mean? Have you seen the colours? Multicoloured ships are sooooo last decade.

    2. Re:This isn't meant to be an offensive ship... by Warlok · · Score: 1
      When you're a politically neutral country, with nothing but peaceful nations around you, why would you need anything more?


      Can you guarantee those nations have always been peaceful and always will be? Back in the day, Sweden was ruled by Norway - they had to fight for their independence.


      Sweden looks like they're taking a lesson from Switzerland - the best way to ensure neutrality is by being able to defend yourself against your neighbors.

      --
      ...and you run and you run and you can't stop what's been done...
    3. Re:This isn't meant to be an offensive ship... by titzandkunt · · Score: 1


      "...This ship isn't built for offense. Heck, with a fibre glass hull it's not even built for defence. ..."

      What's not "offensive" or even "defensive" about a glass fibre hull? Or a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic hull, seeing as that's what the ship we're discussing has?

      The idea of having armour plate so thick that shells would bounce off (and they did) went out with the Dreadnought class of ships. With the onset of guided missile technology and smart torpedoes, the emphasis has been on survivability, rather than impregnability (which is now unattainable and/or uneconomic).

      Naval architects are now designing boats that allow missiles and torps to puncture the hull. In the case of missiles, aluminium soft-spots are used above the waterline to allow the missiles to travel right through the boat, so they detonate late, and cause less damage. Torpedo damage cannot really be countered, but smart use of watertight compartments and magnetic/acoustic decoys can help keep them away from the critical areas of the boat. Torps are in a sense, a bigger threat: if a 1 tonne torpedo warhead detonates a few feet below the keel of a boat, it will break the boat's back come what may, unless the boat is absolutely massive (eg. Nimitz class).

      --
      Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable...
    4. Re:This isn't meant to be an offensive ship... by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      I know that Norway was ruled by Sweden from roughly 1815 to 1905. When has the reverse been the case?

  114. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There aren't "only so many angles in the first place". There are an infinite number of angles.

  115. Interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is the acoustic signature of carbon fiber? Would it be hidden from SONAR? How well does carbon fiber react to bullets?

    It would be interesting to see a stealth vehicle operate against a AEGIS Cruiser. The AEGIS can transmit all of the radar's power (3 MW) does a single degree of azimuth. What would that do to an NT box?

  116. Re:men dom kan ju dra åt helvete for all I ca by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sänk Gotland. Ni kan ju ändå aldrig öva bort ert talfel.

  117. Secret Angle by Aaron_Pike · · Score: 1

    The article quotes a British Ministry of Defence official as saying: "We use a secret angle on our Type 23 frigates which enables our ships to reduce their radar signature to an absolute minimum."

    Secret angle? Geez. And we US citizens thought the DMCA was bad. I'll have to tell the Math Department that they need to be careful about what they're teaching in Geometry.

  118. "We're over here!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "In a nutshell, if the Visby was 100km from an enemy vessel it could see the enemy on its radar but not vice versa. It could get within 30km of the enemy before being spotted."

    If they were approaching the enemy, not likely they would be using their radar at all. Pinging the enemy would immediately give away their exact location.

    Oh, and what about heat signature; are there any new defenses against heat seeking SS or AS missiles? Otherwise, enemy could still launch missiles at a specific point and let the heat guidance do the rest. no?

  119. Sweedish Stealth ship... been there, done that... by bbroerman · · Score: 1

    I remember the US Navy pix of the Sea Shadow in '91 (right when I got out), and hearing all about it's computer and satellite systems... it was sail by wire, with the possibility of being completely remote operated... Been there, Done that... over 10 years ago...

    --
    Logic is the beginning of reason, not the end of it.
  120. Linux Beware by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1

    Thanks to closed source, how do we know that when it ,inevitably, bluescreens the ships guns won't suddenly pivot and fire at Helsinki University. Or begin targeting wifi signals eminating from linux boxes.

    But wait! Given that a network of NT computers would only constantly bicker over who is the primary domain controller they'd have to have the clients running on.....

    ...Oh my god....

    Millions of euros of high tech weaponry under the control of unpatched 95/98/98Se/Me/2000/XP machines, and you KNOW the operators will be browsing the net while the colonel isn't looking.

    It's only a matter of time before some script kiddie hijacks the whole boat and uses a modded C&C interface to blow up his beachside school. Stranger things have happened.

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  121. Steathy and Obvious all at once by Jonathan_S · · Score: 3, Informative
    From the article:
    In a nutshell, if the Visby was 100km from an enemy vessel it could see the enemy on its radar but not vice versa.
    Hopefully this is the writers silly notion rather than something he was told. A stealth ship 100km away from any navy ship, but running its radar, is just broadcasting its position. (Naval vessels do have radar receivers you know).

    Kind of like making a perfectly light absorbing black truck for night usage, then looking around with a giant searchlight!
    1. Re:Steathy and Obvious all at once by applemasker · · Score: 1
      I could be wrong but the warship's radar view might be limited to the horizon, assuming the sensors are mounted on the ship itself and not some other platform like a helo or UAV and datalinked back.

      Making a ship (other than a submarine) "stealthy" these days may not enhance its survivability that much; it would still be vulnerable to subsurface and IR or optical-based sensors. Back in the Good Old Days of the Cold War when NATO thought it would have to fight to resupply Europe with convoys of material crossing the Atlantic, this might have been an interesting idea since the main threat was regiments of Soviet bombers armed with anti-ship missles which used radar guidance and were fired from hundreds of miles away. Assuming the stealth works on this ship, a few of them armed with surface-to-air missles along the main axis of attack would make for a nasty surprise... still neat though.

      --
      Bush Lies On the Record.
    2. Re:Steathy and Obvious all at once by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      You're 100% right about this one.

      I was on a carrier. We played cat and mouse games with the Soviets (this was over 20 years ago) in the Indian Ocean. We'd go weeks without transmitting anything.

      What you do is send your Hawkeyes (early-warning aircrat) aloft. Let them be your eyes and ears and transmit the information back to you.

      Some days the Russians would find us. Most days they didn't. But you could bet that they were sitting up there with their Bears listening for any kind of electronic "peep".

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
  122. "clever" stuff to avoid hackers by Mindless+Drone · · Score: 1

    @Echo Off AT 4:00AM /EVERYDAY reboot.exe AT 8:00AM /EVERYDAY reboot.exe AT 12:00PM /EVERYDAY reboot.exe AT 4:00PM /EVERYDAY reboot.exe AT 8:00PM /EVERYDAY reboot.exe AT 12:00AM /EVERYDAY reboot.exe

  123. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Creepy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, you have two planes of angles to work with from the top, and two from the side.

    The stealth aircraft have little odd angled "mirror rooms" (for lack of a better words - think a house of horrors hall of mirrors) that temporarily absorb signals, bounce them around a bit and let them out at various angles at various times, which is why they have a signature, but it is a lot like a flock of birds, not an airplane. A ship would probably reflect radar coming from the side into nearby waves and use them for the scattering effect and try to redirect deck waves in a direction other than straight back (thus the non-90 degree angle).

  124. Not the only stealth ship... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    does anyone remember the one in Redwood City, CA?

    http://www.bodrum-bodrum.com/vorteks/arsenal/aby ss /seashadow.htm

  125. 'cause everyone has radar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    this ship is mostly going to be used to patrol their ample coastline and intercept smugglers and drug runners. commerical marine radar is readily available, and because of that the criminals have amuch easier time of avoiding the patrol ships. however, a stealth ship removes that advantage.

  126. Ping by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

    Let's suppose the computers onboard have an internet connection.
    In that case sending a *PING* to locate the ship gets a whole new meaning.

    --
    Privacy is terrorism.
  127. Clearer Photo by CleverNickedName · · Score: 0

    Here is another pic of it.

    --


    Unfortunately, I am not Wil Wheaton
  128. Plenty of visby corvette pictures by MoobY · · Score: 1

    ... can be found here

    --
    --- Sigmentation Fault - Comments Dumped
  129. It's not the first time Swedes have led the way by nyekulturniy · · Score: 1

    Swedish-born John Ericsson developed the first turret-gunned ironclad, the USS Monitor, in 1862. In many ways, the Monitor was superior to the CSS Virginia, which was built on the cut-down hull of the USS Merrimac. Her guns could bear in all directions, which lowered the need for broadside fire and manuvering. She wasn't very seaworthy (she sank in the Atlantic off Cape Hatteras), but she changed the nature of naval warfare for a century.

    --
    Nyekulturniy... Proudly confusing readers and editors since 1981!
  130. It's a brilliant bluff by Nevrar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Excellent idea...

    Bluff the world... Say you have an invisible navy - no one will be able to disprove it! Everyone will think Sweden is the next superpower...

    The fastrack to world peace.

    --
    Nevrar
    1. Re:It's a brilliant bluff by sjoplin · · Score: 1

      Bluff the world... Say you have an invisible navy - no one will be able to disprove it! Everyone will think Sweden is the next superpower...

      That's not a good long-term strategy. Saddam tried that with biochemical weapons. It worked for a little less than a decade, but then America's patience wore out.

  131. The real question by IsoRashi · · Score: 1

    But the real question is, "does it run linux?"... oh, wait.

    --
    This is not the greatest sig in the world, no. This is just a tribute.
  132. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But the carbon fibers are electrically conductive. It's almost impossible to filter out the conductive smoke. You might as well hose down the electronics with seawater. The whole ship will be toast if there's even a small fire involving any of the carbon fiber structures.

  133. MTB Skjold class by GQuon · · Score: 1

    Let's not forget the Skjold class Motor Torpedo Boat (Fast Patrol Boats).

    Radar absorbing materials and sharp edges.
    The prototype has participated in NATO naval drills.

    --
    Irene KHAAAAAAN!
  134. Re:I hear that... by nyekulturniy · · Score: 1

    I can hear the damage control officer: "Now all spackling parties lay to the bulkhead."

    --
    Nyekulturniy... Proudly confusing readers and editors since 1981!
  135. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by keraneuology · · Score: 1
    "We use a secret angle on our Type 23 frigates which enables our ships to reduce their radar signature to an absolute minimum."

    Secret angle, eh? How about 30 degrees... down on the bow plane. Reduce that pesky radar signature to 0.

    --
    If the g'vt kept the data on you that google does you'd better believe you'd be calling it "doing evil"
  136. wrong name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shouldn't they have named it "Invisby"?

  137. pic by NanoGator · · Score: 1

    I found a pic of the stealth ship, here.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  138. No usb then ? by moro_666 · · Score: 1

    if it's nt 4.0 then as far as i can remember the thing didn't support USB ports.

    so the captain won't able to take naughty pictures of girls picked up "in the war" and load them from their cameras to the mainframe ?

    and what is the crew supposed to do with their iPod's ?

    this boat seems like a lot of wasted money. they could have built a small hovercraft with linux on it for much less $.

    and it would be almost as radar transparent as the swedish NT ship which will probably be "invisible" cause you can't really find it under water after a windows-virus-torpedo has rammed the boat.

    do they have EMP reflection/covering systems of any kind or can a pen sized EMP bomb take out the whole ship under 1 second ? :)

    --

    I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.
  139. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The angle is 23 degrees :)
    Are you certain it's not 98 Degrees? Or was that the model from a few years back?

  140. The solutions then is..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The next big technology will involve detection of water displacement. Every ship leaves a wake...

  141. Highlights by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  142. In related news... by sita · · Score: 1

    World's largest aircraft carrier Gotland remains where it has always been.

  143. NT 4.0 sp6 is stable, and end-of-lifed... by crovira · · Score: 1

    If you keep the Internet off the ship, there's nothing wrong with NT.

    I'm sure all the apps are custom, secured out the ying-yang, and anyone trying to install Outlook or IE is shot on sight.

    Of course NT 4.0 sp6 is end-of-lifed but that is roughly irrelevant for most military apps. The ones that need really cool hardware get it. The ones that don't just need old, safe and secure hardware.

    --
    MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  144. What good are these boats???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They dont' have much fire power, they can't take a hit, they don't hold a lot of passengers or cargo, and you can still see them from 18 miles away.

  145. Re:I hear that... by wcrowe · · Score: 1

    At least that's one ship which will be devoid of the sound of pneumatic paint-chippers.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  146. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not a missile, a Zuni rocket. (2.75in, tube launched, folding fin, unguided rocket. Typically carried in pods and launched in salvos, forunately not in the Forrestal incident.)

    Whaddya mean, nitpicking?

  147. How about the Dutch stealth ship? by johannesg · · Score: 1
    Just try to google for "dutch stealth ship". Yeah, that wasn't what you expected was it? ;-)

    Go on. Be a man and click that link.

  148. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by FoboldFKY · · Score: 1

    Wessels? Since when was Chekov Swedish?

    --
    We're geeks... We're the sorcerers of the modern-day world. --
  149. Not very original by Jade+E.+2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not only is the predated (by a long shot) by the US Navy Sea Shadow program in the mid-80s (as pointed out by another poster), but also by the French 'La Fayette' stealth frigates (circa 1988). Modified versions of that ship are also in use by both Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.

    1. Re:Not very original by SkiifGeek · · Score: 1

      I was waiting for someone to pipe up about the La Fayette class. The La Fayette is actually in service, and has been for sometime, as opposed to the Sea Shadow.

      The idea with a low vis / low radar vis stealth platform is not to use the radar at all, but to sit there and listen to everything else going on, giving you a better chance to work out what the bad guys are doing, before they know you are there (or hopefully never know you are there).

  150. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Chobham (composite metal-ceramic to withstand penetration and absorb impact power), or something newer?

  151. Re:I hear that... by wwest4 · · Score: 1

    Yeah, it would suck to run out of 5-minute epoxy in the heat of battle and have only that ghastly 90-minute crap. And what if your chief engineer is dead and you only have the chef left to repair the ship? Yoeman Beaker would end up with his head as a load-bearing member.

  152. deja vu by gerbouille · · Score: 1

    There's also a French frigate with comparable characteristics, its design is not as stealth and it's not made of carbon but other composite material and it's twice as big. The French Navy has five ships of this type.

    --
    This post is displayed with recycled electrons
  153. Why stealth? MONEY. by Proteus · · Score: 1

    Why develop any new tech? Partially, because the research that went into it helps with other projects, and partially because both the research and the resulting technology can be sold for pretty decent cash.

    --
    We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can. – Cullen Hightower
  154. Re:You mean "when we are hacked we can fall back.. by bluepinstripe · · Score: 1
    Great! Now my Internet connection is being clogged by worms running on Swedish warships.

    I wonder how long it will be until some bloodthirsty dictator considers a worm running on an enemy military computer an act of war?

  155. I can cetainly agree. by LifesABeach · · Score: 0

    "Windows 2000 or Server 2003, most likely, and those are simply not operating systems to be laughed at"

    the dead cannot laugh or cry, and 'nt cannot reboot the dead.

  156. Top ten pastimes for script-kiddies by bluepinstripe · · Score: 1
    Guess I need to add a new entry to my top ten pastimes for script-kiddies:
    • Controlling Swedish warships
  157. not the first one - false information by bsdcow · · Score: 1

    the first stealth ship has been designed and is sold by the french since years ; it has been sold to saudi arabia and taiwan and it's in service since 1990's. the first swedish class appeared in 2000 (june 2000) and it's built started at the same time the first french models were already serving at sea (while not yet certified for operational use at that time).

    the visby is a small ship with 43 crewmen and a length of 72 meters while the french "la fayette" is 125 meters with 164 crewmen.

    more information on world stealth ships :

    http://www.lowobservable.com/shipwor.htm

    you should also check the last improvements on submarines if you are interested in technology on naval warfare. the most interesting thing is the closed-circuit diesel engines which are the most dangerous threat to any nuclear submarine.

    you see, submarines even when stopped have to keep pumps working to cool their nuclear reactor while a diesel engine can really stop and be totally silent, waiting for its nuclear prey to pass by. and since the germans have designed a fully-closed circuit diesel engine that can work for up to a WEEK below water.. it looks like the nuclear submarine is not the idea combat submarine of the future while revised and advanced diesel engines are top-notch :)

    fascinating move isn't it ?

    1. Re:not the first one - false information by BCW2 · · Score: 1

      Actually, some nuc boats use convetion/natural flow cooling at low power settings. With pumps running, a diesel/electric on batteries has always been quiter than any nuc with pumps on. They can be detected by passive sonar, but normally at knife fighting range (< 6000 yards). That is a very short torpedo run, time wise.

      We detected Tangos in the late 70's, regularly. Lucky for us that Soviet sonar was so bad they couldn't hear us.

      --
      Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
  158. Titanic by GQuon · · Score: 1

    Quick! Remove that spyware! Give me manual controll! Aargh! Smell ice, can you? Reboot! Reboot! Emergency stop! Today! We're doing 30 knots here people!

    --
    Irene KHAAAAAAN!
  159. Neutrality?? by Mean_Nishka · · Score: 1

    Isn't Sweden supposed to be neutral?

    1. Re:Neutrality?? by wcrowe · · Score: 1

      How do you suppose they stay that way?

      --
      Proverbs 21:19
  160. It won't be long until it is sunk by scatter_gather · · Score: 1

    by the first carbon fiber stealth torpedo running Linux.

    (Linux reference mandatory for Slashdot posting)

    1. Re:It won't be long until it is sunk by taffeylewis · · Score: 1

      They'll probably get a BSOD (Blue Sea Of Death) YOU_SUNK_MY_BATTLESHIP at 00000000x01 etc...

      --
      I drink, therefor I am... drunk.
  161. Already have one of those. by aidoneus · · Score: 1

    And once again, it's the US leading the way with the latest in cutting edge mil-spec U.ni.vers1ty Di.plomas!! This was posted to slashdot a while ago.

    The 25,000 ton amphibious transport and spam relay

    Just a misconfigured shore-side workstation, but it goes to show that any system can misconfigured.

    -jason

    -jason

  162. Swedish Have a Powerful Navy -Why Imply Otherwise? by dj42 · · Score: 1

    What's with all these people going "OMG wot do teh Sweds need hax0r ship for??!"? Click here to see a page about some of the Swedish naval ships. I mean, they have submarines and stealth ships, etc. Are these "jokes" and comments about why the Swedish would have any need for a military subtle jokes, or ignorant comments from people in the USA who think they are in the only country on earth with a military and navy?

    --
    We are one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. Back to you with the weather, Bob!
  163. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can hear the chef yelling: "Our computer is b0rked!"

  164. likewise fail it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Det var inte menat som humor. Det var menat som en flame.

  165. People that run win NT... by Yaa+101 · · Score: 1

    On mission critical systems and people that link mission critical systems to internet should be jailed and their key thrown away...

  166. Norwegians already have one by spankalee · · Score: 1

    This is not the first stealth ship. The Navy has had a stealth hydrofoil/catamaran design for a while, I believe it's called the P960. They have sold a few to the Norwegians already.

    1. Re:Norwegians already have one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I belive you are slightly wrong; Norway bought some stealth technology from USA. They then built the Skjold MTB class, norwegian built/scheduled in 1 demo-test version and 6 production. Norway tried to sell it back to US, but noe senators supported it becasue it was not US-built.

    2. Re:Norwegians already have one by forgoil · · Score: 1

      I think they called it "Smyge" or something along those lines. Whatever it is called I've seen it myself, and it looks pretty spiffy. I'm sure you could sell it to drug lords for quite an incredible sum of money:)

    3. Re:Norwegians already have one by Professor_Oak · · Score: 1

      Lockheed Martin's Skunkworks built the original stealth ship back in the 80's: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/navyweapons/a/seash adow.htm http://www.stratmag.com/issueJan-1/page03.htm

  167. Article is incorrect. by Run4yourlives · · Score: 2, Informative

    The BBC article makes two glaring errors in the first paragraph, after which I stopped reading.

    1. The U2 is not of a stealth design, unless you consider all gliders as stealth aircraft. The U2 was disigned to fly adjecent to enemy territory, and not over it... which is why the russians had no problems shooting down Gary Powers in one when he "got lost".

    2. The SR-71 is the fastest production plane ever built, and travelled at Mach 3+. It was designed to do one thing - go fast. The faster you go, the hotter you get. Good luck keeping a monsterous semi-molten speeding aircraft off of a radar screen, regardless of it's shape.

    The "first" stealth aircraft was the F-117 which entered service in the 70's, followed by the B-2 which joined in the early 90's.

    To claim otherwise is to talk out of your ass, which is normal for reporters I guess.

    1. Re:Article is incorrect. by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      The BBC article makes two glaring errors in the first paragraph, after which I stopped reading.
      It's not the BBC which made the errors.
      1. The U2 is not of a stealth design, unless you consider all gliders as stealth aircraft. The U2 was disigned to fly adjecent to enemy territory, and not over it... which is why the russians had no problems shooting down Gary Powers in one when he "got lost".
      The U2 was designed to fly at extremely high altitude over enemy territory, which is did on a regular basis, though those overflights ended after Powers was shot down. (That's why there were U2 bases in Norway and Turkey, missions flew between them and thus over the core of the former Soviet Union.) You confuse the U-2 missions with various electronic reconnaissance missions flown alongside (and sometimes slightly inside) the borders of the former Soviet Union. You are however correct that the U-2 is not notably stealthy.
      2. The SR-71 is the fastest production plane ever built, and travelled at Mach 3+. It was designed to do one thing - go fast. The faster you go, the hotter you get. Good luck keeping a monsterous semi-molten speeding aircraft off of a radar screen, regardless of it's shape.
      When it comes to radar, the skin temperature of the aircraft matters not at all. Despite that, the presence of RAM in leading edges of the SR-71's wings is well documented. While not truly stealthy, attempts were made to minimize its radar signature.
      The "first" stealth aircraft was the F-117 which entered service in the 70's, followed by the B-2 which joined in the early 90's.
      Actually, the first stealth aircraft was HAVE BLUE (the so-called 'hopeless diamond') which was built to see if a faceted aircraft could even fly, let alone be stealthy. At first glance it resembles the F-117, but the exact shape and details differ markedly. (HAVE BLUE is often reffered to as the F-117 prototype, but it was more of a technology demonstrator.)
      To claim otherwise is to talk out of your ass, which is normal for reporters I guess.
      One should not blame reporters for getting their facts slightly wrong, when one's 'correction' is even more wrong.
  168. Re:Quick Question... by wcrowe · · Score: 1

    Religion.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  169. Re:Swedish Have a Powerful Navy -Why Imply Otherwi by wcrowe · · Score: 1

    Most Americans are pretty ignorant about the Swedish military, as well as the history which compels Sweden to maintain a modern defence.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  170. Dead in the water by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will this ship be dead in the water like the US Navy ship did because Windows couldn't deal with division by zero?

  171. Norwegians beat the sweeds to it.. by process · · Score: 2, Informative

    ..with KNM Skjold. It's a similar vessel built with a similar material. It has a very low radar signature.

    A bullet from the norwegian standard issue AG-3 would go straight trough the whole ship :P

    They've also built mine-sweepers out of similar materials, to aviod magnetism setting off mines.
    More info on KNM Skjold here.

    Only the sweeds would go with NT :P

    --
    computers let you make more mistakes faster, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila.
  172. Now that you know my plans Mr. Bond by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm afraid I must kill you.

  173. Re:I hear that... by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

    actually it was a zuni rocket. In the millitary missile tends to mean a powered guided munition. The zuni was an ungided rocket. It actually hit the external fuel tank on McCains plane. So he was involved to say the least :) I heard he walked along his inflight refueling probe to escape.
    All and all what you would call a bad day.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  174. The article was right, poster wrong by joggle · · Score: 1

    The article doesn't state that it is the first stealth ship, just the most stealthy and mentions that the US is working on entering a new stealth ship into service around 2011 (the DD(X) destroyer).

  175. Re:I hear that... by teh+Wang · · Score: 0

    Indeed. But sending aluminium ships to war is a bit off too, as the Brits found out in the Falklands in 82. Aluminium tends to burn much like magnesium, making it ideal for troop transports. Oh - btw: thanks USA, our Special Friend, for supporting us when our territory was so aggressively invaded...

  176. Who was first, the chicken or the egg? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    They never had a stealth ship since the mid-80's...
    The Sea Shadow program was begun in the mid-1980s...
    The Swedish project was initiated in 1986:
    In 1986 the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) initiated the development of a stealth test platform, HMS Smyge.
  177. Re:I hear that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is why a 1lb piece of styrofoam brought down the shuttle that used a carbon edge on the wing!
    Thus, all we have to do is through a mach speed piece of foam at the ship and it will sink.

  178. Now I know that you're taking the piss... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 1

    Sweden looks like they're taking a lesson from Switzerland - the best way to ensure neutrality is by being able to defend yourself against your neighbors.

    You're giving Switzerland as an example of a vigilant neutral nation? The same Switzerland that's so committed to defending itself that until recently its military personnel didn't carry guns? The same Switzerland that's so obsessed with being neutral in every aspect that it's not even a member of the UN? (Switzerland, like the Vatican City, has permanent observer status at the UN.)

    Even ignoring your poor example, the fact remains that Sweden has no enemies whatsoever. Norway certainly isn't a threat (the countries have been peaceful neighbours for a long time now) and even if it was a heavily-armed navy isn't how to best defend yourself against a country with which you share one of the longest land borders in the world. Ditto for Finland. The Baltic states are all NATO members and new to the EU, so the idea of any of them attacking a fellow EU nation is laughable. Which leaves Russia, which wants to join NATO itself, foster greater ties with the EU and to shed off the last vestiges of its Cold War image of the Great Bear.

    So, tell me again how much danger Sweden faces from its neighbours in the 21st century?

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
    1. Re:Now I know that you're taking the piss... by ymgve · · Score: 1

      Denmark. You forgot Denmark.

    2. Re:Now I know that you're taking the piss... by ttsalo · · Score: 1
      The same Switzerland that's so committed to defending itself that until recently its military personnel didn't carry guns?

      What Switzerland? The one where the reservists keep their guns at home just in case someone tried to catch them off guard like Norway in WW2?

      So, tell me again how much danger Sweden faces from its neighbours in the 21st century?

      You gazed into your crystal ball and saw that Russia has a peaceful, democratic rest of the century ahead of it? No chance whatsoever that anything else could happen? No need to consider alternatives even when your national existence could be at stake?

      Could you also check out the next week's lottery numbers while you're at it?

      --

      --
      If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, where does the road paved with evil intentions lead to?
    3. Re:Now I know that you're taking the piss... by Warlok · · Score: 1
      Yes, the same Switzerland where every home is legislated to have a gun and someone who knows how to use it. The same Switzerland that maintained neutrality through two 20th century European wars involving almost all of their neighbors. The same Switzerland that has the strength not get involved in the U.N. and it's disdain for sovereign nations ruling themselves without input from outsiders, and can keep "peacekeepers" from asking them to join at gunpoint.

      --
      ...and you run and you run and you can't stop what's been done...
  179. Re:In your face, uptight toolbag moderator by Roto-Rooter+Man · · Score: 1

    Ah yes, the moderation system.

    If you post something at +1 that everyone hates, your post ends up at -1. Net karma: -2

    If you post something at +1 that half the moderators think is funny, and half the moderators think is overrated, your post can bounce up and down perpetually, with only the negative votes actually counting toward your karma. If you get 100 mod-ups for being funny and 100 mod-downs for being overrated, net karma: -100.

    If you were at the karma cap before, now you're down below most trolls and crapflooders, and can only post twice a day, assuming your IP hasn't been banned.

    --

    The goatse guy for president. Win one for the gaper!
  180. The Visby by jerk_kill_blue · · Score: 1

    shouldn't they have named this ship the Invisby?

    --
    -- i'm not paranoid. who told you that???
  181. Test it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now let's start a war with Russia, so that we can see if it's a good ship.

  182. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mmmm! let met guess is it 23 degrees? the "type 23" ship name.

  183. In Addition by thelizman · · Score: 1

    ...and this may have been pointed out, but the US Navy built the first "stealth ship" years ago. This isn't even the first stealth ocean-going surface ship. The us built the IX-529 Sea Shadow in the late 1980's and began testing it in the 1990's.

  184. The Meaning of Visby by Yunzil · · Score: 1

    The word "Visby" is defined in The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd as:

    Visby (n) The pointy, tent-like structure in the bedclothes with which a man indicates to his partner that he thinks it's high time she stopped fiddling around in the bathroom cupboard and came to bed.

    This is probably not what they intended.

    1. Re:The Meaning of Visby by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi,

      It may come as total surprise to you, but not all countries have english as first language.

      Visby is a coastal town in Sweden.
      A quick search with google will confirm that.
      Or you can have a look at this webpage: http://whc.unesco.org/sites/731.htm

  185. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's 42 degrees.

    Posting anonymously for obvious reasons.

  186. The US Navy had complete stealth... by falken0905 · · Score: 0

    in 1943 at Philadelphia harbor. Of course there were a few 'minor' problems.

  187. IE Interface by HannethCom · · Score: 1

    At the BizTalk 2004 product launch, one company was showing of an emergency response system that uses IE as an interface. They simulated a disaster and when they tried using the system to warn people in the area (a select number of people in the room), IE locked up. They killed IE and restarted it. Total time to respond to disaster 1 minute 45 seconds. Needed response time, about 30 seconds. 45 seconds was the goal for maximum response time, but is not acceptable as the regular response time.

    --
    Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
  188. Me, too. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I served aboard this one.

  189. Meanwhile, 1500 miles of the coast of... by bl8n8r · · Score: 1

    First Mate Higsby checks his email which appears to be coming from Captain Johnson. All of a sudden the main engines shut down, and the forward flood gates open allowing water to begin filling the Visby. Minutes later, Captain Johnson makes an announcement on the bridge that although the Visby is taking on water like a sponge, they will be switching to manual steering so the crew can select a spot in which to drown.

    --
    boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
  190. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by sharkdba · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The Visby corvette is going to be in active service in the swedish navy.

    I thought I post a small correction here: Sweden being a neutral country (spared them in WWII), doesn't have a need for large/modern army/defense. However, their military manufacturing makes a decent chunk of their economy. They export most of the goods, and if the stuff is modern enough there will be lot of buyers.

    --
    The purpose of life is to find the purpose of life.
  191. Try 1794 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The US Navy has had stealth (non-metal) ships in commission for a long time. Read about it here. Excellent fuel economy as well.

  192. Reminds me of... by Cyno01 · · Score: 1

    Ha ha ha, you dumb bastard... it's not a schooner, it's a sailboat!

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
  193. And when something goes wrong... by neon777 · · Score: 0

    Hi, my name is Clippy! It looks like you're trying to steer away from that iceberg!

  194. It looks like a B-2 bomber photoshopped by neon777 · · Score: 0

    into the water. Seriously, are they feeding us misinformation or something?

  195. Project Rainbow & Stealth Ships by surfimp · · Score: 1

    A quote from the article:

    "Ships will never be completely invisible. A lot of modern submarines are extremely hard to detect, but that is always going to be difficult for a surface ship to match." Commodore Stephen Saunders of Jane's Fighting Ships

    Well, I guess that guy never heard of The Philadelphia Experiment ;)

    Anyways, as far as a surface ship matching the "undetectability" of a submarine: once they sink they get pretty hard to find, eh?

  196. Obligatory USS Yorktown Reference! by Omega · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The US Navy tried to use Windows NT as a "ship operating system" a few years back and it died in the water because of an O.S. crash. It had to be towed back to the ship yard.

    The link referenced in the /. article seems to be dead, but Google found it's new location.

  197. Re:In your face, uptight toolbag moderator by PeterPumpkin · · Score: 1

    Amen!

    This broken system is especially irking when you post something not meant as a joke, and it is taken that way.

    Probably the best thing to do when you reach karma cap is to post everything AC, and possibly mark your username at the bottom of the post. Every once and awhile you see a good +5 interesting or insightful comment posted AC, and you wonder "why'd whoever do that?". Well, now I know, to protect the Karma from the unpredictable, unemployed, humorless, chip-on-shoulder types. ;)

  198. Ask the Swedish Chef by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whereda puta mina boata? Itsa inveesable!

  199. Why they need to watch the Norwegians by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

    They want Sweden's lutefisk!

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  200. "could see the enemy on its radar" - not likely by S3D · · Score: 1

    In a nutshell, if the Visby was 100km from an enemy vessel it could see the enemy on its radar but not vice versa.
    I highly doubt it and suspect some sloppy journalism here. As soon as ship or plane firing it's radar invisibility is over. Anti-radiation missiles are in use from fifties, proven themself extremly effective in Vietnam, and can be homed on active radar (modern even on short radar pings). The stelth should be used only with passive detection/guidance means.

  201. Re:I hear that... by captainClassLoader · · Score: 1

    Senator John McCain has survived 5 plane crashes, internment in a POW camp, and cancer. I'm convinced he's some kind of stealth Terminator unit.

    --
    "The plural of anecdote is not data" -- Bruce Schneier
  202. Even better... by kikta · · Score: 1
    which is why they have a signature, but it is a lot like a flock of birds, not an airplane.

    Actually, I remember reading an article where one of the guys at Skunkworks who developed the technology said that the F-117's signature was about the size of a crow.

    And according to this the B-2's and F-22's signatures are about the size of an aluminum marble and an aluminum golf ball, respectively. For comparison's sake, the source says a B-52 signature is that of a sphere with a 170-foot diameter.
    1. Re:Even better... by azmatsci · · Score: 1

      Whatever - if they did tell the author, which they didn't, they didn't tell them the actual answer. That's like anouncing your SS# and credit cards on the internet for everyone to use.

      --
      I stole this sig.
  203. A red herring? by j33px0r · · Score: 1

    Maybe they'll havest more of those awesome little red swedish fishies...

  204. Too late to get modded +5 funny, but lets try... by imsabbel · · Score: 1

    I always though stealth ships were old stuff. Arent they called submarines....?

    --
    HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  205. Not to mention the fact... by sean.peters · · Score: 1

    ... that 100 km is over the radar horizon, and neither ship would be able to see the other.

    Sean

  206. Re:In your face, uptight toolbag moderator by Leffe · · Score: 1

    You will get IP banned if you post as AC :/

    Just one failed funny post is enough, my last one reallly failed, and I got banned for at least 3 days, possibly more.

    I hope I can post now :)

  207. "Secret" angle to reduce radar signature by sakyamuni · · Score: 1
    A Ministry of Defence spokesman said [...] "We use a secret angle on our Type 23 frigates which enables our ships to reduce their radar signature to an absolute minimum."

    This sounds like something out of a Monty Python skit. The BBC's reporter was presumably professional enough not to laugh out loud when the MOD spokesdrone said that.

    Anyway, I'm off to the USPTO to patent a few angles.

  208. Re:laugh at... by chrwei · · Score: 1

    so they think we're laughing WITH them?

    --
    - Disclaimer: Information in this post deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
  209. -1 Dull by uhlume · · Score: 1

    Redundancy is repeating yourself by restating a point. An oxymoron is two contradicting points used together.

    Dull is missing the point entirely, as your misplaced pedantry does.

    --
    SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
  210. Stealth technology, very important by butane_bob2003 · · Score: 1

    Especially with all the radar equipped AK-47s, IEDs, and RPGs that have been killing MOST of our troops since the Vietnam war. I'm sure a carbon-fiber-hulled-radar-invisible gunship is also completely impervious to attacks from small inflatable crafts full of explosives piloted by crazed muslim extremist suicide bombers. And the swedes were brilliant to put their faith in Windows NT, it performs so well in mission critical maritime applications: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,13987, 00.html

    --


    TallGreen CMS hosting
  211. Windows has a bad ring to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe Win NT can be made secure and stable (not in my experience), but just the use of Windows gives me a vision of clueless MSCE morons trying to put things together.

  212. First stealth ship? I don't think so by foobuddha · · Score: 1

    "As well as being the first stealth ship..."

    The Norwegian KNM Skjold were built some five years ago, and do have stealth capabilities.

    KNM Skjold were last year in the US to demonstrate its capabilities to the US Navy.

    From http://www.knmskjold.org/english/engfacts.htm:
    "For the first time radar absorbing materials are included in the loadbearing structure (structural RAM) of a vessel over large areas. This contributes to significant weight reduction compared to the conventional method of cladding this material on the outside of the load bearing structure. The ship is designed with a low number of reflective panel orientations and none right angled corners. This is the reason for the faceted external shape of the vessel."

  213. Mission Critical Application? by CodeBuster · · Score: 1

    Doesn't the WindowsNT License contain language to the effect that it should not be used in any situation where human lives are at risk? Wouldn't this warship be a perfect example of this? Forget about hackers, what happens when a malfunction accidentally triggers the weapons system?

    1. Re:Mission Critical Application? by thebigmacd · · Score: 1

      I'm willing to wager that most software systems used by the military are covered by such disclaimers from the developers. Military technology tends to be underwritten by the government, removing responsibility from the company.

      After all, the military does all of their own testing; if there is still a glitch the problem lies in their requirements.

  214. Re:Get your mind off the PC by CyberDruid · · Score: 1

    You are talking about PCs. Personal Computers. This is not about Windows or Linux or whatever your fetish is about. It is about a single x86 computer not normally being considered "state-of-the-art" compared to the really powerful computers. And windows does _not_ run on these systems.

    Now, perhaps they do not need anything more powerful than a PC. But state-of-the-art in computing? Puh-leez.

    --

    Opinions stated are mine and do not reflect those of the Illuminati

  215. Nice moderation... by zyche · · Score: 1

    The most interesting about this post is that only half the people that has moderated it (up till now) understood the reference. "Score:3 Interesting"... Do you believe in santa too?

  216. Actually, by Run4yourlives · · Score: 1

    We're both a little off...

    I found this, which should shed a little light on things.

  217. Re:I hear that... by random_static · · Score: 1

    being able to survive AP hits would be neat, but why would anybody even be firing incendiary shells at a tank in the first place...?

  218. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by UltimaL337Star · · Score: 1

    The answer is 42

  219. well, well, well by zogger · · Score: 1

    thankyou for the clarification of the urban legend. A quick google check showed a lot of sites still reporting the sheffield as being made of aluminum(which was merely my recollection of the reported events back then), but enough with cred, like your link, prove otherwise, so I stand corrected with this material science refresher. Thank you. They did switch back to all or mostly all steel though for new ship design,from various problems with aluminum (mostly it is not that great for armor), some mention in the article in the following link.

    For anyone interested, who might not have been around to remember this short but nasty war,here is a link to a short history of the conflict

  220. 'Tis absolutely true by leonbrooks · · Score: 1

    Coworker of mine had to find new hardware that he could move a failing MS-Windows NT 4.0 server onto, and it was no picnic. Video driver is VGA (1024x768x8 at flat strap, zero hardware acceleration), there's no working USB drivers at all (not that it matters here) and the on-board network card had to be, er, assisted with an end-of-model PCI plugin. And he counts himself lucky to have gotten that far.

    As to their claims of invulnerability, may I refer you to CERT's attitude on that matter? Search for "making the theoretical practical since 1992".

    --
    Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
  221. 9LV MK3E - the famous NT4 box by priich · · Score: 1

    Well i posted this last time this topic was around but i guess i'll just quote myself since someone might want to see the linky to the ntbox the fud is about...

    ' The combat managment system here,9LV Mark3E from celsiustech/saabtech/saab systems, is already in common use.
    I think they have sold some 50 systems to like 8 or 9 countries and i haven't heard of bluescreen issues yet.
    Here's a link (in english) to the product. 9LV MK3E '

    1. Re:9LV MK3E - the famous NT4 box by priich · · Score: 1

      arrgh , ohh well here's the correct link

  222. It worked too well - which means it didn't work. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    If you google for skunkworks sea shadow, you should be able to find a picture of it.

    So it didn't work then?


    Correct - in a way. The stealth ship worked VERY well. It didn't reflect any radar.

    The problem was that it wasn't TRANSPARENT. You see the WAVES reflect radar. So even on a low-tech search radar there's a low-grade speckle from the waves - which varies with the wind and wave condition.

    The stealth ship blocked the wave reflection. So there was a blank spot where the ship was, and a big streak behind it that was blank as well.

    It was like a big dark exclamation point, or an arrowhead, with the "stealth" ship right at the point.

    So the project got canned.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  223. Shouldn't it be called... by psoriac · · Score: 1

    ... the Invisby?

    --
    I browse Slashdot at +3, Funny
  224. leave it to /. ignorance and FUD... by cball2k · · Score: 0

    poor little /. trolls, they done been fed again....

    I would be humbled if even one /. linux noob had a freaking clue WTF they were talking about when bashing MS... ...but this will never happen since they are all clueless babies that jumped on the "i hate ms" bandwagon without learning a damned thing about the MS OS's!!!!!!!!! (reading the FUD the linux troll commitee points them to, is not LEARNING, it's just brainwashing!)

    --
    karma, hah...
    1. Re:leave it to /. ignorance and FUD... by antispam_ben · · Score: 1

      I shouldn't feed you (what we have here is the pot calling the kettle a troll), but anyway...

      I've installed Linux on an old machine, and barely know enough to be dangerous. I should learn more about it. I've had all too much experience with MS products (I suppose I could be an IT person, but I'd rather clean toilets), and I've seen Windows machines things fail by themselves, and then there's the extra burden of back doors that crackers and spammers regularly exploit, at least until it crashes.

      --
      Tag lost or not installed.
  225. bend over and grab... by alizard · · Score: 1
    Somebody grabbed this quote from me as a sig file:
    For a corporation or governmental organization to mandate the use of [MS Outlook Express] is the cybernetic equivalent of going to a crowded corner on Castro Street in San Francisco, greasing up one's asshole while standing on the sidewalk, grabbing one's ankles, and yelling "FUCK ME! FUCK ME!" And then whining about getting raped when one finds oneself pulling a train.-- A. Lizard

    Since that same class of mistake is being repeated, it seemed appropriate to dig out that quote.

    Ordering that critical systems on a warship be run on NT or any derivative operating system is the exact military equivalent to greasing up, bending over. . . in a social context.

    I'm glad I'm not going to be on one of those "stealth ships" when the hammer comes down and EVIL TERRORIST HACKERS get blamed when the ship . . . I don't know what it'll do either, but I'm pretty sure it won't be what the captain asked for. And chances are, terrorists will have nothing to do with it, it'll be an e-mail attachment that got automatically opened by somebody's copy of Outhouse Express that'll take the ship down. There are still questions about what role MS operating systems played in a recent multi-state blackout in the USA. Or the missile cruiser Long Beach, which by odd coincidence, was running NT for long enough to get out to sea. Before a systems crash forced it to be towed to port.

    If I were Swedish, I'd be demanding that my Member of Parliament start an investigation as to just WTF their Navy was thinking in its decision to make their warships into soft targets and find out who needs to be fired and who merely ought to be demoted. Before one of those ultra-expensive stealth warships finds itself pulling a train.

    While the experience of dying for nothing is hardly unique in military history, dying to increase the profits of MS Corporation really isn't worth it.

  226. Will it ship in a couple of flat boxes too? by vicparedes · · Score: 1

    Like my IKEA furniture?

  227. Totally and Pathetically Dependent on Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    'More viewers than Jeopardy' said the billboards of Windows. Swedes are totally and pathetically dependent on Microsoft. The country even has a 'favorite nation' status with the Redmond clowns. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, they just don't get it. They run the most obnoxious and atrocious workstation setups and cannot imagine anything but IIS on the web server. If Swedes see two commercials for two different laundry detergents on TV in the same evening, they get confused and suicidal.

  228. Angles and rolling seas? by Trackster · · Score: 1

    In rolling seas all those angles will be changing.

  229. Turbo Pascal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You think this is bad - they had this fighter plane crashing all over the place, killing people even. It was built to always be out of balance so the computer-controlled navigation system would keep it in balance. Like that. Funny thing was they wrote it in fucking Turbo Pascal. But it wasn't so funny how people died. Fucking Swedes.

  230. Re:Too late to get modded +5 funny, but lets try.. by BCW2 · · Score: 1

    Almost, but they do the best damn imitation of a hole in the ocean you've never heard.

    A former bubblehead.

    --
    Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
  231. Man overboard! by Trackster · · Score: 1

    I'd hate to be sent out on the deck of that thing in any kind of wind or rough seas!

  232. Re:I hear that... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

    To cook the occupants. Not nice. But stil effective.

  233. B1??? by midifarm · · Score: 1
    The B-1 Lancer is NOT a stealth plane. It's design and concept was to be a low level bomber that flew under the radar. I think you were referring to the B-2 Spirit; however, the Spirit doesn't rely on paint.

    Peace

  234. Re:It worked too well - which means it didn't work by midifarm · · Score: 1
    How do you "know" it got canned? As far as I'm aware it's still in SD and still has funding.

    They had a nice piece on it on the History channel.

    Peace

  235. Want to know about "no sense of humour?" by lewko · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I am the original poster of "And now...In Swedish".

    Ten seconds after I clicked submit, expecting instand +5 Funny, some PHILISTINE had modded me down as offtopic.

    Vhet a foockeeng ideeut! Bork Bork Bork....

    --
    Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
    1. Re:Want to know about "no sense of humour?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YHBT.

  236. Re:It worked too well - which means it didn't work by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    How do you "know" it got canned? As far as I'm aware it's still in SD and still has funding.

    The article I saw about it CLAIMED it got canned.

    Maybe it went deeper black.

    Seems to me you could solve this problem with an active system - a crown of sector antennas and radar amplifiers: Whatever they see in one direction they repeat in the other, with gain in proportion to the ratio of the ship area to antenna area.

    One problem with this is that if you get between two retroreflectors your active stealth device becomes the amplifier in a maser oscilator. B-) (But by then you're probably a BIG naked-eye target.)

    Another is that you distort the delay time and phase, which might be detectable. But it would be a LOT less detectable than a big black arrowhead on the screen. B-)

    A third is that you'll inject noise and still diffract the signal a bit, which would be detectable on passive and active systems respectively. But again it would still be a MUCH smaller target than a non-stealthy ship - like dinghy vs. cruiser.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  237. Re:I hear that... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    It still doesn't sound very useful. I would think that they would be more interested in firing high explosive shells at it - explosive shells are the reason reactive armor had to be invented. I'm skeptical about any reactive armor's ability to deflect damage from significantly-sized armor piercing high explosive rounds, however.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  238. industrial control vendors have integrated with NT by pensivemusic · · Score: 1

    http://www.industrialnetworking.co.uk/mag/v9-5/f_r ealtime.html this is not something that is purely NT or PLC but a hybrid of them, at least when used by US military contractors.

  239. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by leandrod · · Score: 1
    > The Visby corvette is going to be in active service in the swedish navy

    That is, it will be in service if MS WNT doesn't crash... remember the Ægis cruiser.

    --
    Leandro Guimarães Faria Corcete DUTRA
    DA, DBA, SysAdmin, Data Modeller
    GNU Project, Debian GNU/Lin
  240. To the idiot who modded me troll by Rufus88 · · Score: 1

    Somebody writes a bunch of text that sounds like The Swedish Chef (from the muppets), and I add the Swedish Chef's famous tagline at the end of it, and you call that a troll? Hey, I thought it was funny, but even if you didn't, that doesn't make it a troll.

  241. Re:The US has had a stealth ship since the mid-80' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love it when skimmers talk about "stealth."

  242. Re:It worked too well - which means it didn't work by Rich0 · · Score: 1

    What about doppler radar off the waves splashing off the hull?

    Granted, it is only moving at about 30 knots, but you might be able to use doppler to separate waves bouncing off the hull from general ocean churn.