Marine Threat Detection Neutralisation

摘要

Since Man first developed the ability to build and operate marine craft, the maritime environment has been used as a principal channel of power projection. Maritime races abound in history - the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Venetians, the Spanish, the British, the Japanese, the Americans - all these nations and more have used the marine arena as a potent instrument of political and economic power. And along with power projection - as in every other field of human endeavour - comes the necessity to counter it - and the tools with which to do so. The events of September 11th 2001 focused the world's attention on an arena that had been of enormous concern to security experts for years - infrastructure terrorism. Having been confronted with the need to imagine and prepare for the hitherto unimaginable, great attention has been focused in the last two years on considering the way in which essential physical and virtual infrastructure constructs of modern society can best be protected against those whose only ambition is to disturb, disrupt and destroy. In order to gainsay those who hold that governments always stand ready to refight the last conflict, much has been done in considering alternative possible methods of imposing terror. Of course, the use of passenger aircraft as weapons of mass destruction is foremost in the planners' minds. But other areas of vulnerability are also under close scrutiny.