I was thinking again about pirates, since they killed some folks. I already posted Pirate repelling gas a while ago, but it seems like most pirate trouble occurs after the pirates take a ship and hold the crew hostage. How to incapacitate the pirates before they kill the crew? One would think that pirates, not being religious zealots, would surrender the hostages and hope for the best if faced by an organized military but scared people do irrational things.

Consider the Predator: small, maneuverable. But a low flying predator aircraft would spook the pirates. What about a submarine? Even big subs full of people are very hard to detect if you do not have dedicated equiment for doing so. An unmanned sub would be even harder to detect unless it came along side and thumbed its nose at you.

The sub would be remotely controlled. It could release incapacitating gas right below small ships, at night. For big ships it could attach to the bottom and bore a hole, then pump in the gas.

Such a weapon could be useful in a full-on war as well. It could use the gas, affix bombs to ships or bridge pilings, or deploy mines.

I think it may be difficult to remotely control a submerged robot at distance and depth. One could devise a floating relay station with a long trailing underwater antenna. The floating station would have a low profile and people on ships would not easily see or recognize it. It would also be all ghillified with flotsam, possibly some jetsam, weeds and so on. Or it could float just below the surface. This sort of thing could probably approach within a few miles of a targeted ship, relaying a satellite signal down to the unmanned sub.
-- bungston, Feb 23 2011

Pirate repelling gas Pirate_20repelling_20gas/addnote#addnote
For rescuing hostages from pirates the weaponized Russian-style fentanyl would be too fast; the hostages would die before your medics could board and give them the antidote. [bungston, Feb 23 2011]

I like the idea of remote vessels out there hunting pirates but not too sure if a sub is the way to go.

I'd put the money into unmanned yachts with a machine gun that pops up when the ship gets boarded, sinks the pirate's boat and sails towards the closest naval ship with the captured pirates on board.

Like a roach motel for pirates.

See my idea: Roach Motel For Pirates
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 23 2011


These things would not hunt the enormous area involved, but be deployed by naval vessels that could not come close without risking the hostages.
-- bungston, Feb 23 2011


Just nuke Somalia.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2011


Hmmm. Crude, but effective.
-- 8th of 7, Feb 23 2011


//it seems like most pirate trouble occurs after the pirates take a ship and hold the crew hostage//

Well, from that perspective, I would say it tends to get violent once you start getting government agencies involved.

Personally, I think that piracy is only worth while if the value of targets is worth the time spent hunting for them. I would therefore go for the 'decoy' option. Apply a lick of paint to a load of clapped-out, old boats and deploy them liberally about the affected sea lanes. Your decoys would need to display some sort of activity in order to be effective, so steer them by remote control via satellites and perhaps put up a few fairy lights around the superstructure and perhaps some shiny paper liberally strewn around the deck. I'm sure it would be like catnip for pirates but without the satisfying reward once they've wasted their time chasing after it.
-- DrBob, Feb 24 2011


Subs are far too slow to do the job of patrolling effectively without a mass of them.

I'm curious as to what the effective range of an EMP pulse would be, and if it could knock out a pirate's motor.

I always thought the HB liked pirates?
-- RayfordSteele, Feb 24 2011


Only when they're not real, Rayford,. Only when they're not real.
-- DrBob, Feb 25 2011


If you could train North Koreans to dress and act like Ninjas, but without any real Ninja skills, preferably the silent mime types, that could be an effective pirate deterrent. They could then go teach their faux-ninja skills to the Great Leader, who would force such teaching upon the whole of the North Korean army, allowing for a swift conquering of NK by the South. Two birds.
-- RayfordSteele, Feb 25 2011


// But a low flying predator aircraft would spook the pirates. //

This is an undesirable outcome because?

// knock out a pirate's motor. //

EMP weapons work only on electrical systems. The pirates probably can't afford an electric or diesel-electric boat, so all you're likely to do is burn out their radios and cell phones. And your own.

The effective range is limited only by the power of the device.
-- Alx_xlA, Feb 26 2011


// But a low flying predator aircraft would spook the pirates. //

/This is an undesirable outcome because?/

they get trigger happy.
-- bungston, Feb 26 2011


The last I knew, motors had spark plugs.
-- RayfordSteele, Feb 27 2011



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