Russian Attack Submarine Spent Weeks in Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Officials Say

Online, September 21, 2012 (Newswire.com) - According to media reports in mid-August, a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks, and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region. The sub was believed to have been either an Akula 1 or Akula 2. It is not known why the submarine conducted the operation.

The presence of the submarine exposed what U.S. officials said were deficiencies in U.S. anti-submarine warfare capabilities-forces that are facing cuts under the Obama administration's plan to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years.

"The U.S. Navy is in charge of detecting submarines, and uses undersea sensors and satellites to locate and track them," said Steve Williams, CEO of Intellicheck Mobilisa, a developer of identity and wireless security systems. "The fact that the Russian sub was not detected in the Gulf is cause for concern."

Three years ago, Intellicheck Mobilisa was awarded a $4.5 million U.S. Navy contract to expand an existing security buoy project in Puget Sound. In late 2011, the company was awarded approximately $3 million to renew its buoy contract with the Navy, and in 2012, the Navy deployed two more of the company's buoys into Puget Sound.

The company's Littoral Sensor Grid (LSG) project is a buoy system that collects environmental and security data and uses the company's Wireless Over Water (WOW) technology to transmit the data to the shore Network Operations Center (NOC) for dissemination.

The wireless security buoys provide a high-capacity communications network grid to provide real-time monitoring for marine environments. The buoys can include sensors for both homeland security and environmental purposes. They are capable of detecting materials above, on or below the surface of the water, and can measure water temperature, pH balance and turbidity. If any of the various indicators is out of whack, it could suggest the presence of harmful materials in the water-for example, debris from an explosion or chemicals used for a bomb.