Originally Posted by
ChrisJ800
My last sailboat had downward sonar (depth gauge) and forward looking sonar for going into an anchorage. I assume these low current devices are not stealthy. I can understand a sub switching these off in time of war or when in foreign waters and wanting to be stealthy, but why not use them for the rest of the time? Obviously I am a pilot who can sail, but not a submariner! But is there a balance between safety and stealthiness?
I would imagine one reason is you would want your vessels operating in or near their wartime areas, thus if the poo did hit the fan and rapidly escalate literally in days, the boat would be where it was needed, not having to fast track there. Hence you wouldn’t want to announce your position.