The root cause of a series of US warships continuously colliding

The collision of the destroyer USS John S. McCain with the oil tanker Alnic MC was the last straw that forced the US Navy to reassess its fleet.

"Two consecutive ship collisions in the past 3 months. This trend forces us to take stronger action. Therefore, I have directed to temporarily suspend all operations with all US fleets worldwide," US Navy Commander, Admiral John Richardson announced.

The USS Fitzgerald was rammed by a cargo ship in a collision in June.

The Navy will quickly review its training, at-sea training, tactical capabilities, navigation, performance, and personnel capabilities, he said.

Defense Secretary James Mattis also supported the decision, saying it would help determine what was happening to one of the world's largest warship fleets.

According to CNN, the collision of a US destroyer in the waters off Singapore on August 21 was the fourth time a state-of-the-art US warship had an accident since the beginning of the year.

In late January, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile destroyer USS Antietam ran aground off the coast of Japan, spilling oil into Tokyo Bay. In May, the US cruiser USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing boat while on a training mission in waters south of Ulleung Island.

Recently, the USS Fitzgerald - one of the most modern warships in the world collided with the cargo ship ACX Crystal, killing 7 sailors.

A series of consecutive incidents have raised questions about the seemingly problematic training of the US Navy, as well as the combat and operational capabilities of the world's most advanced warships.

What is the error?

"The Navy is not looking good right now, especially when we need ships equipped with the Aegis defense system to deal with ballistic missiles," said Rick Francona, a maritime expert.

USS John S. McCain is equipped with state-of-the-art radar systems, sensors and equipment.

In a recent report on the collision between the Fitzgerald and the cargo ship, the US Navy said it would review training and personnel, and acknowledged that poor team coordination and poor leadership contributed to the accident.

This conclusion clearly shows that human factors were the likely cause of the collision.

Similar to the case of the USS John S. McCain, many maritime experts believe that the crew on duty may have failed to fulfill their responsibilities, leading to the unfortunate incident.

"How could a modern destroyer equipped with state-of-the-art radar and communication systems not see, detect, and avoid a 30,000-ton monster moving sluggishly at nearly 20 km/h?" Mr. Francona emphasized, saying that no matter what the tanker was doing, with the difference in speed, the US destroyer could still completely control the situation if it detected the risk of collision early.

“Obviously when you move into an area with a high density of ships, you need to warn multiple times and constantly monitor the surrounding details,” Carl Schuster, former director of the Joint Information Center, Pacific Command, shared a similar view.

In the case of the USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald, they are both Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers equipped with the Aegis missile defense system, with the AN/SPY-1D radar that can track 100 targets at a distance of 190 km.

Seth Cropsey, director of the Center for US Naval Power at the Hudson Institute (CAS), said that these advanced equipment and sensor systems will help ships cover a large area of ​​the ocean, but they are operated by humans.

In addition, the two recent collisions with US ships both occurred on busy shipping routes around midnight or early morning, when sailors may be sleepy and not alert./.

According to VOV