Virginia.

This is coolbert:

"All that remains for me to add is, that you keep the whole matter as Secret as possible. For upon Secrecy, Success depends in Most Enterprizes of the Kind, and for want of it, they are generally defeated," - - G. Washington.

The USNS Impeccable was towing a submerged sonar sled, being used to map the sea floor?

This does constitute an intelligence mission of sorts. Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield [oceanic]! ESPECIALLY IN AN AREA OF THE OCEAN [NEAR HAINAN ISLAND] WHERE THE CHINESE ARE APT TO FEEL THAT YOU ARE STEPPING ON THEIR TOES!!

Denying this sort of information to U.S. naval forces was the intent of the Chinese “trawler” vessels? Intimidation of a counter-intelligence, counter-reconnaissance sort!

[increased counter-intelligence/counter-reconnaissance is normally an indication that your adversary has something to hide!! There is something they do not want you to know about! They are taking active preventative measures for a GOOD REASON!]

The Virginia class nuclear submarines are more ideally suited for this type of mission [mapping the sea floor] in areas of the world where a U.S. presence is highly suspected, and ill tolerated?

Those Virginia class subs have been configured for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions from the start. Have a capability, embedded, as they say, to perform sea floor mapping, electronic-warfare [EW] missions, etc.



AND CAN DO SO IN A STEALTHY MANNER NOT DETECTED BY THE POTENTIAL ADVERSARY! Stealthiness in such matters [intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance] is far preferable to operating in an open and obvious manner?

This is a far superior approach than what the U.S. Navy did in the 1960’s. Deployed in the various oceans of the world a series of AGTR [technical research] ships THAT OPERATED IN AN OPEN AND OBVIOUS MANNER! Ships with the name of Banner, Pueblo, Liberty, etc. Vessels, transport craft for the most part, modified to perform intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance missions.



Warships [??] that stood out like sore thumbs, made tempting targets, AND ON TWO OCCASIONS, WERE CONFRONTED AND SUBJECTED TO COMBAT ACTION WITH DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES [Pueblo, Liberty]! Warships [?] that were not prepared for combat and were crewed by personnel not physically or mentally having the wherewithal to fight back when engaged by an enemy!

One of those Virginia class subs [a combat vessel] can make a very fast foray into an area, perhaps with just the mast slightly above water to get a GPS position, pinging the bottom with low-power sonar as it goes, performing the mapping of the ocean bottom much more effectively, AND IN A MUCH MORE STEALTHIER MANNER!!??

“I am sir, you most obedient servant” - - G. Washington.

coolbert.