Klein Marine Systems, filial de Mitcham Industries, ha entregado a la US Navy el sistema µMA-X, primero de una serie de nuevos sistemas concebidos para la adquisición de imágenes.
Diseñado para los mercados de vehículos no tripulados comerciales y militares, tiene un tamaño reducido y menores requisitos de potencia que la media de competidores en su segmento.
Las imágenes de alta calidad producidas por el sistema, se pueden enviar directamente al software de reconocimiento automático de objetivos (ATR) existente, permitiendo la detección y el reconocimiento de objetivos de una manera automatizada.
El codirector ejecutivo de Mitcham Industries, Guy Malden, dijo: “El sistema µMA-X es el resultado de un desarrollo acelerado y financiado internamente, y estamos muy entusiasmados de que la US Navy evalúe su efectividad para el programa de vehículos submarinos no tripulados. Consideramos que la Marina de los Estados Unidos es un excelente cliente de referencia y nuestro equipo ha trabajado duro para cumplir con sus expectativas".
General Dynamics Mission Systems and General Dynamics Electric Boat demonstrated multiple mission command, control and communication capabilities connecting Bluefin Robotics’ unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and a third-party provided unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a simulated AN/BYG-1 submarine combat control center ashore.
The General Dynamics team demonstrated capabilities for real-time, two-way communications from the AN/BYG-1 control center to change the mission Bluefin SandShark UUV, via a third-party UAV while the Bluefin SandShark was operating in the water.
The General Dynamics team also launched both a Bluefin SandShark UUV and a Hammerhead canister containing the third-party AUV from two platforms, a Bluefin-21 medium-weight UUV and then from a STAPLS launcher designed by General Dynamics Electric Boat.
Kenneth Perry, a vice president of General Dynamics Electric Boat said, “The General Dynamics team successfully demonstrated our innovative STAPLs submarine payload launcher with UAV and UUV payloads, all integrated via an air-land-undersea network. It reflects General Dynamics’ commitment to delivering advanced and relevant undersea capabilities for the Navy.”
Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, says they could get closer to the target faster by counting unmanned vessels with capabilities similar to a manned ship.
Richardson brought senior officers to Newport, Rhode Island, this month to talk about accelerating their development. The future Navy is going to be very different from today’s fleet, he said. Richardson said he’s trying to figure out how to increase naval power as quickly as he can because the Navy is being challenged at sea by very capable foreign naval forces.
He said he’s looking at vehicles that can do a range of things, including acting as sensors and carrying weapons, and can be networked in with the rest of the fleet. Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) currently used by the Navy aren’t at the point now where they could replace manned platforms. While they can complete a task to support a mission, they can’t complete an entire mission on their own, and none are weaponized, according to the Navy.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded BAE Systems a $4.6 million contract for an Small Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SUUV) that would help U.S. Navy submarines detect adversary subs while minimizing their own risk of being detected. “Advances in maritime technology are critical to the Department of Defense and an area where the U.S. military can continue to strengthen its advantage,”Geoff Edelson, director of Maritime Systems and Technology at BAE Systems, said in a company news release.
Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock Division and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory are exploring the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to produce customized Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) propellers.
The propellers can be produced on-demand from both metal and plastic material--without inventory concerns--and could be tailored to specific mission requirements. Furthermore, since the AM process itself does not require tooling or fixturing, it enables rapid turnaround from customized design changes to final parts.
The U.S. Navy has been evaluating alternative power generation solutions from General Atomics, General Motors, Lynntech and NexTech Materials, to power its next generation of combat UUVs.
More concretely, the Navy has been evaluating hydrogen fuel cell technologies to convert high-energy hydrogen into electricity that, when applied to a UUV, will result in a vehicle with greater range and endurance than those powered with batteries.
Also, hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technology helps address the two major environmental challenges (petroleum use and carbon dioxide emissions) as fuel cell vehicles can operate on renewable hydrogen from sources like wind and biomass stored for later use. Once converted to electricity, water vapor is the only emission. Recharging takes only minutes.
Finally, the US Navy has selected the General Motor’s (GM) hydrogen fuel cell technology to power its latest UUV under the ONR’s Innovative Naval Prototype program for Large Displacement UUVs (LDUUV), conceived for UUVs with more than 60 days endurance. Mainly, the GM option has been based in the cost of the cells, as a lower cost can be achievable through volume production supporting automotive applications.
Last but not least, GM’s fuel cells are compact and lightweight and have high reliability and performance. These attributes match the goals of the Navy to develop reliable, affordable systems. “The collaboration with the Navy leveraged what we learned in amassing more than 3 million miles of real-world experience with our Project Driveway fuel cell program,” said Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuel Cell Activities. “Our customers will benefit from additional lessons we learn about the performance of fuel cells in non-automotive applications that will be useful in GM’s drive to offer fuel cells across consumer markets.”
“Fuel cells can be game changers for autonomous underwater systems,” said Frank Herr, ONR’s department head for Ocean Battlespace Sensing. “Reliability, high energy, and cost-effectiveness — all brought to us via GM’s partnering — are particularly important as Navy looks to use UUVs as force multipliers.”The Naval Research Laboratory recently concluded an evaluation of a prototype UUV equipped with a GM fuel cell, in pools at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Md. The next step could be to test the LDUUV in the open sea this year, in order to field a first squadron of the robotic submarines by 2020.
Unmanned aircrafts get all the attention nowadays, but it is beneath the waves where robots are making a splash: From detecting and clearing underwater mines to reconnaissance and mapping the ocean floors, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) are becoming increasingly prominent.
Like their robotic counterparts in the air, on land and on the ocean surface, underwater craft are great for dull, dirty and dangerous tasks. They can search for and clear mines while their operators remain safely at a distance, map the ocean floor for monotonous mile after mile, or conduct surveillance of ships and harbors.
A 2009 RAND Corp. study lays out a litany of possible UUV uses, including quick strikes from underwater craft quietly positioned close to their targets, anti-submarine warfare and cyber warfare by accessing underwater communications links. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has several UUV projects underway, according to spokesman Matt Leonard. These include: (Continue Reading)
