US Navy receives final Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship
The delivery acceptance of the future USS Pierre marks the conclusion of the construction phase for the Independence-variant.
Sonar image from A18D AUV. (Photo: ECA Group)
The French Navy and Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM), working with the national procurement agency DGA, have evaluated the A18D autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) from ECA Group.
This evaluation was conducted with the Future Hydrographic and Oceanographic Capacity (CHOF) programme in mind, ECA stated on 11 October.
The AUV was launched from the French Navy offshore support vessel Rhône on ‘a large variety of missions to precisely map the relief and sea beds down to 3000m depth, in the currents and swell of the Atlantic’, the company added.
The A18D can function autonomously for 24h to carry out inspection and 3D seabed mapping missions.
‘The example of the A18D tested showed a high level of reliability and proved to be easy to install and operate, thanks to its optimised size-to-weight ratio (5.7m-780kg) and its intuitive user interface.’
In addition, the French Navy and SHOM teams were able to evaluate the potential of using a UAV to ‘accompany and enrich’ subsea robotic missions, ECA noted.
CHOF is intended to update and develop French oceanographic and hydrographic data acquisition and processing capabilities, by replacing three crewed vessels with autonomous platforms.
The delivery acceptance of the future USS Pierre marks the conclusion of the construction phase for the Independence-variant.
The new Barracuda version has been engineered to perform enhanced subsea and seabed warfare missions.
The nearly $25 billion investment will cover USCG procurement of cutters, aircraft, helicopters, training simulators and Polar capabilities over the next four years.
After commissioning, FRC Frederick Mann will operate in Alaska and perform multiple missions.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) created new units, including five Programme Executive Offices (PEOs), to facilitate and speed up the procurement of new capabilities.
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.