US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
ECA Group has demonstrated its interferometric side-looking sonar on an A9-E autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during early trials of the European Smart and Networking Underwater Robots in Cooperation Meshes (SWARMs) project, the company announced on 4 November.
Initiated in 2015, SWARMs aims to expand the use of underwater and surface vehicles in order to facilitate the conception, planning and execution of maritime and offshore operations and missions. The project involves 35 partners from ten European countries over three years.
As part of early trials for the project, ECA Group’s A9-E AUV fitted with the interferometric side-looking sonar demonstrated its ability to conduct surveys in a shallow water environment of 13-20m depth. A9-E is the configuration of ECA’s man-portable A-9 AUV for environmental monitoring.
The sonar is a phase differencing bathymetric sonar. According to the company, the sonar has increased area coverage by close to 200% over conventional multi-beam echo sounders in shallow water. During the demo, repeat pass surveys were conducted under different headings to assess the repeatability of the bathymetric and in fine the accuracy.
The AUV and sonar was also able to detect a chemical pollutant mock-up target. Detection data was handed over to other ROVs for detailed inspection using forward-looking sonar and optical sensors, including stereovision. A large data set was collected in support of the research objectives of the project which include real-time quality assessment of the bathymetric data using a quality factor provided by the sonar manufacturer and map matching for improved navigation and change detection.
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.
As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.
Advancements in air defence technologies have begun to reshape aerial combat dynamics in the Middle East, as illustrated by recent events involving the Israeli Air Force and Hezbollah.
Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war have been using UAS for effective low-cost attacks, as well as impactful web and social media footage. Thousands more have now been committed to Ukrainian forces.
The US Army has intentions to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) as part of the branche’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle family.