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.
Wave Glider in water sampling mission
Wave Glider has taken part in a project with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science UK (Cefas UK) to allow scientists to measure water characteristics and selectively collect samples in near real-time. Liquid Robotics USA announced the news on 26 September.
The project saw a Wave Glider integrated with a Cefas water sampler deployed in the southern North Sea about 60km off the Lincolnshire, UK coastline. The USV spent 48 days at sea being remotely piloted 24/7 by the Liquid Robotics operations team from its California headquarters almost 9,000km away. The vessel covered an area of over 2,700km before being recovered.
The integrated water sampler allowed scientists to collect 11 samples ‘on demand’ over the duration of the mission by sending commands over the Iridium satellite network. This meant that samples could be collected in areas of particular interest, in contrast to the previous mission in which sampling was done at pre-set times regardless of the route taken.
One of the collected data sets concerned a small suspected toxic algal bloom of Karenia sp. north of the Dogger Bank. Using experimental daily satellite images of an algal bloom Cefas navigated the USV to the area. Operators were able to monitor the near-real time data from the on-board chlorophyll sensor to confirm its presence. Two samples were collected that have since been confirmed to contain the phytoplankton Karenia sp.
Wave Glider’s autonomous navigation was also put to the test during the mission. The vessel picked up transmission of over 350 ships during the mission, was closely inspected by two oil/gas industry standby vessels and navigated through many southern North Sea gas fields/platforms. It also navigated around many shallow sandbanks in the southern North Sea and coped with strong tidal currents off East Anglia.
You may also like
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet]()
-
![Tekever unveils new swarm-controlling UAS]()
Tekever unveils new swarm-controlling UAS
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.
-
![Ready for the race: Air separation drone swarms vs. air defence systems]()
Ready for the race: Air separation drone swarms vs. air defence systems
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.
-
![Israel’s MALE UAVs ‘must adapt’ to Iranian-made air defences]()
Israel’s MALE UAVs ‘must adapt’ to Iranian-made air defences
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.
-
![Hundreds more UAS sent to Ukraine forces with thousands more on the way]()
Hundreds more UAS sent to Ukraine forces with thousands more on the way
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.
-
![AI and software companies selected for US Army Robotic Combat Vehicle subsystems]()
AI and software companies selected for US Army Robotic Combat Vehicle subsystems
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.
