BAE Systems will be presenting a paper on the future of unmanned vehicles in the maritime environment at the Doha International Maritime and Defence Exhibition and Conference March 18th. The Talisman Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) system developed by BAE Systems is also making its debut in Qatar at the show.
Talisman is a family of maritime UUVs using common technology from air and land systems. Its design concept is that it is an underwater "truck" capable of carrying a range of application specific mission payloads. Payload capacity is currently 500 kg. Talisman has already been demonstrated and integrated into the Nautis Combat management System fitted to the UK Hunt and Sandown class Mine Countermeasures Vessels (MCMVs). This system integration avoids the need for separate control equipment to be installed on board ship and allows the existing operators to utilise Talisman as an extension to their current capability.
Andy Tonge, Autonomous Systems Manager, BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies (Insyte) will be presenting a paper on the future of UUVs in the naval domain at DIMDEX on Tuesday 18 March at 1430. He will assert that advances in technology are rapidly enabling the possibilities for unmanned or autonomous platforms to provide a remote, over the horizon military capability that keeps the human operator out of the danger zone.
It is clear that remote autonomous vehicles can also serve a role in other applications such as geological surveying and reconnaissance as part of Exclusive Economic Zone protection. Whilst many developments in the field of autonomy have been as the result of military need, much impetus for the technology development has arisen in civil scientific programmes and in the commercial energy industry. Technology transfer both ways is now becoming commonplace and the boundaries are blurring.
These autonomous vehicles offer potential solutions to a wide range of maritime defence needs such as surveillance and reconnaissance (ISTAR), Mine Countermeasures and even weapons delivery. The emergence of this technology not only provides military capability, but also offers significant cost savings over traditional methods of fulfilling the dull, dirty or dangerous tasks.
Autonomous platforms take many forms. To date the emphasis has been on traditional torpedo shaped systems for underwater systems and upon modified RHIBS (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) for surface operation. The future potential is however vast, particularly if the paradigm shift towards designing systems to integrate a total system from mission payload to Combat Management System is made.
BAE Systems is focusing its effort on meeting the requirements of real operational scenarios. Programmes of work within various business units are covering all domains and are being co-ordinated so that common approaches to technology can be developed and integrated mission capabilities provided. Fundamental to the approach is the premise that systems must be matched to military need. Thus the approach has been to base requirements upon robust operational analysis (OA).
Within the Company's product portfolio are several examples of the approach. The HERTI Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has been built, tested, and flown in operations on numerous occasions with mission specific payloads.
On land, the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre modified an existing rough terrain off road vehicle (Bowler Wildcat 4x4) to understand how autonomy can be applied in the land domain and a small surveillance system, the HERO UGV has been demonstrated to several customer communities. Hero is a small surveillance vehicle capable of carrying cameras and sensors for military and security applications.
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About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 97,500 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £15.7 billion (US$ $31.4 billion) in 2007.
For further information, please contact:
BAE Systems:
Guy Douglas
Mob: +44 (0)7736 810490
guy.douglas@baesystems.com
For Arabic media, MCS/Action:
Kelly Smith
Mob: +971 (0) 50 498 3085
kelly.smith@actionprgroup.com
Issued by:
BAE Systems, Farnborough,
Hampshire GU14 6YU, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384719
Fax: +44 (0) 1252 383947
www.baesystems.com
© Press Release 2008
