UUVs: Applications and Thoughts (a work in progress)

[Ex-Dragoon]

Unmanned Undersea(Underwater according to some sources) Vehicles are the underwater equivalents of the UAVs that we have only recently jumped on the band wagon for. Is it a capability we should actively seek. From what I have seen this field does not seen as well known as their air interface cousins, but I don't see why we could not start to develop scenarios to out ourselves ahead of the game by using and countering the UUV.

With a UUV I have no doubts this will be some of the current and eventual mission profiles:
1) Salvage
2) Survey and reconnaissance (including mine warfare route survey)
3) Anti diver ops
4) ASuW
5) ASW
6) Mine warfare- both laying and sweeping
7) UEW (Underwater Early Warning- I just made that up )
8 ) Picket
9) Environmental (pollution control and climate survey)
10) Communications and information relay for Amphib/Spec Ops Support
11) Resource survey and extraction

Thoughts?

 

[Kirkhill]

Here's a notion for a UUV picket ex-dragoon.

Captor type device supporting stealth buoys.  Intruder detected. Captor UUV moves towards intruder and attaches a limpet mine with transmitter to hull.  Next it broadcasts to the skipper "Welcome to Canada, Bienvenue au Canada - a security device has just been attached to your vessel - for safe removal please report to the nearest Canadian port where your documents will be checked.  Thankyou for visiting Canada and we hope you enjoy your stay.  Have a nice day." 

Transmitter tracks position of vessel and reports it to Ottawa.  Failure to report to a Canadian port before exiting our EEZ may result in the sounding of an alarm, as at most stores, or rendering the vessel/item useless, as at other stores which used to employ exploding die markers.

 

[Bert]

It seems theres alot of activity around UUVs.  I had a chance to speak with an Environment
Canada engineer who is studing the arctic ice shelf using underwater sensors to
monitor ocean currents.  From his experience, UUVs have a multitude of applications but
are primarily limited by their power sources.  A large amount of power is required for
communications, range and speed, and payload/system manipulation.  Advances in fuel cell
design may be key.  Found a few links:

http://www.onr.navy.mil/fncs/
http://www.onr.navy.mil/media/extra/fncs_fact_sheets/auto_ops.pdf
http://www.onr.navy.mil/media/extra/fncs_fact_sheets/electric_ships.pdf
http://kpwawao.kpt.nuwc.navy.mil/NUTEC/index.asp?res=med

 

[Monsoon]

I read something about these recently . It seems as though they're working at something that works rather like a bottom mine - when it detects a ship acoustically or by magnetic resonance, it surfaces and transmits a warning via satellite back to HQ, who can send out a ship or plane to investigate the contact.  They'd have a battery life of a few months, and would surface and request to be recovered when they're about to die.  Clever little system, and not requiring any new technology.

 

[Cloud Cover]

IIRC the OPP deployed some sort of UUV recently to investigate a plane crash in lake Erie for salvage and recce.

 

[NCRCrow]

UUV's more sci-fi crap 20/30 yrs down the road for Canada

 

[Cloud Cover]

UUV's more sci-fi crap 20/30 yrs down the road for Canada

You're right. Lets just nuke everything under the surface and feck 'em all if they can't take a joke.

 

[NCRCrow]

All these dreamers and there acroymns....the reality is Canada can barely contribute in traditional warfare roles.

I seem to be thread killer lately. I had beter drink some more.

Crow

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Nah we just generally ignore what you say and talk on...

 

[Cdn Blackshirt]

I'd like to start with UCSS from Raytheon for blanket coastal waters surveillance and then design the response systems from there.

http://www.raytheon.com/products/ucss/



Matthew. 

 

[SHF]

Ex-Dragoon,

I believe the Navy will eventually enjoy the adavantages offered by a UUV, and we will see DRDC working on that requirement.  All your roles are reasonable, but I beleive it will come down to money in the end.  FELEX, JSS(BHS), OPVs are probably much higher on the Navy list of priorities.  Another distraction is manning shortfalls for all ships.  This too will consume more money and staff time to fix. 

Other than early warning how would you use an UUW in ASW and what method of remote control will the UUV use?  Will it be autonomously operated?

A couple possibly hard questions to answer.

Cheers

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Ex-Dragoon,

I believe the Navy will eventually enjoy the adavantages offered by a UUV, and we will see DRDC working on that requirement.   All your roles are reasonable, but I beleive it will come down to money in the end.   FELEX, JSS(BHS), OPVs are probably much higher on the Navy list of priorities.   Another distraction is manning shortfalls for all ships.   This too will consume more money and staff time to fix.  

Other than early warning how would you use an UUW in ASW and what method of remote control will the UUV use?   Will it be autonomously operated?

A couple possibly hard questions to answer.

Cheers

Money is always the deciding factor unfortunately, although I would exchange the OPVs out for the Single Surface Combatant class in the list of naval priorities.

As for your questions....tough ones but I think we could use the UUVs in the following:
1) To engage the sub using its own onboard weapons or using it as a kamikaze(would get very expensive in war time although cheaper then losing a ship)
2) Anti Torpedo defense- firing off its own noise makers/onboard weapons/or placeing itself in the path of an incoming torpedo.
3) Have a UUV as a decoy
4) develop a mini towed array and deploy it on our flanks

As for operation, I would think autonomously but for certain roles preprogrammed with a retrevial at the end of it duration.

 

[Monsoon]

4) develop a mini towed array and deploy it on our flanks

Sounds something like the RMHS (Remote Minehunting System) that's being trial for the Kingstons.  It's basically a remote-controlled side-scan sonar that can operate out ahead of the ship to find mines.  It's operated via radio control through an antenna mast that sticks up out of the water, which is possible because the gear doesn't need to be particularly deep to do it's job.  Replace side-scan sonar with a passive array and it sounds like you're in business.

 

[TAS278]

I am a member of Route Survey and work in conjunction with the MCDV and their currently inoperable 511 Sidescan sonar system. RMHS is just an idea being tossed around the table. The closest thing to this is FDU's ROV's. Until this project is finished there will be no RMHS. Where are these trials going on? I haven't heard of these at all. If you would like more details about RMHS or Mine warfare and it future in the Canadian Navy, Plz PM me.

 

[Monsoon]

I am a member of Route Survey and work in conjunction with the MCDV and their currently inoperable 511 Sidescan sonar system. RMHS is just an idea being tossed around the table. The closest thing to this is FDU's ROV's. Until this project is finished there will be no RMHS. Where are these trials going on? I haven't heard of these at all. If you would like more details about RMHS or Mine warfare and it future in the Canadian Navy, Plz PM me.

The RMHS was trialed for a few weeks late last year out in Victoria.  The acquisition project is staffed and funded, but I don't recall the timeline for deployment.  Q1 2007 sounds familiar.

 

[TAS278]

In the east coast RS office there are no serious intentions of acquiring this system until it has been decided what role Canada is to play in Mine Hunting. We officially have no means of mine hunting safely. The systems we do have are out dated or out of action. The towed bodies we uses now are not an ideal way of detecting a mine all though they are quite capable of doing it. I am not sure if we will waste money on a system we might not use....

 

[Monsoon]

In the east coast RS office there are no serious intentions of acquiring this system until it has been decided what role Canada is to play in Mine Hunting. We officially have now means of mine hunting safely. The systems we do have are out dated or out of action. The towed bodies we uses now are not an ideal way of detecting a mine all though they are quite capable of doing it. I am not sure if we will waste money on a system we might not use....

They certainly aren't going to acquire anything without doing a capability definition, but they're developing one now.  The direction from above is that Canada will keep a naval anti-mine capability.  Also, I'm not sure that this is something that the Route Survey cell at Trinity would be directly involved in at this stage - as you say, they won't waste brain cells on it before there is some measure of support for it from NDHQ.

 

[Kirkhill]

No doubt to the consternation of some the Pentagon continues to take UUVs seriously.  I doubt if it will be 20 to 30 years before this stuff is fielded.

UUV ASW Barrier - scalable which means it might eventually supply an alternative to patrols under the ice by non-existent Canadian nuclear or other AIP subs.

Pentagon Contract Announcement
 
 
(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Dec. 1, 2005)
 
 
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Naval and Marine Systems Division, Annapolis, Md., is being awarded a $17,575,809 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for development of collaborative and networked autonomous vehicles demonstrating transformational, scalable, and persistent anti-submarine warfare barriers using large numbers of homogeneous autonomous underwater vehicles. 

This contract includes three one-year options, which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to $44,689,651. 

Work will be performed in Annapolis, Md., and is expected to be completed by June 2007. If all options are exercised, work could continue though June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured as a result of broad agency announcement (BAA 04-17) issued by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency via the Federal Business Opportunities website. 

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N66001-06-C-8001). 

-ends- 

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.16851726.1133540294.Q5BzxsOa9dUAAHeSPdQ&modele=jdc_34

 

[Kirkhill]

There's also this from today's Defense Industry Daily.

UUV Swarms to Find Submarines?
Posted 06-Dec-2005 02:25 | Permanent Link
Related stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Sensors - Aquatic, Submarines, UUVs & USVs

(click to view full)Northrop Grumman's Naval and Marine Systems Division in Annapolis, MD received a $17.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for development of anti-submarine warfare swarms of autonomous, networked unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) that could monitor an area. This contract includes three one-year options, which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to $44.7 million.

Continue reading...

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/12/uuv-swarms-to-find-submarines/index.php#more

 

[CougarKing]

The USN develops a UUV that literally swims like a tuna.

Norfolk, Va. —- The Navy is testing a stealthy, 4 foot-long fish-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle designed to blend in with undersea life and perform combat sensor functions, service officials explained.

The so-called “bio-memetic” undersea vehicle is currently being developed as part of the Chief of Naval Operations Rapid Innovation Cell,  or CRIC – a special unit set up by CNO Adm. Jonathan Greenert in 2012 to explore the feasibility of rapidly turning around commercially available technologies for Naval military use.

“It mimics a fish. It looks like a fish. We call it robo-tuna, affectionately, but it is a UUV (unmanned undersea vehicle).  It does not have a propeller or a jet. It actually swims by flipping its tail around,” said Capt. Jim Loper, concepts and innovation department head, Navy Warfare Development Command, Norfolk.

The robot-fish is highly maneuverable and can accelerate quickly, reaching speeds up to 40 knots, Loper said. Being propelled by its tail instead of a shaft or propeller helps it remain stealthy and energy efficient. The shark-like sensor is engineered to carry a range of payloads from acoustic sensors to underwater cameras, he explained.

source: defensetech - July 2, 2014