NETFORCE AND BLUEWATER CYBERBOATS

NETFORCE AND BLUEWATER CYBERBOATS

SPIE Prague19th Sept 2011

Presented by: Sandy AllsoppALLSOPP HELIKITES LIMITEDWe believe that in the future,

Netforce will rule the airwaves

and

Cyberboats will control the sea.

This is our reasoning.1. INTRODUCTION

2. HELIKITES AND USVS

3. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIGH ALTITUDE MANET RADIOS

4. NETFORCE AND CYBERBOATS1.

INTRODUCTIONHELIKITES + MULTIHOP MANET RADIOS + WWW

= NETFORCE

HEIGHT + MANET = LONG RANGE VIDEO

UNMANNED BOATS + NETFORCE = CYBERBOATS

2.

HELIKITES AND USVSWhy are there so few USVs operating today?

Lack of over-the-horizon radio relay is the main reason for the limited number of USVs in operation. When a USV can only go as far as can be seen through binoculars, there are few ISTAR or kinetic reasons for deploying it. The complex and technically demanding mine hunting role is one of the few present short-range uses for USVs and already they excel at this role, but even mine hunting can often be made safer and more effective with an over-the-horizon option.

Why will there be many USVs in the future?

Like mobile phone towers on land, Netforce can provide full broadband communications over the sea with ease.

Cyberboats are far less vulnerable to anti-ship missiles than large ships. Cyberboats are small and stealthy. Also, Cyberboats cost less than the missiles required to destroy them, so it becomes uneconomic to attack them. Soft-skinned humans are just too susceptible to unmanned rockets and missiles. Putting large numbers of people into a huge, inflammable, highly vulnerable ships has already become untenable now that satellites can easily target most vessels and a thousand supersonic missiles can be built for the cost of one frigate. Logic dictates that in the future, anti-ship-missiles and stealthy Cyberboats will control manned access to the sea, and that heavily manned naval ships will eventually become the highly risky exception rather than the rule.THE NETFORCE OPPORTUNITY USUAL AIRBORNE USV RADIO-RELAY PLATFORMSExtremely hard to operate and pay for.

Expensive and difficult airborne platforms are often touted as suitable for unmanned vehicle radio-relay, however in reality they are seldom practical.

9Some autonomy is useful for unmanned boats - it reduces workload during repetitive operations and it is very useful for underwater craft, but it can never be the entire solution because communications are still required to autonomous boats, just as they are to manned vessels.

The problem with prioritising autonomy research is that it attempts to reach into the area of sentient, human-type intelligence for things such as sense and avoid and lethal targeting. Many USV programs are being delayed until this false prophet of full sentient autonomy is achieved. This an immense funding black-hole that strangles and delays USV development, because sentient autonomy requires an appreciation of context. Comprehending context is hugely difficult and will never be possible without quantum computers which are decades away.

Superb Netforce communications eliminate the need for sentient autonomy. Sensitive human brains guide Cyberboats.

Netforce is aware. Netforce senses. Netforce understands.

Netforce is as intelligent as the human brain operating through it.

Autonomy alone can never compete with Netforce.

NETFORCE ECLIPSES AUTONOMY

23rd June 2011Portsmouth, England.Autonomous Surface Vehicles Ltd.Small USV pulling Helikite.Helikites can easily carry MANET radios to thousands of feet altitude, unattended, for weeks.Flying against a 30 mph wind

Flying with the wind

2 cubic metre Helikite

HELIKITE - Altitude From UnderstandingHELIUM LIFT WIND LIFTWIND LIFTKEELBALLOONSTIFF SPINEFLYING LINEConsiderabletop-frontal lift creates high wind stability.Wind pushes Helikites strongly up, rather than down as with other aerostats.All Helikites, whatever size, fly in no wind and also in gales with no adjustment. Helikites harness the wind that other aerostats fight.SAIL15

HELIKITES CAN BE TOWED AT SPEED FROM SMALL BOATS OR USVS.

Arctic Ocean Feb 2011

USERS INCLUDE:Royal MarinesUS Navy Seals Riverine GroupUS Air ForceBritish Army Force ProtectionBritish Antarctic Survey

HELIKITES CAN OPERATE FROM ANCHORED BOATS OR SEA ANCHORS.

OVER 5000 FEET ALTITUDE =100 MILES RADIO LINE-OF-SIGHT

DEPLOYMENT IS EASY AND SAFE IN ALL CONDITIONS. REMOTE DEPLOYMENT IS POSSIBLE.

HELIKITES CAN OPERATE WHEN NO OTHER AIRCRAFT CAN FLY - SUCH AS SNOW WHITE-OUTS OR STORMSHELIKITES ARE MORE RELIABLE THAN AUTONOMY OR UAVS

SEA-STATE IS IRRELEVANT Teahupoo, Tahiti.

USV RETRIEVALMerchant ships can economically operate Cyberboats against pirates.Any naval ship can operate Cyberboats with no modificationsOil rigs can deploy and retrieve Cyberboats.1. Small Helikite on deck of Cyberboat.

2. A radio signal causes a solenoid bolt to release the Helikite which then instantly launches.

3.Helikite automatically flies to the height of the mother-ship deck, carrying a winch cable.

4. Cyberboat winched up like a launch. ALLSOPP HELIKITES NETFORCE BOAT FIREFLYUnsinkable Polyethylene/Foam construction. Fly-By-Wire 150Hp Mercury Verado. 300 miles range.12 Volt Electric Winch capable of deploying a 7 cubic metre Helikite + MANET radio from bow or stern to 3000ft. Gives 20,108 sq miles VHF/UHF radio coverage. Can launch and retrieve small UAVs and USVs. Firefly with Netforce has far greater VHF/UHF radio line-of-sight than even the largest naval ships.

0.15 CUBIC METRE HELIKITE FOR USV RETRIEVAL

ANTI-SHIPANTI-AIRANTI-SUBAMRINEANTI-MINEANTI-MISSILECOMMS RELAYRADAR PLATFORMCARGO DELIVERYCOVERT ISTARSHIP TO SHORE FISHERY PATROLPIRATE PATROLBORDER PATROLPORT PROTECTIONANTI TERRORISMPOLICE PATROLICE PATROLNBC SENSORSSEARCH AND RESCUESHIP DECOYSURVEY VESSELCyberboats can do most functions of a manned vessel, but the functions are split between several types of Cyberboat instead of being concentrated on one vessel.

SOLAR POWER, LITHIUM BATTERIES AND SEA-GLIDERS = LONG RANGE + EXTREME ENDURANCE.

Maritime Craft Aerial Delivery System [MCADS]Cyberboats and fully inflated Netforce Helikites can also be air-dropped. Creating a credible bluewater force anywhere in the world within hours.CYBERBOATS DO NOT NEED TO ACCOMODATE HUMANS

ADVANTAGES:

No human casualtiesLighterFaster (100 knots+)StealthySub-surface or surfaceExtreme endurance (Longer than nuclear submarines)More fuel and payloadExpendableCheapMass Produced Air, sea or land deployedOperated from anywhere worldwide within cyberspace

CYBERBOATS ARE MORE ADAPTED TO THE SEA THAN HUMANS

3.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIGH ALTITUDE MANET RADIOS

Mobile Ad-hoc Network Radios or RF-Over-Fibre systems, can create Helikite multi-hop airborne MANET networks over long distances. Rajant claim video sent over 21 hops with only 1 millisecond latency per hop.

ROYAL MARINES SHIP-TO-SHORE BOWMAN RADIO-RELAY

Sandia National Laboratories,New Mexico desert.

Rapid-response military radio-relay station & gyro-stabilised video surveillance.

Helikites can be big with a high payload34 cubic metre Skyhook Helikite.Skyhook Helikites of any size can be safely inflated, launched, retrieved and deflated by only one person in all weathers, night and day.32

RF-Over-Fibre + Helikite is General Dynamics preferred solution for range extension to the UK MOD Bowman Radio. Also suitable for up to 5 GHz.33

Net lift = 30Kg.

Altitude = 5000ft carrying 8Kg of radio-relay equipment.

Made for Eglin AFB, to operate from barges in the Gulf of Mexico to provide radio-relay to low-flying test missiles.

Helibase for easy and safe ground handling on barges by one person in all conditions, day or night. Helikites can be big with a high payload64 cu metre Helikites

UK INFANTRY TRIALSUS NETWORK-CENTRIC MANET TRIALS Or small and handy 7 cubic metre, low-visibility, all-weather, Stealth Helikite3534 CUBIC METRE DESERT STAR HELIKITE

Tough, double-lined construction.

Carries a 10Kg 25x Zoom EO/IR gyro camera for the British Army in Afghanistan.

It can also lift a 4Kg MANET radio to 5000ft from ship or shore.

Twin-drum electric or motor winch. Remote controlled. Reliably deploys Dyneema flying line + fibre-optic .

Helibase for easy inflation and launch.

36

10 milesDAMERHAM3.3 CU METRE SKYHOOK HELIKITE USED FOR EXTENSION OF RADIO COMMSMaj. David Warden - Royal Signals. M.Sc. Project: Use of Aerostats for range extension of mobile radio communications. Cranfield July 2004.114 cubic foot Skyhook Helikite +Coax + Dipole gave 0.05 Watts at 40 metres altitude. Good line-of-site COMMS to HTZ Warfare ModelBlandford Model predicts most of Hants/Dorset/Wilts/ covered (40 mile radius) with 2x radio-relays using 3 Watts at 630 feet altitude.BLANDFORD37

July 2010 US Army Trials. White Sands Test Range.2Kg Rifleman Radio. 2 Watt. MANET50 Km radius from an aerostat at 700ft.50 kmConcept Demonstrator Rajant Airborne MANET Video Relay. 7th July 2010 7 cu metre Helikite at 400ft + Rajant ME2 (2.4GHz/600mW) sent IP video at 5 frames/sec out to 6 miles. The same radio system flown on a helicopter has sent the video 14 miles.

RAJANT. Video sent at 5 frames/second over twenty-one hops.5 - 20 Watts transmission power350MhzHigh-gain, passive beam antennasHelikites at 3000ft on 4,500ft of flying line.Link-budget predicts up to100 miles range between Helikites

Theoretical multi-hop range = 2,100 miles

Area of Cyberboat operations = 2,100 miles x 100 = 210,000 sq miles

Area of potential influence = 13, 856,220 square miles

4.

NETFORCE AND CYBERBOATSMANET radios link seamlessly into the internet. This allows video and data from Cyberboats to be distributed anywhere via the WWW. It also allows the control of the Cyberboats from anywhere. So the workload of supervising and controlling Cyberboats can be easily spread to people working in different time-zones. This reduces the cost of operations and ensures operators are always alert.

Netforce is more practical than satellite comms.

Netforce has:Low-latencyHigh bandwidthRapidly deployedLow-PowerRobustAvailable worldwideInexpensive

MANET RADIOS, NETFORCE AND THE WWW

STRAIGHTS OF HORMUZ Netforce area over provided by four land-based Helikites at 5000 feet.This allows minesweeping or attack Cyberboats to be controlled directly from the shore thereby reducing costs, increasing timeliness, and eliminating the risk of attack from anti-ship missiles.100 nm

100 nmGULF OF ADEN. Netforce safety-area created within a few hours by air-dropping 16 Helikites + MANETS. UAVS, USVS and UUVS can patrol within the red circles - all controlled from Djibouti. Netforce double-backbone design for resiliency.

200 milesFALKLAND ISLANDS. Four Netforce Helikites based on land, plus eight at sea, would allow Cyberboats or UAVs to patrol the entire 200 mile Falklands economic area. Another four would cover the Argentinean coast to detect any vessel leaving port.The price of one Royal Navy destroyer, would provide 5000 Cyberboats to patrol the Falklands.

POSSIBLE NETFORCE RELAY COVERAGE, ORIGINATING FROM BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORYNetforce provides radio-relay for just 1% of the cost of UAVs or satellites.

Therefore, for the same cost Netforce provides 100X the bandwidth.

Netforce grows organically with the unmanned system because it is part of the system.

As Helikites rise rapidly into the sky Netforce moves far ahead of the unmanned force at about 600mph.

Wherever Netforce, goes unmanned vehicles can follow.

Autonomy is not the solution for unmanned boats - it is the unsolvable problem.

Autonomy research is a huge bottleneck that strangles USV development, because useful complex autonomy requires an appreciation of context which will never be possible without quantum computers.

While scientists endlessly debate autonomy, Cyberboats will claim the seas.

Superb Netforce communications eliminate the need for autonomy. Sensitive human brains guide Cyberboats.

Netforce is aware. Netforce senses. Netforce understands.

Netforce is highly intelligent.

Dumb autonomy can never survive against Netforce.

NETFORCE ECLIPSES AUTONOMY

LCS relies on UAVs to relay to USVs. But USV endurance is days, whereas UAV endurance is only a few hours. USVs are not well supported by LCS.LCS needs to go close to shore to support USVs. LCS is a very expensive, lightly armed, manned ship very vulnerable to shore based anti-ship missiles. So she must keep away from shore.So, there is little point is the LCS being shallow draught, small and short range.Small number of unmanned vehicles carried.Expensive LCS and starves other USV funding.LCS requires support ships for long passages.Limited mission packages can be carriedMission packages are very slow to replaceLCS is not expendable.LCS, its support ships and its USVs need to operate within Netforce to achieve maximum safety and effectiveness. But why not have just one, large, fully self-sufficient, ocean going ship, steaming safely well away from shore, deploying Netforce and huge numbers of Cyberboats for the dangerous inshore applications? HMS Ocean or HMS Albion plus Cyberboats, may well prove to be far more effective than LCS for long-distance littoral operations. LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP HAS PROBLEMS:Each Cyberboat costs $300,000 to build. Each LCS costs $700 million. Therefore, more than 2,300 Cyberboats can be built and fielded worldwide, for the cost of building and operating one LCS. Which would project more power?Reduce or eliminate risks to sailorsFully networked oceanBlue water access to oceans worldwideMassive force multiplicationRapid air-dropped blue water forceDeployable from any ship or oil rigExtreme enduranceSpecialist ships not requiredHuge manpower reductionsOverwhelming control of the seasElectronic warfare dominanceImmense cost savings over manned craftNETFORCE & BLUEWATER CYBERBOAT DELIVERABLESALLSOPP HELIKITES LIMITEDSouth End, Damarham, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 3HW, England

Tel: +44 (0)1725 518750www.allsopphelikites.com