As unmanned systems grow in theirsophistication, their platforms, and pay-loads are becoming more capable. With limitations of endurance, power, andbandwidth being solved, the next bigthing is for the systems to think forthemselves and talk to each other. Wait,they can do that, too! Edward Lundquistreports on new technologies and business models.

NAVIES COULDN’T WAITUnmanned systems continue to grow expo-

nentially in popularity, becoming an integral partof naval and Coast Guard surveillance opera-tions for NATO and partner nations. A host ofUnmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) arebeing used to hunt for mines and submarines,and provide detailed measurements of the under-water environment. Unmanned Air Vehicles(UAV) or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)are providing long-range and persistent presence, conducting reconnaissance and even

delivering weapons in hostile areas. Aircraft carriers will be operating huge Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance andStrike (UCLASS) aircraft, while diminutivepatrol ships can have an air capability thanks tosmall UAV. Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV)can provide communications links, especiallywith underwater systems, collect data, and conduct patrols.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITHROTARY-WING TYPES?

Offshore patrol vessels or OPV can have anembarked air capability with UAV/UAS to per-mit surveillance over a large area. The SpanishNavy recently deployed a Maritime Action Ship(BAM) to the Indian Ocean to support theEUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA pro -tecting World Food Programme shipments tothe people of Somalia with an embarked SaabAeronautics SKELDAR VTUAV. SKELDARis a rotary-wing, short- to medium-range airvehicle that can be controlled from a tailoredcontrol station (figure 1). The SKELDARV-200 vehicle can lift a 40kg payload, but can

trade fuel for payload. It has a ceiling of about12,000ft (3,960m) and a maximum speed ofapproximately 75 knots. Depending on payloadand fuel, missions can range from 1.5 to 6 hours.Data-link range is about 80nm (148km). Andspeaking of fuel, SKELDAR uses heavy fuel,which is pressurised diesel fuel, instead of aviation gasoline, which is dangerous on ships.

The Armada Española conducted trials of aSKELDAR V-200 aboard one of its OPV, theBAM “Relámpago” (P 43), in the Canary Islandsbefore deploying the system operationally in theIndian Ocean aboard the BAM “Meteoro”(P 41) as part of Operation ATALANTA. During the deployment, the system showed itsflexibility when the mission changed fromwatching for boats leaving the pirate lairs on thebeach to gathering intelligence about the ‘patternof life’ in those villages.

Like SKELDAR, the Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 has been tested with anengine able to use safer heavy fuels such asJP-5, Jet A-1, or JP-8 jet fuels. The aircraft hasoperated from the French OPV “L’Adroit”,where the crew was able to effectively track thesmall aircraft using its Terma SCANTER radar.Italy has selected the system for use from itsfrigates. Russia is building the aircraft underlicense. It will be used from the Russian CoastGuard’s “Rubin” class patrol boats. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy)has also purchased the system. A number ofNavies have tested the system, including Australia, Germany, India, and Pakistan.

The US Navy has deployed the ScanEagleUAS from frigates and demonstrated the abilityto launch and recover the system aboard a smallriverine command boat using a catapult forlaunching and a sky-hook for recovery. The USCoast Guard Research and Development Center

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Fig. 1: The SKELDAR VTUAV can be equipped with a wide range of payloads, including surveil-lance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition sensors, SAR/GMTI radars, EW devices, AIS transponder, searchlights, and megaphones.(Photo: Courtesy of Saab Group)

EDWARD H. LUNDQUIST, CAPTAIN US NAVY (RET.)

UNMANNED SYSTEMS FOR NATO NAVIESPLATFORMS GETTING BOTH SMALLER AND BIGGER, CAPABILITIES ARE GROWING

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Fig. 2: Because of Longrunner’s strong, light

nano-composite construction,the Zycraft VIGILANT USV is

capable of carrying a large amount of fuel and

significant payload on long-duration missions.

(Photo: Edward Lundquist)

(RDC) also evaluated the Boeing/Insitu Scan Eagle foruse aboard the USCG’s“Bertholf” class NationalSecurity Cutters (NSC).

The RDC has a long histo-ry in unmanned systems and isleading the way for integrationof UAS into Coast Guard mis-sions. It success fully executed the first UASoperations off an NSC on-board USCGC “Strat-ton” (WMSL 752). Building upon this success-ful demonstration, a second demonstration in arepresentative Coast Guard mission environ-ment was completed in May 2013 on-boardUSCGC “Bertholf” (WMSL 750). The smallUAS (sUAS) was instrumental in the confisca-tion of over one half-ton of cocaine during thedemonstration period.

Recent USCG ScanEagle testing has focusedon payloads. Upcoming plans for sUAS testinginclude working with the DHS Science andTechnology, Borders and Maritime Division formaritime first responders. The RDC is also plan-ning to coordinate multiple sUAS flights for theupcoming 2014 Arctic Shield mission in Alaska.

RDC testing of the ScanEagle used the air-craft as a surrogate vehicle to focus on payloadscarried on small UAV/UAS, such as mid-waveIR (MWIR) thermal imagers, NanoSar C syn-thetic aperture radar, and auto-target detectionsystems. The Royal Canadian Navy’s frigateHMCS “Charlottetown” (FFH 339) usedScanEagle during her deployment to theMediterranean Sea as part of NATO’s Opera-tion ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR anti-terrorismpatrols. The Brazilian Navy recently testedScanEagle aboard the Brazilian Navy’s NavioPatrulha Oceânico “Apa” (P 121). The RoyalNavy has contracted Boeing to provide 300 surveillance flight hours per month from com-batants and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. The firstRoyal Navy ScanEagle flew from the landingvessel RFA “Cardigan Bay” (L 3009) in the Arabian Gulf in December 2013.

MORE ON SUBMERGED PLATFORMS

It is hard enough to operate a vehicle under-water, and even harder to create a squadron of

UUV that are able to function as a group. Toenable multiple nodes in a network of unmannedvehicles or distributed sensors to work together,the NATO Centre for Maritime Research andExperimentation (CMRE) in La Spezia, Italy,took part in sea trials of the MORPH (MarineRobotic System of Self-Organising, logicallyLinked Physical Nodes) European Commissionproject, to test multiple-vehicle coordination andformation flying based on echo-location. CMREdemonstrated the software for combined datacommunications and ranging technique forunderwater acoustic networks, permitting‘flocks’ of underwater robots to work together,navigate in formation, and share data withoutbeing physically connected in any way. CMREis working on a heterogeneous, underwater,adaptive sensing network with distributed intel-ligence for persistent littoral surveillance of submarine targets. Communicating betweenmaritime systems underwater is complex anddynamic due to the sheer physics of the prob-lem, limited by low bandwidth and prone to fre-quent disruptions, so UUV have to autono -mously process as much data as possible onboard, and make decisions about what it im -portant, and what needs to be shared.

“It’s one thing to make a system autonomous.It’s quite another to make it intelligent”, saidKevin LePage, Cooperative Anti-SubmarineWarfare (CASW) Programme Manager atCMRE. “They have to know what to do.”

Multiple UUV constitute a network of mobileassets where ranges are opening and closing, andthe routing is constantly changing. “If a nodecan’t communicate directly, it may need to relaya message, but that means it has to know theappropriate node so that can accept the relayedmessage, and where that node is”, said CMRE’sDeputy Head of Engineering, Rob Been. “Thedynamics of who has to talk might adapt and

change very rapidly. If everybody needs to talkat some point, you have to split them up andschedule them, with protocols to handle that.”

SURFACE EFFECTUSV range in size from the 210cm Liquid

Robotics WaveGlider to the 16.5m 960 HPZycraft VIGILANT independent USV (IUSV).The wave motion-propelled WaveGlider maybe slow, but it makes up for it with endurance.Two WaveGliders have made the 2,200nm(1,190km), three-month voyage from Hawaii toSan Diego at an average speed of less than twoknots. James Soon, President of Singapore-based Zycraft, says the VIGILANT IUSV is bigenough to operate independently for up to 30days (figure 2). The ultra-strong, light-weightcarbon nanotube composite materials providethe weight margin to carry 5.5 tons of fuel. So ithas the endurance to operate independently forup to 30 days.

TAKING CONTROL“We’ve standardised the means of controlling

and communicating between the ground and thebird, and all of the systems involved. The standard that we’re working on is called UASControl Segment, or UCS, and it is hardwareindependent”, noted Rich Ernst, who leads theUSC architecture development in the DoD.According to Ernst, UCS “breaks up” the dif-ferent Ground Control Station (GCS) function-alities, which allows for insertion of new capa-bilities and upgrading of legacy capabilities –such as route planning, weather services, taskmonitoring, or flight status monitoring that mostGCS have to implement – without having to re-build the entire GCS. “It’s ‘plug and play’ forGCS development.”

The goal is for UAS operators in all militaryservices to leverage UCS, thereby creating com-monality and improving capability. UCS is morethan a technology architecture; it is an open business model that allows small businesses tocompete on an even playing field, allowing newand innovative applications to be adopted.” Asnew capabilities are introduced, you can pickfunctions you want without having to upgradeand recertify an entire system”, said Ernst.Organisations with a variety of systems can nowuse a common control station, or one unit canhand off to another to be able to direct a sur-veillance mission. Ernst said that when newUCS-compliant applications are developed, theywill be made available with an ‘app store’ repository. The best apps will be in demand, creating a market that will stimulate innovation.“There is an entire ecosystem that goes beyondthe typical technical and business structure”,Ernst concluded.

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NAFO

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