Autonomous Systems
SNMG2 ships take part in NATO research center experiments
Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 joined NATO’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) in La Spezia, Italy, to take part in a series of experiments and trials last week. Royal Navy’s HMS Diamond, Turkish Navy’s TCG Barbaros and Spain’s ESPS Blas de Lezo visited Italy after
Chinese Navy task group heads for deployment’s 19th country visit
A Chinese Navy three-ship task group has concluded a three-day visit to Brunei Darussalam and is currently en route to Cambodia. Composed of Type 052C destroyer Changchun, Type 054A frigate Jingzhou and Type 903 replenishment ship Chaohu, the task group started its deployment on April 23 and has vis
BAE Systems unveils updated mine countermeasure system NAUTIS 5 at DSEI
UK defense contractor BAE Systems on Wednesday unveiled the latest version of its flagship mine counter measures (MCM) system NAUTIS 5 at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London. NAUTIS is used to counter the threat of naval mines and is installed on board more t
Rolls-Royce introduces autonomous naval vessel concept
British propulsion systems supplier and developer Rolls-Royce has revealed its designs for an autonomous, single role, naval vessel capable of covering distances of 3500 nautical miles at a time. According to the company, the vessel would be capable of operating beyond the horizon for over 100 days,
Royal Navy unveils futuristic submarine concepts
The Royal Navy’s silent service has challenged a team of young scientists to re-envision what the future of underwater warfare would look like and the results of their work have now been revealed. Flying fish swarm drones, completely autonomous eel-shaped UUVs and dissolving micro UUVs are all part
UK’s MAPLE autonomous platform project enters fourth phase
UK’s Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation (MAPLE) project is entering phase four after defense contractor Qinetiq signed a £4.5m contract to lead this phase of development. The project is being developed for the defense ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and focuses on
BAE Systems to develop UK’s first autonomous systems testing service
UK-based defense contractor BAE Systems announced it has been awarded £457,000 to design and deliver the UK’s first dedicated autonomous systems testing service. The grants were awarded by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), a locally-owned partnership between businesses and authorities.
NATO submarine drill Dynamic Mongoose starts in Iceland
Dynamic Mongoose 2017, a NATO-led submarine surveillance exercise, began on Tuesday off the coast of Iceland. Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 allied nations gathered in the North Atlantic Ocean for anti-submarine and anti-surface training. Submarines from France, Germany, the Nethe
Airbus starts autonomous flights of VSR700 Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV)
Starting autonomous flight trials of its VSR700 Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) demonstrator, Airbus Helicopters has come a step closer to the first flight of the actual VSR700 prototype in 2018. A light military rotary-wing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle, the VSR700 is being developed jointly by
UMS Skeldar teams with Sentient for ViDAR enhancement
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company UMS Skeldar has joined forces with Sentient Vision Systems to equip its SKELDAR V-200 VTOL UAV with a ViDAR (visual identification detection and ranging) system for its unmanned systems. The ViDAR payload on the SKELDAR V-200 will be deploying five to ten camera
Kazakhstan Navy commissions its first minesweeper ‘Alatau’
The Kazakhstan Navy commissioned its first mine sweeping ship ‘Alatau’ during a ceremony held June 1 in Aktau, a city on the east bank of the Caspian Sea. The ship was built in Russia by the Mid-Nevsky Shipyard and started sea trials in August 2016, passing acceptance trials in May this year. One in
ECA Group delivers unmanned minehunting system for Kazakh Navy vessel
French unmanned systems manufacturer ECA Group announced that the unmanned mine counter measure integrated system (UMIS) it delivered to Kazakh Navy passed sea acceptance trials. The system was delivered and installed onboard the Kazakh Navy 10750E-class mine countermeasure vessel. Built by the Russ
NATO standardizes underwater data communication
All members of the NATO alliance have, for the first time ever, adopted a recently-developed standard for underwater acoustic communications. The standard is called Janus and was developed by NATO Science and Technology Organization’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE). “This ma
Royal Norwegian Navy to get Hugin AUVs for mine countermeasure tasks
The Royal Norwegian Navy is getting a mine countermeasure capability boost with a new set of autonomous underwater vehicles. Contracted by the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA), Kongsberg Maritime is to deliver four complete Hugin AUV systems for detection, classification and identification o