VESSEL REVIEW | Royal Navy expands minehunting capability with new autonomous submersibles
Technology company L3Harris recently delivered three new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the Royal Navy's Project Wilton to support unmanned mine countermeasures and survey operations.
The craft can detect and neutralise underwater mines without putting sailors at risk in addition to being able to operate at depths of 300 metres (1,000 feet).
The AUVs are now with the Royal Navy's Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) program. Following the delivery of the vehicles, the navy team spent the subsequent week trialling them to help navy personnel familiarise themselves with the additional capabilities being offered.
The Royal Navy will use these vehicles for unmanned mine countermeasures and various missions such as conducting route survey operations in UK waters and international areas to ensure safe navigation for both commercial and military shipping.
Battery propulsion permitting long-endurance operations
The AUVs employ a collaborative autonomy architecture and automatic target recognition. The craft are equipped with high-accuracy navigation sensors and advanced communication systems for surface tracking. The portable size and the small footprint will meanwhile facilitate rapid deployment.
The AUVs each measure only two metres (6.6 feet) long by 0.15 metre (0.49 feet) wide and weigh just under 45 kg. The onboard batteries drive a PCB stator motor with a three-bladed, stainless steel propeller to deliver a maximum transit speed of five knots.
Sensors include a dual-frequency sidescan sonar, a Doppler velocity log with current profiling capability, a swath bathymetry sonar, an inertial navigation system (INS), a sound velocity probe, and an underwater locator beacon. L3Harris said the full sensor suite will deliver data of the highest quality for every mission.
Each AUV’s sealed battery section can be swapped in the field and easily reassembled without the need for vacuum pump or INS realignment. Any data recorded using the onboard sensor suite can be downloaded at a rate of one gigabit per second, allowing the vehicle to be ready for deployment within minutes.
Flexible control and monitoring for enhanced operational versatility
The AUVs' standard endurance is six hours, though this can be extended up to 36 hours depending on the battery installation. Monitoring of each craft is possible with the aid of a Getac radio-equipped operator’s console that can withstand in-field conditions and that includes mission planning software.
Control of the craft is via a handheld remote controller with a water-resistant joystick. The latter allows an operator to have direct remote control of the AUV while it is surfaced from up to 300 metres away.
