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USVs as a tool to extend the scope of a ship’s mission for multiple tracking/ targeting, and for heterogeneous data collection for fusion and analysis. Capabilities currently being studied by Naval Group include persistence at sea, security, and integrated artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking to the role of USVs in the Asia-Pacific region, the Naval Group's international sales director, François Dupont, shared the following with AMR: “Naval Group responds to the evolving trends of the defence market. We are aware of the increasing demand regarding drones and as a result we provide solutions to integrate all kinds of unmanned vehicles on our ships. i4drones is our leading innovation that collects and treats the data collected through the unmanned assets.”
Inshore protection A common naval use for USVs is for harbour or coastal surveillance missions - a task which is particularly well suited to platforms configured for persistence. Speaking to this point was Kevin Tucker, vice president and general manager of
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In March 2017, Rafael announced it had completed a series of successful tests with Protector, including firing several SPIKE missiles.
Surveillance at FLIR Systems. “USVs typically take a lot of shock, especially when traveling at speed on the water. It’s therefore extremely important to have sensors that are durable and able to routinely handle that type of shock. It’s also important to have sensors that can operate in the harsh conditions that are found on the water - primarily the corrosive effects of salt water,” explained Tucker. “The expectation for reliability is always important, and it seems even more so for maritime sensors.
| AUGUST 2018 |
Most of these systems are left on for extended periods of time which has huge implications for power utilisation. We have tremendous experience in this area with our built-for-purpose SeaFLIR product line which is ruggedised, draws little power, and provides stabilised EO/IR imagery, location, laser rangefinding, and a laser pointer.” Numerous other companies also produce sensors for USVs. CAE is now marketing its Magnetic Anomaly Detection-Extended Role (MAD-XR) sensor
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