Home » Technology » The Navy designs a plan to equip its ships with unmanned vehicles

The Navy designs a plan to equip its ships with unmanned vehicles

The Spanish Navy is working on a document that collects the needs identified in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Surface (UPS) and submarines (UUV). This type of platform will play a fundamental role in naval operations in the near future and, therefore, it is necessary to establish as soon as possible the requirements they must meet and the missions in which they will act, explain the military sources to Infodefensa.com.

This document will also be the roadmap that marks the path to be followed for the implementation of these systems. For the past two years, the Navy has focused on these vehicles. Last year he participated for the first time in the exercise Dynamic messenger from I WILL TAKE in Portugal and, this year, repeats with a ship, the BAM Boldoperating with four unmanned systems, three on the surface and one in the air, made in Spain.

The great novelty of this edition, beyond the presence of a ship, is the physical, but also logical, integration of these vehicles in the combat system (Scomba) of the BAM, thanks to a solution developed by Navantiathe Naiad. This milestone, which few navies in the world have achieved so far, among other things, effectively transforms the autonomous vehicle into an extension of the ship and allows you to see in real time the images and data acquired by the sensors at the command post of these vehicles. . This is the UPS y UAV become another system of the ship, under the direct control of the sensor operator.

Through programs of Ministry of DefenceAs the Lad, in recent years the Navy has also tested some unmanned aerial systems. In the area precisely of UAVcurrently operates only from its ships the scaneagle, mainly on their frigates. The goal, in this case, is to equip medium-sized ships such as BAM of smaller drones for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

In the field of UUV Steps are also being taken to find platforms for mine warfare or maritime surveillance missions. Importantly, the Navy plans to operate unmanned vehicles in future ships such as the F-110 and also plans to supply these systems to the F-100 during the modernization process.

In this context, direct contacts with the national industry and the university world have intensified to learn about the solutions existing on the market and the technologies under development that aspire to make a difference, identify the most suitable platforms for the needs of the Italian Navy. and establish collaboration agreements to test the designs of the companies in exercises such as the Dynamic messenger.

Among the systems that have aroused interest in testing, and which are well positioned for future acquisitions, are, for example, the Airfox of Galician Marine toolsAnd UAV assessed last year and this year in the aforementioned maneuvers of the I WILL TAKE and aboard minesweepers and ships on several occasions; or the livelyAnd UUV of Catalan Iqua Robotics that the staff of the Countermine measures strength you already know and who is also participating in the allied exercise.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.