New Delhi: In a major move in defence technology, the XLAUV’s capabilities reach its zenith with the use of Nautomate – the next generation military autonomous control system for uncrewed marine vehicles.
British engineers have demonstrated an extra large autonomous underwater vehicle (XLAUV) to the Royal Navy. Made by BAE Systems, it aims to help the UK forces in monitoring and protecting underwater infrastructure.
The autonomous underwater vehicle can also support anti-submarine warfare and provide another means for them to undertake covert surveillance missions.
Prior to the demonstration for the Royal Navy, the submarine had also undergone trials earlier this month using BAE Systems’ Nautomate – a high specification autonomous control system that integrates on surface and sub-surface vehicles.
During the trials, the craft had successfully conducted a pre-programmed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission.
BAE has built the Herne demonstrator configuration in a record time of 11 months – which includes the complete process from concept to actual deployment and testing. The company partnered with Canadian firm Cellula Robotics for the same.
The initial demonstration from BAE Systems of the Herne XLAUV will be followed up with further trials based on the needs of its customers from UK and around the globe.
The underwater autonomy of Herne gives an additional benefit and that is the ability to carry on operating without the need to resupply or carry life support systems.
The XLAUV will be able to patrol the sub surface domain for far longer than a crewed alternative.
Moreover, the company states that it uses open architecture mission plug-ins which allows it to be upgraded as new technologies keep evolving.
The vessel integrates multiple features which makes it a great fit for military use, as claimed by BAE Systems. Firstly, it is designed to work specifically in a military application, and meet required military standards.
Moreover, each component of the craft has been intrinsically designed to have a low signature. It carries safe and secure data communication packages to maintain contact with the base.
BAE Systems says that the XLAUV has been designed with multiple ways to launch and recover including from the harbour, a ship or submarine. It also has a large and flexible payload space, capable of hosting a wide range of mission-specific payloads.
Lastly, the use of flexible modules enables easy access to all internal components for easy maintenance.
According to a media report, the XLAUV is designed to fit in a 40 feet shipping container, making it an easy payload for ships to carry.
“Herne is a game changer in the underwater battlespace. It will give our customers a cost effective autonomous capability that will allow for a wide range of missions, end the reliance on crewed platforms, keeping people out of harm’s way and boosting endurance,” said Scott Jamieson, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Maritime Services business.
The XLAUV’s capabilities reach its zenith with the use of Nautomate – the next generation military autonomous control system for uncrewed marine vehicles.
The scalable feature of Nautomate allows it to be used on platforms from 19 feet (6 metres) to 164 feet (50 metres) in overall length. BAE Systems had earlier successfully conducted its trials on a surface vessel earlier this year.
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