Tag Archives: MIUWU

The Port of Gulfport implemented ‘continuous autonomous subsea surveillance’ on May 1

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There is no secret that the Navy has often used undersea surveillance sonar such as the German-made Cerberus anti-diver set for years in sensitive areas such as strategic ports, NSYs, and homeports.

For instance, more than 20 years ago:

050815-N-1722M-026 Pascagoula, Miss. (Aug 15, 2005) – Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One Two (EODMU-12) Det 10 prepare to guide the Cerberus Swimmer Detection System into the water at Naval Station Pascagoula during the Gulf Coast Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative 2005. The initiative is being held at the Port of Pascagoula in cooperation with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, along with federal, state, and local agencies working together to enhance homeland security. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Michael Moriatis (RELEASED)

Plus, there are regular harbor inspections and exercises by USCGR PSUs and USNR MIUWUs, not to mention state and local dive teams and UXO/EOD dets.

Now the ante has been quietly upped in the form of full-time AUSVs.

I’ve covered the Ocean Aero Triton, which is capable of sailing autonomously for 3 months on solar and wind power at speeds of up to 5 knots, several times in the past couple of years. I see them a lot as the company is based here in Gulfport.

Up she comes.

It seems the Triton is now also “on the job” in the port, basically making a baseline scan of the bottom and then repeating the grid to look for new items which would be interesting to take a closer look at to see if they are, well, an old refrigerator, or a sea mine.

 

Meet Seagull, Israel’s new USV robot boat

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seagull

Elbit Systems has a new 40-foot unmanned surface vehicle, the Seagull, which is designed to operate in pairs for either mine sweeping or sub busting. The idea is the first vehicle will have surveillance gear to find the sub or mine, while the second will carry either clearance gear (an ROV) or a anti-submarine torpedo to shove right up the sneaky U-boat’s kisser.

seagull 2 sea gull 3

From Elbit’s presser:

Drawing on world class know -how derived from generations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) design, development and operation and its naval capabilities, Elbit Systems’ newest offering in the unmanned platform field is Seagull -an organic, modular, highly autonomous, multi-mission Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) system.

Seagull is a 12-meter USV with replaceable mission modules, with two vessels capable of being operated and controlled in concert using a single Mission Control System (MCS), from manned ships or from the shore.

The system provides unmanned end-to-end mine hunting operation taking the man out of the mine field. It provides mission planning, and on-line operation in known and unknown areas,including area survey, search, detection, classification, identification, neutralization and verification. It is equipped to search the entire water volume and operate underwater vehicles to identify and neutralize mines.

The idea is the two-boat pair can operate within 50-100 miles of the control station and remain at sea for 96 hours, covering a pretty large swath of littoral in the process while their operators sip coffee back in a trailer somewhere. A second set of boats can be kept ready to rotate out the first, making a persistent sea station a very possible endeavor.

This obviously has uses in a MIUWU or PSU augmentation or replacement.

Speaking of which, DARPA’s Sea Hunter–the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel, or ACTUV is the U.S.’s version of this, and is mucho larger at some 132-feet long and is getting some love on social media as of late.

USCG Harbor patrol device in development

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Underwater Imaging System Prototype Development

The US Coast Guard is fielding a 48-pound Underwater search device for harbor surveillance and port reconnaissance. This is good for counter-smuggling, underwater sappers, counter-terrorism, etc 

Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
The UIS produces three-dimensional, geo-referenced imagery that facilitates identifying underwater objects and relocating them for intervention.

Issue (from USCG Website)

The Coast Guard has a growing need for tools that can accurately detect, classify and provide detailed images of threats or other items of interest underwater, such as parasitic hull attachments, improvised explosive devices, scuttled self-propelled semi-submersible vessels, lost Aids to Navigation (ATON) components or even lost personnel. Presently, divers search for these items, a time-consuming and costly process that yields marginal success and places divers in harm’s way. An underwater imaging capability would save labor, time and reduce risk.

Outcome

The tasking included overseeing the production, delivery and evaluation of both the base and advanced Underwater Imaging System (UIS) from CodaOctopus. The UIS is a sub-surface inspection system with three dimensional imaging capability geospatially rectified that could be used on a Coast Guard vessel in support of multiple missions. Integral to the project is a programmatic environmental assessment to ensure that there are no detrimental effects to the environment when using the equipment. Originally a joint effort between the RDC and the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office’s Technical Support Working Group, the project also included the Center for Ocean Technology at the University of South Florida, the Office of Naval Research and CodaOctopus Products Ltd.

Over the course of this effort, the UIS was placed with different operating units—including ATON teams, cutters and small boats—to assess its capability and performance under actual operational and environmental conditions. Additionally, various Coast Guard units requested support from the RDC to deploy the UIS and provide aid and assistance in conducting real-world underwater searches and identifications. The UIS has proven effective in several scenarios. The path forward will include working with the Coast Guard Office of Counterterrorism and Defense Operations in developing interim tactics, techniques and procedures to support the deployment of prototype units to better understand the cost of operating and maintaining the units compared to the benefits they provide.

The CodaOctupus UIS:

(from thier site)

choscope UIS

Echoscope UIS

The Echoscope–UIS™ (Underwater Inspection System) is the world’s first fully integrated 3D sonar system for specialised underwater applications such as maritime security, port and harbour maintenance, search and recovery and intruder visualisation and classification. The system can also be used to rapidly assess storm damage, locate sunken debris and provide baseline maps of critical infrastructure.

Using Echoscope technology to deliver precise, intuitive and instantaneous three-dimensional images, the UIS is the only system which is suitable for multiple applications, producing detailed GPS referenced underwater scans in real-time. Even the least experienced operator can undertake rapid inspections of harbour walls, bulkheads, piers, bridges, pilings and ship hulls. The system can also be utilised to inspect and clear shipping channels and to image and classify divers and underwater vehicles.

Echoscope UIS HD

Included in the Underwater Inspection System is a ruggedized waterproof digital video camera (for both day and night operation) to provide a separate and immediately obvious above water reference.

Significant Benefits of the Echoscope-UIS

    • Real-time 3D imaging, improving operational decision making and data collection
    • Platform independent – fixed, vessel, AUV and ROV application
    • Manual pan capability during normal operation
Echoscope UIS Deployment
  • Baseline comparison feature
  • Supports diver operations and steers divers via communications
  • Geographically referenced data
  • High resolution visual scenes

The Echoscope-UIS is successfully operated by a number of law enforcement and port security organisations including Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department, Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, Boston Police Department and the United States Coast Guard.