BAE Systems say it has purchased Riptide Autonomous Solutions, a Massachusetts based provider of unmanned underwater vehicle technology.
In a release, BAE say:
“Specialising in small UUVs, Riptide’s platforms are sophisticated yet simple, efficient, and highly flexible, offering performance discriminators within this domain that include greater depth, range, endurance, and speed.”
“Adding Riptide’s technological capabilities will position us to provide customers unmatched flexibility by offering a family of UUVs and integrated payload solutions capable of supporting a variety of critical missions” said Terry Crimmins, president of BAE Systems Electronic Systems.
“Coupling our extensive expertise in sonar, signal processing, sensor fusion, undersea communications, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems with Riptide’s unique UUV platforms will enable us to affordably address rapidly expanding maritime mission requirements in the global defense, commercial, and research markets.”
The company, Riptide, had previously been expanding its product range and had moved into a new facility. Last year, the company revealed a new micro-UUV that can travel for 1,000 nautical miles without a recharge.
More on this specific platform (pictured above) can be found at Naval Today here.
There has yet to be anyone stating how a Underwater Unmanned Vehicle will transmit/receive data whilst underwater. For a surveillance vessel doing a pre-programmed pattern this is not a problem, where it can come near to the surface, raise an aerial and connect to a satellite dumping all its acquired data or receive updates.
However, for a UUV that is designed to search and track, how will it do it. Only really long wavelength radio waves can travel through water and because they are so long their data bandwidth is incredibly small. We’re talking a 30 word sentence taking minutes to receive/transmit.
It could use a fibre optic, but that would limit the distance it operates from its mothership. A data hydrophone would also suffer range problems as the necessary bandwidth would require much higher frequencies and thus limit the range. Although, it only requires one way transmission instead of looking for the return which would extend its range.
Riptide for example has three systems, acoustic modem for command updates (generally about a 1 km range underwater), wifi for data dump to mothership and an iridium satellite phone for help I’m lost type communications.
You’ve pretty much defined the constraints but maybe worth breaking down into transmit and receive as different requirements and considering the scale/complexity of what might be required or could be utilised?
A UUV could transmit on a scheduled or ad hoc basis by either coming close to the surface or perhaps more desirably, staying at depth and deploying and retrieving a tethered buoy to minimize surface, air or satellite detection. This doesn’t seem to be particularly challenging? Similarly for data receipt on a scheduled basis. For ad hoc data receipt, the UUV would then only need to receive a long wavelength message saying “it has mail” to then establish contact using the previously described method, providing it is safe to do so.
It then becomes a question of whether comms are restricted to military satellite, likely for more sophisticated, expensive and strategically important UUVs, or whether commercial/consumer solutions might provide an option for small, low cost, swarms of UUV. In the latter case, consider that for Rx/Tx satellite data comms, Garmin Inreach today uses Iridium satellite network on a WW basis with a very small form factor for both Rx and Tx. Personal Location Beacons (PLB) similarly routinely use satellite for transmit only emergency use. In future, LEO commercial solutions such as SpaceX Starlink will provide low cost, robust, high speed comms for consumer and commercial use. So its not inconceivable that encrypted military comms could leverage the high redundancy of such networks. Perhaps more Skynet than Skynet itself?
Another advantage of leveraging commercial networks, using small form factor, inexpensive satellite comms, is that an important sub-surface asset could use disposable comms modules that float to the surface, transmit, then immediately sink, well after the asset has departed the area.
All pie in the sky hypothesis on my part of course, but seems like a lot of ways to skin the cat?
Hi GHF, cheers for the info. It does now make sense on how a UUV could be controlled, but more importantly relay information back to its mothership in real time. I suppose if it uses a directional hydophone, this minimises the chances of detection.
The idea of having a T31 as a mothership equipped with UUVs does appeal, as these could be used for either mine detection, sub-hunting or perhaps acting as a torpedo decoy.
trailing aerial to satellite.
Off topic but does anyone know what the plane circling the Surrey area at low altitude was? Was it to do with Trump’s visit?
Depends what type I guess?
I saw that at Woking station. Looked like a Bombardier Global or Gulfstream G4/5 to me
Try this link instead.
https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/riptide-micro-unmanned-underwater-vehicle/
They have lots of American company’s…
Hopefully this makes it easier for us to launch out our own UUV program.