Navy Currents – January 2019
Nautel, General Dynamics to Upgrade Canadian Sonars
Nautel and General Dynamics will upgrade and maintain underwater sensors on the Halifax-class frigates for the Royal Canadian Navy as part of the underwater warfare suite upgrade contract awarded to General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada. Nautel will supply NS72-36 sonar amplifiers and Mk II broadband transducers for dramatically improved underwater threat detection and tracking capabilities.
Naval Group, ECA Offer Mine-Hunting Solution
Naval Group and ECA Group have established a technological and commercial partnership in unmanned mine warfare. The first practical application was completed as part of the response to the consultation launched by Belgium for a Belgian-Dutch cooperation for the supply of 12 mine hunters.
As partners in a consortium formed for this call for tender, Naval Group and ECA Group are offering an innovative solution for robotic mine warfare, fully integrated on board an MCM military vessel.
Mine-hunting practices are being revolutionized via unmanned systems. This paradigm shift will affect naval forces as a whole.
Sea Trials Complete for
Indian Navy’s First DSRV
JFD has successfully completed the sea trials of the deep search-and-rescue vehicle (DSRV) for the first of two third-generation submarine rescue systems being delivered to the Indian Navy. The DSRV carried out underwater mating with a bottomed submarine at a depth of more than 300 ft., followed by a target mating and hatch opening at 45°. On successful mating with the bottomed submarine, JFD and the Indian Navy carried out a safe transfer of personnel from the submarine to the DSRV.
The DSRV also conducted a record dive representing the deepest submergence by a manned vessel in Indian waters, as well as ROV operations at a depth of more than 750 m and side scan sonar operations at a depth of more than 650 m, all of which represent significant firsts for the Indian Navy.
New Head for NUWC Division Newport’s USW
Hector Lopez has been selected as head of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport Undersea Warfare (USW) Weapons, Vehicles and Defensive Systems Department, the largest of the departments at NUWC with more than 650 federal employees. He is responsible for technical leadership and full-spectrum engineering in support of research, development, acquisition and in-service activities associated with torpedoes, unmanned vehicles, countermeasures and towed defensive systems.
Australia’s Shipbuilding Future
At the opening of the Naval Shipbuilding College in Adelaide, Australia, former Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said building a suitable workforce would be the hardest part of Australia’s Navy upgrade because it is difficult to convince people to join the industry. The Australian government is investing $90 billion into the continuous shipbuilding program, expected to create 5,200 shipbuilding jobs within 10 years to build Australia’s new fleet of 12 offshore patrol vessels, nine Hunter-class anti-submarine frigates, 12 future submarines and 21 Pacific patrol boats.
Kongsberg Bridge Simulator
For Australian Navy
Kongsberg Digital has been selected to deliver and support a suite of K-Sim navigation-ready ship’s bridge simulators for the Royal Australian Navy. The simulators will be delivered for a new training facility at HMAS Stirling in Perth starting May 2019, with existing bridge simulators at HMAS Watson in Sydney being upgraded from December 2018.