Page 19 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2023 Online Magazine

vettes with an anti-submarine warfare capability as well some agencies, said Dr. John Hogan, director of the
degree of ability to detect mines. Sensor Processing and Exploitation group at
BAE Systems. The Riptide family consists of three
types of portable small UUVs, which the com-
Under a contract signed between Aselsan and Turkey’s Presidency
of Defence Industries in 2018, the FERSAH sonar has been installed pany said, “are sophisticated yet simple,
on the Turkish Navy’s Barbaros-class frigates, where it replaced the efficient and highly flexible platforms
Raytheon AN/SQS-56 system. that offer performance discriminators
including being able to perform at
The FERSAH is a mid-frequency anti-submarine sonar with high greater depth, at longer range, with
source level and array directivity. The system has active and passive more endurance, and at greater speed.”
ASW modes, in addition to its Mine Like Object Avoidance (MAS)
mode. The system has detection, tracking and analysis capabili-
ties both in active and passive modes with state-of-the-art signal The Riptide family includes a 25-pound,
processing techniques. 4.875-inch-diameter Micro UUV; a 65 to 120-
pound, 7.5-inch-diameter, one-man-portable
(1MP) UUV; and a 120 to 240 pound, 9.375-inch-di-
In addition to ASW, Aselsan’ s FERSAH also has an object avoidance ameter two-man portable (2MP) UUV. The Micro
sonar mode. The system consists of 5 units including the Sonar Wet- UUV now features enhanced functionality. The
End, Connection Box, Power Cabinet, Processor Cabinet and the prototypes of the 1MP and 2MP have been com-
Operator Console. pleted.
Analysts noted that with defence budgets flat-
Recently, BAE Systems has expanded its capacity to manufacture tening and likely to decrease in a post-COVID-19
its Riptide family of autonomous UUVs after the company acquired environment, the navies should instead increase
Riptide Autonomous Systems. The company also has been integrat- the use of unmanned systems in ASW across the
ing its sensor packages on the UUVs. board, which cost a fraction to buy and operate
compared to their manned counterparts.
BAE has built a new manufacturing facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts,
a “multimillion dollar state-of-the-art prototype and Unmanned aircraft could deploy sonobuoys or
production site that greatly increases capacity for both stationary sonar arrays, and unmanned under-
sea or surface vehicles could tow passive sonar
vehicle development and personnel focused on the arrays. Unmanned surface vehicles could also
Riptide product line,” the company said in a release. deploy low-frequency active sonars like those
carried by U.S. undersea surveillance ships that
The Riptide UUVs are used by the U.S. Navy and other government can detect or drive off submarines from dozens
of miles away, they said.
“To affordably conduct peacetime
surveillance and effectively defeat sub-
marines in wartime, the Navy should
increase the role of unmanned systems.
Using manned platforms to conduct
command and control, and unmanned
vehicles to track, deter and engage sub-
marines, could significantly reduce the
costs of ASW operations and enable the
Navy to scale its ASW efforts to match
the growing threat posed by submarine
fleets,” said Bryan Clark is a senior fellow at the
Hudson Institute.

The Royal Navy is joining the U.S. Navy in the
Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicle
(XLUUV) club, which is pursuing XLUUV designs
from both Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

Recently, First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin

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