Feature 3 | MINE COUNTERMEASURES
Engineers recover the Remote Multi- Mission Vehicle, part of the mine countermeasures package for the LCS.
definition of the MCMV. Tere has long been a concept of containerised systems which could be deployed from appropriate vessels taken up from trade, although, the only applications seem to be in naval vessels with Canada’s Kingstons receiving such a system in the form of the Seakeeper Intermim Remote Minehunting and Disposal System (IRMDS) with a diesel-power semi-submersible drone and a tow fish with side-scan sonars. The concept is at the heart of the US
Developments in autonomous MCM technology suggest that the days of the dedicated MCM vessel may be numbered.
Navy’s approach, based on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), which is to have a series of dedicated modules of sensors, robots and weapons for a variety of roles. Te MCM module is also based upon the diesel- powered AN/WLD-1 semi-submersible Remote Minehunting System (RMS) with towed minehunting sonar.
offer more MCM tools, in particular the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs). These are systems which can be programmed to conduct a series of functions without manually intervention, and AUVs are nearing deployment both for minefield reconnaissance and route surveys. Their
sensors include a side-looking
synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) which uses motion artificially to lengthen the aperture of the antenna, enhancing resolution to produce near-photographic sonar images
of the seabed and, with the appropriate soſtware, to detect and to classify mine-like objects over wide swathes of the seabed. Consideration is also being given to using USVs in the minesweeper and minehunter role, while Saab and Norway’s Kongsberg have suggested using the latter’s Minesniper Neutron disposable ROV from a Double Eagle ROV to give an autonomous capability possibly with automatic target recognition. The development of AUVs and USVs,
and their ability to facilitate stand-off MCM, is driving radical approaches towards the
US Navy MCM upgraded with improved sonar
The first installation of the AN/SQQ-32(V) 4 minehunting sonar upgrade began in January on USS Guardian (MCM 5), in Sasebo, Japan, by engineers from Naval Surface Warfare Center. Designed to meet the challenges of mine detection and classification, the new system is a high-frequency, wideband upgrade to the AN/SQQ-32(V) 3 sonar. The upgrade will improve sonar detection performance in high clutter environments, increase instantaneous area search rate for stealthy targets, and provide improved target resolution imagery. “In 2006, a government and University of Texas team began development efforts, resulting in an engineering development model capability demonstration on USS Sentry (MCM 3) in 2009,” said Donna Carson-Jelley, mine warfare programme manager for Programme Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS). “We now see all of that hard work culminating in the first production installation on MCM 5.” The US Navy verified that the sonar system met preliminary requirements during factory acceptance testing in September 2011, which supported the decision to proceed with the next phase of evaluation. Subsequently, the first production unit completed in-water testing in October 2011. Installation was due be complete in April. Seven other MCMs in the US Navy’s 5th and 7th fleets are due to be upgraded through fiscal year 2015.
24 Warship Technology May 2012
LCS capabilities The LCS will also use USVs with the Unmanned Surface Sweep System (USSS) for influence mine threats, two Bluefins UAVs for reconnaissance and a SH-60 helicopter with sensors and weapons including disposable mine destructor. Te LCS will also be capable of using Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) sensors for airborne, stand-off reconnaissance and automatic detection of minefields in the surf zone and inland using a multi-spectral sensor system. Several countries are examining new
MCM technologies. In France, for example, the Evaluation de Solutions Potentielles d’Automatisation de Déminage pour les Opérations Navales (ESPADON)
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