On Thursday, March 26, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that it had closed its acquisition of Hydroid Inc. HII says that the acquisition expands its capabilities in the “strategically important and rapidly growing” autonomous and unmanned maritime systems market.
Hydroid will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions Unmanned Systems business unit, which now includes UUVs such as the Orca extra-large UUV. The addition of Hydroid expands HII’s capabilities in the medium and small UUV space, with the inclusion of vehicles such as the REMUS and Seaglider AUVs, as well as marine robots.
Maritime
Maritime
Fugro, SEA-KIT to develop new USVs that can deploy ROVs and AUVs for inspections
Geo-data specialist Fugro and SEA-KIT, a provider of hi-tech technologies to maritime and research industries, will collaborate to develop a new range of agile and compact uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) capable of deploying ROVs and AUVs for marine asset inspections.
Fugro says that the USVs are being developed alongside its range of USVs for hydrographic data acquisition. The first USVs are expected to be launched before the end of 2020, and a larger USV model is being designed for delivery in 2021.
Sonardyne International unveils new products for unmanned maritime vehicles
Sonardyne International Ltd. has unveiled several new additions to its 2020 product line-up. The underwater technology provider says that the products are all designed to play a role in delivering users’ data from the seabed to the shore.
The first item that Sonardyne has unveiled is its SPRINT-Nav Mini, which the company describes as the “most compact guidance and control solution in the market.”
DARPA awards contracts to four companies for Manta Ray Program focused on UUVs
DARPA has awarded contracts to four companies to work on its Manta Ray Program, which seeks to demonstrate critical technologies for a new class of long duration, long range, payload-capable UUVs.
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Navatek LLC have been selected to focus on the development of an integrated platform for Manta Ray technology and operational areas. The fourth company, Metron Inc., will work on developing critical technology and platforms specific to the field of undersea energy harvesting techniques at the necessary depths for successful operations.
iXblue, ThayerMahan partner to provide unmanned maritime and survey services
Through their new partnership, maritime technology company ThayerMahan Inc. and global high-tech company iXblue will use iXblue’s DriX USV to provide unmanned maritime and survey services in North America, as well as in other parts of the world.
The companies will leverage their respective strengths to address a wide range of maritime and survey applications including, but not limited to, Oil & Gas, ISR, and monitoring and tracking operations. ThayerMahan has a “far-reaching expertise” in maritime domain awareness, while iXblue’s USV is multi-purpose and cost-effective.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: How autonomous and remote underwater vehicles are boosting global maritime operations
Editor's note: To hear more on this topic and to visit with exhibitors at a Maritime Pavilion, register for Xponential 2020 here.
In January 1942, a 6,768-ton, 422.8-foot long British tanker, just five years old, steamed off Long Island, reporting that a menacing U-boat in its area was "increasingly serious."
On Jan. 15 of that year, the tanker, the Coimbra, was sunk by a German U-boat, taking it down and killing most of the crew. At the time, it had 2.7 million gallons of lubricating oil onboard. For 77 years, the oil would seep out, little by little — until recently.
Aquiline Drones to power GuardBot's spherical and amphibious robotic vehicles via AD Cloud
Cloud and drone technologies company Aquiline Drones (AD) has announced that it will power the spherical and amphibious robotic vehicles from engineering company GuardBot using the AD Cloud (ADC).
Aquiline notes that ADC takes full advantage of its capacity, modularity and truly salient features for autonomous assignments, operations and quests, which makes it ideal for unmanned vehicle operations.
“In the coming months, ADC will undergo rigorous testing, hosting and management trials with GuardBot’s proprietary software application. ADC’s highly modular AI architecture is suitable for crucial customization of solutions typically not available in the open marketplace,” explains Barry Alexander, founder and CEO of Aquiline Drones and AD Cloud Services.
COLREGs update, testing and public acceptance key to boosting unmanned maritime systems
For unmanned maritime systems (UMS) to reach their full potential, COLREGs, the set of regulations that provide the “rules of the road” for vessels to prevent collisions, need to be updated to include the innovative waterborne technologies.
“COLREGs for us is really the biggest issue. We need to have UMS put into COLREGs,” said Mike Smitsky, AUVSI’s senior manager of advocacy and government relations who manages and staffs the AUVSI UMS Advocacy Committee.
PEO USC grants Milestone C approval to the Unmanned Influence Sweep System program
The Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) has been cleared for low-rate initial production (LRIP) following the Program Executive Officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) granting Milestone C approval to the UISS program.
The Navy plans to exercise options for the procurement of three LRIP systems on the current Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract with Textron Systems, the UISS prime contractor.
