Page 42 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 21

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BORDER PROTECTION
UNMANNED
FEBRUARY – MARCH 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
Given Home Affair’s statement that the FMSC must be able to adapt to different requirements “and be deployable to mainland and offshore locations to counter emerging threats”, this type of assessment is presumably already tak- ing place.
Neil Smith, Director of Programs at Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific, believes what’s under consideration for the FMSC is very much a mix of manned and unmanned sys- tems, satellites, and fixed undersea networks.
“They’ve got a good idea of what’s in mind and unmanned is definitely part of it,” he commented. “There’s been some recent movement with requests for more information and that’s exciting, and I think there’s much greater consider- ation being given to how you bring together all the relevant assets and sensors and control them efficiently.”
Insitu’s ScanEagle UAS is involved in the RAN’s experi- mentation program under the non-capitalised Navy Minor Program 1942. It is also being offered for FMSC and awaiting a selection decision for Project Sea 129 Phase 5, whose initial Block will provide an embarked UAS for the RAN’s Anzac- class frigates and new Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels.
Insitu’s larger Integrator UAS and the ScanEagle have been shortlisted together (along with Textron’s Aerosonde HQ) for Army’s Land 129 Phase 3 tactical UAS require- ment. This program is running a year ahead of Sea 129 and is likely to inform the Sea 129 outcome scheduled for mid-2023, which in turn will directly or indirectly provide capability to the FMSC.
Also in 2023, the arrival of the first of six MQ-46 Triton UAS for the RAAF will provide border protection with a major boost. Once in service, Triton’s 24-hour endurance and ability to monitor some 5,200 square kilometres per sortie will significantly enhance persistent surveillance of Australia’s maritime approaches from the north, in the southwest Pacific and down to Antarctica.
ABOVE: Both the ADF and Border Command have a range of sensors available to them.
THE CHALLENGE
However, Defence and ABF tasking priorities could con- flict, the effectiveness of aerial surveillance can be impact- ed by resource availability, adverse weather conditions and cloud, and some unwelcome prospective visitors may travel underwater.
The effectiveness of the ABF’s eight Cape-class patrol boats and Defence surface assets can also be impacted by availability, and environmental conditions.
Innovative programs under development by two Austra- lian companies, both featuring unmanned surface vessels, may help plug this security gap cost-effectively while also contributing to the ADF’s existing and planned anti-subma- rine warfare force structure.
Last October Newcastle-based SME BlueZone Group was awarded a $7.1 million Defence Innovation Hub con- tract – the Hub’s second-largest award to date – to continue development of its Offboard Detection, Classification and Localisation system based on the proven Wave Glider USV manufactured by Boeing US subsidiary Liquid Robotics.
The Wave Glider is propelled by the purely mechanical conversion of ocean wave energy into forward thrust in- dependent of wave direction, enabling it to stay at sea for many months. Solar panels recharge the batteries powering control electronics and payloads.
The vehicle consists of two parts. The float, which is roughly the size and shape of a large surfboard, travels on the surface of the ocean while the wing hangs below on an umbilical tether 4–8 meters long and is equipped with a rudder for steering and a thruster using stored solar energy during extreme conditions.
“What we’re looking to do is a system that can automate the detection of contacts underwater and only transmit the detected contact, unlike sonar buoys which send all the raw data for processing elsewhere and require radio links and bandwidth,” Darren Burrowes, BlueZone’s Chief Technol- ogy Officer, told ADM.
UK systems engineering and technology group SEA is supplying its KraitArray thin line modular towed array for the collection of acoustic data. A Sonix Acoustic Process- ing Package from Sydney SME Sonartech Atlas will au- tonomously detect and analyse passive acoustic contacts received via the KraitArray and provide the real-time infor- mation required to track contacts.
For this, South Australian SME Acacia Systems (now part of Ultra) is supplying advanced algorithms deployed as part of its Onyx platform. This draws on work completed for the integrated sonar systems supplied to the RAN’s Hobart- class air warfare destroyers and earlier innovations aboard Collins-class submarines and will form target tracks – lo- cation, position and speed – intended to contribute to the overall ASW situational awareness.
“These very short messages can be integrated straight into a ship’s 9LV combat management system and will ap- pear on the operator’s display as a track from a Wave Glid- er,” Burrowes noted.
“With multiple vehicles, if you wanted more assurance on that track you could move the Wave Gliders closer and put an active source in the water, perhaps from a MH-60R
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