Marine Technology Reporter, April 2006

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before launch, for full autonomous opera- tion, with the possibility of operator inter- vention throughout the mission. Communications to and from the vehicle are via RF or Iridium SatCom (while the vehicle is surfaced) and via acoustic com- munications systems (when vehicle is underwater). Talisman has already undergone a series of trial runs at sea, with a 100 percent success rate. Further trials are planned later this year, aimed at widening the range of payloads and sys- tems that are integrated into the vehicle. Navy Completes UUV Test The fast-attack submarine USS Scranton (SSN 756) successfully demon- strated homing and docking of an Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) system during at-sea testing in January 2006, UVOnline.com reported. The two UUVs used in the testing are a part of the AN/BLQ-11 Long Term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS), which was designed to enable submarines to conduct clandestine undersea surveys to locate mines. Repeated homing tests were conducted with slightly different configurations to assess the ability of a UUV to dock with a torpedo-tube- mounted recovery system. The final result was the first successful docking of the LMRS vehicle to a submerged sub- marine at-sea. The LMRS test demon- strated technologies possible from com- pletely autonomous UUVs. Once launched, there are no wires connecting them to the submarine. The UUVs can monitor and control their position using sophisticated inertial navigation systems and GPS receivers. Forward and side scanning sonars enable obstacle avoid- ance, and communications are accom- plished via acoustic and UHF satellite communications systems. Several critical lessons were learned during these tests, including management of the interaction that occurs when a UUV comes very close and then docks to a submerged submarine, the integration of UUV systems within the submarine and the performance of UUV acoustic communication and homing sys- tems. www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 7 news ��?�À�i�Ê�Ì�?�>�?�Ê�Ó�x�Ê�Þ�i�>�À�Ã�Ê�>�v�Ì�i�À�Ê�?�?�Ì�À�?�`�Õ�V�?�?�}�Ê�?�Õ�À�Ê�?�?�}�?�Ê �«�i�À�v�?�À�?�>�?�V�i�Ê�º�?�?�À�?�?�}�»�Ê�`�i�Ã�?�}�?�]�Ê�-�Õ�L�V�?�?�? �Á �Ê�V�?�?�Ì�?�?�Õ�i�Ã�Ê�Ì�?�Ê ��i�>�`�Ê�Ì�?�i�Ê�Ü�>�Þ�Ê�?�v�v�i�À�?�?�}�Ê�Ì�?�i�Ê�?�?�Ã�Ì�Ê�À�i��?�>�L��i�Ê�V�?�?�?�i�V�Ì�?�?�?�Ã�Ê �«�?�Ã�Ã�?�L��i�Ê�?�?�Ê �Ü�i�Ì�Ê�i�?�Û�?�À�?�?�?�i�?�Ì�Ã�° �,�i��i�?�Ì��i�Ã�Ã�Ê�Ì�i�Ã�Ì�?�?�}�°�Ê�1�?�V�?�?�«�À�?�?�?�Ã�?�?�}�Ê�µ�Õ�>��?�Ì�Þ�°�Ê ��?�`�Ê�>�Ê�Ü�?�À��`�Ü�?�`�i�Ê�À�i�«�Õ�Ì�>�Ì�?�?�?�Ê�v�?�À�Ê�?�Õ�Ì�Ã�Ì�>�?�`�?�?�}�Ê�`�i��?�Û�i�À�Þ�Ê �>�?�`�Ê�Ã�i�À�Û�?�V�i�°�Ê�7�?�Ì�?�Ê�`�i�«�i�?�`�>�L�?��?�Ì�Þ�Ê�>�Ì�Ê�i�Û�i�À�Þ�Ê��i�Û�i��]�Ê�?�Ì�½�Ã�Ê �?�?�Ê�Ü�?�?�`�i�À�Ê�Ã�?�Ê�?�>�?�Þ�Ê�?�>�Û�i�Ê�V�?�?�i�Ê�Ì�?�Ê�Ì�À�Õ�Ã�Ì�Ê�Ì�?�i�Ê�?�À�?�}�?�?�>��° �/�?��Ê��À�i�i�\�Ê�£�Ê�n�n�n�Ê�Ó�{�x�Ê�£�£�ä�{�Ê�Ê�Ê�U�Ê�Ê�Ê��?�Ì�i�À�?�>�Ì�?�?�?�>��\�Ê�³�{�x�Ê�Ç�È�£�Î�Ê�Ó�ä�ä�ä�Ê�Ê�Ê�U�Ê�Ê�Ê�Ü�Ü�Ü�°�Ã�Õ�L�V�?�?�?�°�V�?�? Visit www.maritimeequipment.com/mt & Click No. 212 MTR#3 (1-16).qxd 4/7/2006 11:10 AM Page 9