Underwater system to enhance maritime security
Posted: 22 March 2006
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BAE Systems has launched a new autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for the Middle East.
The Talisman System, a manoeuvrable craft that can enhance maritime security is capable of a wide range of maritime littoral operations.
 Simon Keith, BAE Systems’ Regional Managing Director, Middle and Near East said: “Our homeland defence capabilities have a great deal to offer countries in the Middle East that are facing up to internal and external threats.
“The region’s oil rigs and storage facilities are located either at sea or on the coast. Talisman offers a robust underwater capability that can be seamlessly integrated into command and control systems. It can provide accurate and timely information to decision makers, enabling a rapid response to any threat.”
Talisman is comprised of a vehicle and a remote control console. The vehicle is based on an innovatively-shaped carbon fibre composite hull, equipped with internal carbon fibre composite pressure vessels containing the electronics systems and payload.
The hull is fitted with commercial-off-the-shelf vectorable thruster pods, which allow it to manoeuvre very accurately, hover and turn 360 within its own length. The hull has been designed and manufactured by stealth aircraft technology experts at the BAE Systems military aircraft sites at Warton and Samlesbury.
Talisman has been designed with an open architecture system, which allows for easy and rapid re-configuration of the mission system software. It pulls though proven technology from previous projects and couples it with advanced mission planning utilities. All mission parameters are pre-settable before launch, for full autonomous operation, with the possibility of operator intervention throughout the mission. Communications to and from the vehicle are via RF or Iridium SatCom (while the vehicle is surfaced) and via acoustic communications systems (when vehicle is underwater).
Talisman carries both integrated and variable payloads. As standard the vehicle is equipped with a suite of environmental sensors. Other payloads are mission or role specific and can include sonar systems and other UUVs such as Archerfish.
T alisman has already undergone a series of trial runs at sea, with a 100-per-cent success rate. Further trials are planned later this year, aimed at widening the range of payloads and systems which are integrated into the vehicle.
Andy Williams, managing director of BAE Systems Underwater Systems, said: “Our aim with Talisman has been to develop a concept demonstrator which will allow us display our capabilities to the world and to show our long term aspirations in this marketplace. We are using Talisman to widen the concept of operations and the concept of use of UUVs in the underwater battlespace and to prove the whole concept of a network-centred UUV.”
Posted by Editor Offshore Arabia Magazine
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