DEFENSE NEWS

Kazakhstan and France are to work together on unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), Kazakh national defence company Kazakhstan Engineering revealed on its website on 16 February.The company's Gidropribor subsidiary will be co-operating with French firm ECA Robotics in the field of UUVs. The agreement will see the Kazakhstan Navy procure 10 UUVs for use on survey work in the Caspian Sea, as well as for finding and destroying objects on the sea floor.Under the agreement signed by ECA Robotics and Gidropribor, the Kazakh firm will undertake local assembly of the platforms as part of the procurement contract, which will last through to 2017. As a result, the firm will be able to increase its workforce by 10 to 15%.Furthermore, ECA Robotics will work with Gidropribor to export UUVs and similar remotely operated vehicles to other countries in the region and in Asia. 

 

COMMENTThe move by ECA Robotics into the Kazakh market comes at a time when French defence companies may be looking to move away from the Kazakh and Central Asian market.Previously established joint ventures between Kazakhstan Engineering and Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter) and Thales are under evaluation. The Kazakh government revealed in March 2014 that it was allocating KZT10 billion (then USD54 million) to purchase the Airbus Helicopters 50% stake in the Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering joint venture. The Kazakh government is also selling its 50% stake in the Thales Kazakhstan Engineering joint venture, with tenders closing for a second time on the loss-making enterprise in February 2014. However, Thales' future strategy for the joint venture is unclear.Additionally, the company is limited in its customer base for the Caspian Sea, with Russia and Iran both under international sanctions. French firms have begun to make inroads into the Turkmenistani energy market, but the country's main infrastructure is geared towards onshore field development and overland pipeline transport.

Via henry, Patrick H.

Kongsberg Defence Systems (KONGSBERG) has signed a contract for supply of the MINESNIPER Mk III One Shot Mine Disposal Weapon System to the Royal Norwegian Navy. The contract is won in international competition and made between the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation and KONGSBERG, represented by the Naval Systems & Surveillance division.

The MINESNIPER Mk III System will support the needs of the Armed Forces by introducing new and flexible capabilities for inspection and disarmament of Sea-Mines in the Royal Norwegian Navy. The System consists of a number of MINESNIPER Mk III combat vehicles, inspection/training vehicles, logistics and services for integration into the Command and Control System on-board the Navy's six Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMV).

The MINESNIPER Mk III System will enable MCM operations to be performed in a safer, more rapid and more efficient way. This contract is the result of a long term effort to strengthen our position as supplier of MCM systems, and in this context this is a very important reference contract for KONGSBERG”, says Executive Vice President Leiv Inge Steig in Kongsberg Defence Systems.

Via Patrick H.

Kongsberg Underwater Technology, Inc. has completed negotiations with the University of Washington’s Center for Commercialisation to obtain the sole rights to produce, market and continue the development of Seaglider technology. iRobot had a licence however the company halted the maritime activities. Kongsberg Underwater Technology reckons the Seaglider technology offers interesting perspectives. Also, co-operation with existing Seaglider users will be initiated.

This is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) system developed at UW’s School of Oceanography and Applied Physics Laboratory with funding from the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation. Rather than using a propeller to move through the water, a Seaglider uses fixed wings and changes in buoyancy to achieve both vertical and forward motion. It can dive as deep as 1,000 metres and then ascend to the surface to communicate data on water properties, such as temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentration, back to users via satellite. After verifying position and getting any new instructions, it dives again, repeating the cycle over and over.

The use of buoyancy propulsion is very energy efficient and allows mission periods of over 9 months and distances of thousands of kilometres rather than just a few days and tens of kilometres, typical of propeller-driven AUVs.

Fritz Stahr, manager of UW’s Seaglider Fabrication Center, wanted a company with broad experience in both the marine instrument and AUV businesses. He hopes Kongsberg will bring the technology to many more people interested in understanding the ocean.

 

Via Patrick H.

Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdansk, Poland, has selected Kongsberg Maritime to supply a HUGIN 1000 MR Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and associated underwater communications and positioning equipment for mine countermeasures (MCM) applications, as part of a minehunter class vessel delivery for the Polish Navy.
The HUGIN 1000 MR AUV has been selected as it is specifically designed for MCM operations and can detect, classify and identify mines in a single mission. The delivery includes the HiPAP underwater communication and positioning system, which provides USBL updates and underwater data communication with the HUGIN 1000, or other underwater vehicles.
HUGIN is currently operational with several navies around the world including the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Finnish Navy and the Italian Navy, in addition to being used by commercial companies. It is capable of performing high-speed surveys with excellent navigation and payload data quality to a depth of 1,000, 3,000 or 4,500 meters, depending on configuration. It can carry several different types of high performance survey sensors for synchronized and simultaneous operation.
The HUGIN concept allows integration of alternative sensors for geophysical, search and inspection purposes, subject to customer demands. Naval applications include MCM, Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA)/Battlespace access, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Commercial applications include offshore oil and gas geophysical survey, inspection of pipelines and underwater engineering structures, environmental monitoring, hydrography and marine research.
Remontowa Shipbuilding is the prime contractor for delivering the new minehunter class vessels for the Polish Navy. The HUGIN contract was negotiated in cooperation with ESCORT Ltd., Kongsberg Maritime’s official representative in Poland.

Via Patrick H.

First-of-class undergoes extensive tests, while ship three heads for sea trials in 2013The Finnish Navy accepted its second Katanpää-class mine countermeasures (MCM) vessel from shipbuilding company Intermarine, in a ceremony on 20 August in La Spezia, Italy.

With support from the Italian Navy, the 680 ton (full load) Purunpää has conducted more than 60 days of sea trials to date. Under current plans, the vessel will be transported to Finland by ship in early September, arriving later in the month or early in October.

Purunpää faced many unexpected issues in build, including heavy floods at Intermarine's shipyard and the challenge of integrating a complex mine-hunting system, said the Finnish Navy's commander-in-chief Rear Admiral Veli-Jukka Pennala at the ceremony.

In the year since its arrival in Finland, first-of-class Katanpää has been undertaking further platform trials, including shock-testing and operational evaluation in extreme environmental conditions such as heavy ice. In terms of ice capability, "this is the only ice-going mine-hunter in the world," but one which has "fulfilled the Finnish Navy's expectations", said Adm Pennala. The vessel was able to navigate through ice up to 10 cm thick, using both its own propulsion system and following a tug through broken ice, he added.

Commander Kristian Isberg, chief of the project section in the MCMV 2010 programme, said that Katanpää had also undertaken vessel signature trials and live explosive charge tests, to verify hull and onboard system responses to mine explosions. According to Intermarine, this was the first time its MCM vessels had been subjected to such tests at sea.

With Katanpää 's trials programme moving on to MCM equipment testing, Cdr Isberg noted: "We expect to test and operate the MCM equipment and command-and-control system in ice conditions next winter [2013-14]."

Upon arriving in Finland, Purunpää will undertake further trials until the end of 2013, when the crew will commence full training.

Third-in-class Vahterpää is currently conducting harbour acceptance activities, with sea trials - including MCM testing - expected to begin before the end of 2013. Delivery is expected in the early summer of 2014, said Cdr Isberg.

Adm Pennala confirmed his "full confidence that all the requirements will be met in the coming months, delivering to the Finnish Navy a modern and fully operational squadron of MCM [vessels] by 2017".

Via Patrick H.