Unmanned Drones - All Types for Military and Naval Use

[Little h]

A classic case of doubling up backward biffers could be an option but are suspended for the present time

Sorry dont understand the forces jargon phrase of Backward Biffers [ would that be reverse engineering Harry

Until mid to late 1975 when the navy issued to each ship [and sometimes to individuals] a little plastic attache case coloured red, inside which were many prerecorded cassette tapes of MRX's ][Morse Reception Exercises designed, with the assistance of a pussers supplied playback machine with earphones if and when necessary, to keep the operator's skills up to date no matter what his employment was [for example when pos [Part of Ship] duties like communal party, or when the ship was in refit and there were no opportunities to keep one's practical skills high, practical "biffer" exercises were not always available. That little red cassette case was a panacea and no sparker had an excuse for lapsed Morse reception skills.

Meanwhile at Ganges, Morse reception was taught from the autohead routed through a matrix acting as an aerial to several rows of B28 receivers, received by pencil by the tenderfoots and by the Imperial typewriter by the hardened boy telegraphisits when learning to Morse type, with an uplift of speed for the latter group. Then, during MTX's [Morse Transmission Exercises] led by our instructor, a PO or a CPO Telegraphist, we acquired a skill of real-world reaction to a Morse message, rather than just recording it for a senior to read. The two acquired skills honed the overall necessary skill of being fully conversant with the international Morse code environment - sending and receiving - and once that was taken on board, all that was required was an upping of the speed of the Morse.

Excerpt (above) from one of Godfrey Dykes's web pages


So; MRX's = Morse Reception Exercises = a "biffer" in Communicators jargon

Backward biffers = additional MRX's either as a punishment or in order to gain a catch-up if falling behind others in the class

[jbryce1437]

I learned to type on an old Imperial typewriter in Semaphore Tower, Pompey in 1967 and used one on my next ship. On my last ship I had an olivetti 80. both will be museum exhibits now

Jim

[Pelican]

Harry apols for dupe, its an age thing.
Ivor for 'biffers' read Take 100 lines Rye I must not post duplicates.

[Little h]

The Royal Navy and Maritime Autonomous Systems – better late than never
Despite pioneering an unmanned mine-hunting system used in the Gulf War as far back as 2003, the RN has since made very little progress in deploying Maritime Autonomous Systems (MAS) operationally. There has been a recent increase in development initiatives but integration of MAS into the core activities and operating doctrine of the fleet seems some way off.

A serving RN officer recently wrote, “The Royal Navy’s strategic design is based in a post-cold war fantasy, where carrier or littoral strike groups can operate around the world, uncontested”. This may be a rather extreme view but it is certainly the case that many areas the RN may wish to operate are becoming more dangerous. A proliferation of lethal anti-ship missiles, quiet submarines, mines and autonomous systems threatens even the most well-equipped surface combatants. Developing a suite of its own MAS offers one way for the RN to restore its dominance.

......... When autonomous systems start to fully leverage developments in artificial intelligence (AI) they will become increasingly capable. MAS does not signal the end of the manned platforms, at least for several decades, but they will be a central component of the strategic balance and of future conflicts.

Well David , this is one occasion where we are in total agreement , and if this article reflects your true opinion then we are as one .

Numerous expressions of both scepticism and distrust have been portrayed , however I totally agree with this worthy expansion of funding to develop and procure such a device , and as I said to the poster , I feel an automatous navy is a long way off and undesirable ,,but if ignored it will be at our cost to both the future and a slight on our countries security ....I.M.H.O.

As I see it..... its a win Win situation with the project in our own hands rather than a second hand version of some one Elsie's configuration at at an inflated price instead of our own Cookie jar

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I don't know with whom I will be at one; but 'unmanned' is one thing - 'autonomous' - that is quite another.

If a forum member or guest has ever been on a ship that has fired a dumb torpedo that becomes 'rogue' ..... the dwell time until that 'rogue fish' runs out of power is not a comfortable period!! In a submarine; when such an event takes place it is even worse ... with a wire-guided 'fish' it is a tad different.

Now - that was about dumb unmanned weapons failing, but this thread is about autonomous equipment types.

Autonomous; there has been no debate offered up by forum member(s) about equipment (armed/unarmed) being totally controlled for long periods by AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Imagine if such a piece of equipment develops algorithm led 'logic' that makes the wrong assessment and attacks the host country - what then ???

Unmanned; I can cope with. Autonomous; I need the safeguards explained!!!

[ivorthediver]

I stand corrected Harry , and can only agree , sorry for the misuse of terminology

[Pelican]

Personally I can't even keep up with acronyms let alone the detail of them but during the Defence Committee hearing shown today which included 'messaging' in respect of claimed killed civilians was touched on in respect of the number future killings in conflicts where unmanned weapons/missiles etc. are used. How would they be reported and verified etc.?
[In this case 'messaging' covers news, MOD/government reports among other things so perhaps fake news.]
Further to acronyms - eg. http://acronymsandslang.com/definition/ ... aning.html
And attached which is probably well out of date?

[ivorthediver]

No Argument here David , I thought Taboo was quite ap , as indeed was the television series of the same name

[Little h]

New aircraft rises 'like a balloon'
By Kenneth Macdonald BBC Scotland special correspondent

23 April 2019

Future versions of Phoenix could be fitted with cameras and deployed in surveillance work

Researchers from the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) have helped create a revolutionary new type of aircraft.

Phoenix is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed to stay in the air indefinitely using a new type of propulsion.

Despite being 15m (50ft) long with a mass of 120kg (19 stone) she rises gracefully into the air.

She looks a little like an airship, except airships don't have wings.

"It's a proper aeroplane," says the UHI's Professor Andrew Rae.

As the project's chief engineer, he has overseen the integration of Phoenix's systems.

"It flies under its own propulsion although it has no engines," he says.

"The central fuselage is filled with helium, which makes it buoyant so it can ascend like a balloon.

"And inside that there's another bag with compressors on it that brings air from outside, compresses the air, which makes the aeroplane heavier and then it descends like a glider."

Launch satellites

This ability to "breathe" - to switch quickly between being heavier or lighter than air - doesn't just make the plane go up and down.

It is the key to driving it forward. Phoenix is the first large-scale aircraft to be powered by variable-buoyancy propulsion.

It moves through the air like a porpoise through water.

That means it can travel long distances and stay aloft for long periods.

The point? To create a cheaper alternative to launching satellites.

The wings and tail carry solar panels so there is no need to carry fuel aloft.

The quasi-airship shape is based on an aerofoil, meaning it also provides lift like its wings do when the plane moves forward.

Prof Rae, using two wind tunnels at UHI's Perth College campus, led the design of its aerodynamics.

The technique of variable-buoyancy propulsion is already used underwater.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (also part of UHI) has a small fleet of remotely operated vehicles - they call them gliders - that gather data in the North Atlantic.

They dive deep to collect data, then rise to the surface to transmit it via satellite.

But air is much less dense than water and this has made the principle a trickier proposition for flight.

Phoenix is the first aircraft of its size to use it.

It is 15m (49ft) long with a wingspan of almost 11m (36ft)

Production versions would need to be scaled up to reach the altitudes of 20km required to fulfil its intended role.

An autonomous vehicle which is self-sufficient in energy could stay in the air for days, weeks, even months.

The technical term is "ultra-long endurance autonomous aircraft".

The team think it could revolutionise the telecommunications industry.

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Winter winds

The prototype Phoenix has been successfully tested inside the Drystack in Portsmouth, a huge indoor area which normally stores pleasure boats.

It was used to shelter the aircraft from the winter winds although production versions would operate in all weathers.

The project has involved its partners integrating the solar cells, flight control system, micropumps, carbon fibre wings and tail, reversible hydrogen fuel cell and rechargeable battery.

The last of these is what enables a solar-powered vehicle to keep working all night.

Now that the prototype has flown successfully, the consortium wants to collaborate with major manufacturers to take Phoenix to the next level.
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Full article, images and a very short video at BBC NEWS Scotland

[ivorthediver]

Well done Harry , and what a step forward
Makes you wonder what they will come up with next , and the engineering behind it is ground breaking it seems and a first for us eh .

Wait til Jim the brush hears about it , there will be no controlling him now

[Pelican]

Is a UAV/UUV a drone or should this be posted elsewhere?

Royal Navy seeking large unmanned, autonomous submarine
The competition seeks proposals to develop an autonomous version of an existing large underwater vehicle for the Royal Navy.

According to the competition notice, the system will be procured to address the Royal Navy’s need to understand the utility and operational boundaries of an autonomously operating unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) system.

The Royal Navy say that contract will have two stages, a 1 year long research, design and re-fit stage and a testing and trialing stage. In the latter stage it is expected that the system will be tested in representative environments for extended periods; the sea trials in Stage 2 may be up to 2 years long.

“Broadly, Stage 1 consists of the research and innovation to support autonomous system development including fitting to an existing vehicle and a short seaworthy / autonomy test; and Stage 2 consists of more in-depth testing to understand the future utility and concept of operations. Some minor refit/adaptation will be permitted between tests in Stage 2 but the system is expected to be adaptable in order to reduce down-time.

The MoD does not propose to own this test system at the end of the contract, but reserves the right to undertake further work and procurement through the framework agreement.

In particular we are looking for a flexible UUV capable of hosting different payloads / sensors which will be utilised in a range of testing scenarios. This range of tests will determine capability limits of a UUV, to assist in the development of future requirements and the design of future capabilities.”

According to the notice, by the conclusion of Stage 2 the system should be able to:

operate independently for a minimum of 3 months
operate at significant range from the position of deployment (e.g. up to 3000 nautical miles)
carry, deliver and recover test payloads of >2m3 and 2 metric tonnes
provide flexible, accurate and timely covert intelligence gathering capability
provide an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) barrier capability
The following is a breakdown of the above scenarios, directly from the notice.

Covert intelligence gathering
In this scenario, an XLUUV is tasked to gather covert intelligence of traffic transiting in a maritime operational area. The XLUUV leaves its dock and autonomously, and covertly, transits underwater to the maritime operational area. It positions in the operational area either at or below periscope depth, and monitors traffic for up to 3 months; above water electronic, underwater acoustic and optical intelligence gathering using a range of sensors. It may position on the sea floor and release a tethered sensor to periscope depth that would then be recovered before returning to periscope depth. During this period a reportable incident occurs, in this case the passing of a vessel of interest, whereby the XLUUV reports the incident to control and continues monitoring.

Anti-submarine warfare barriers
In this scenario, an XLUUV is tasked with enacting an anti-submarine barrier in a particular location. The XLUUV leaves its dock in the harbour and autonomously, and covertly, transits underwater to the checkpoint. Upon reaching th

Deploy & Recover
In this scenario an XLUUV is tasked with covertly deploying a sensor payload to the seabed and recovering it at a later date. The XLUUV leaves harbour and autonomously, and covertly, transits to just outside the operational area, rising to periscope depth to await signal. A ‘go code’ is transmitted from control; the XLUUV dives to operation depth and transits to operational area before dropping the payload on the seabed. The XLUUV exits the operational area, rises to periscope depth, and transmits a ‘complete code’ before autonomously, and covertly, returning to harbour or holding area. At a later date, an XLUUV is tasked with covertly recovering the sensor payload from the seabed.

Cost
The total funding available for this competition is £1m for Stage 1 (research and development of an autonomous control system and re-fit of an existing manned submersible to implement this innovative autonomy); and a further £1.5m for Stage 2 (rent and testing of the novel autonomous functions of the submersible at a manufacturer-proposed operating base for up to 2 years).

The competition closes at midday (BST) on 11 June 2019.

Read the competition notice here.

Original article, with images, at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/royal-n ... 0ZdgBw4Kuw