Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1115818
autonomous vehicle instead of one con- nected to the mother ship by means of an umbilical or a fiber optical cable is the limited nature of communication with the carrier as it is impossible to obtain the data collected by the vehicle in real time. This means that all the gathered data can be transmitted to on-board crew for the purpose of its analysis only when the ve- hicle is recovered. But it's a small price to pay given the range of benefits coming with the use of mine countermeasures autonomous underwater vehicles. The detection and identification of dan- gerous objects is only the first stage of operations of a mine countermeasures vessel. The next stage is to neutralize the objects posing a threat to vessels and ships. The Kormoran and its crew are able to handle such operations thanks to the available unmanned underwater vehicles. The first of them is the Morświn, devel- oped by the Department of Ship Design and Subsea Robotics of Gdańsk University of Technology. The vehicle is a successor to the vehicle named Ukwiał [sea anemo- ne] designed in 1995, intended to be used with modernized minehunters as part of the 206FM project. Based on practical experience with the vehicle, scientists and engineers from Gdańsk University of Technology designed the Morświn as a solution offering a greater potential. The main job of the Morświn is the final identification of dangerous objects. To this end, the vehicle uses two sonars – a front-end one and a multi-beam one, and a set of three cameras – including one offering high resolution imaging. The vehi- cle is able to destroy such targets using Toczek explosive charges. The last type of vehicles carried on board of the Kormoran is the Głuptak. Głuptaks are small vehicles designed by a team from the Department of Ship Design and Subsea Robotics at the Faculty of Ocean Engineering and Ship Technology of Gdańsk University of Technology, headed by Lech Rowiński, PhD. They come in two versions: combat and training-inspection. The combat version is designed for op- erations involving destroying submerged dangerous objects in a quick manner. To this end, a self-carried 1.2-kg shaped charge is used. The charge, unlike in the case of Toczek charges carried by Morświns, is not deployed by the vehicle near or on a mine, but is actually placed inside the vehicle. The combat version of the "Głuptak" is a disposable suicide ve- hicle (disposable mine destruction vehicle – DMDV). When the warhead it carries explodes, it itself gets destroyed too. For this reason, the use of this version of the vehicle is limited to situations requiring rapid neutralization of mines, which ex- cludes engaging Morświns or mine div- ers. The second version of the Głuptak carries observation systems instead of a warhead, and can be used for inspection and training purposes. Both versions of the vehicle may be carried by a Morświn to have the range of their operations ex- tended. Both Ukwiałs and Morświns are con- trolled from the deck of the mother ship by means of umbilical cables used to transmit commands to the vehicles, and the recorded image of detected objects is transmitted back to the mother ship. The last measure applied to identify and neutralize mines and other dangerous ob- jects is the option to engage mine divers. The unit is suited to embark two pairs of divers and a diving chief supervising their operations. The ship features also the relevant infrastructure to support divers in their missions, including a hyperbaric chamber. The entirety of mine countermeasure operations of the unit is controlled from inside a Combat Information Center equipped with several dozen of control panels being part of the SCOT-M combat system developed by OBR CTM. HUGIN HUGIN AUV minimum speed AUV minimum speed 1.5 knots 1.5 knots maximum speed 6 knots 6 knots weight over 800 over 800 length 4.5 m diameter diameter 75 cm maximum depth rating maximum depth rating 1000 m endurance endurance 20 hours 20 hours battery full charge time 8 hours communication channels: Kongsberg Kongsberg Kongsberg Kongsberg 9600 b/s 9600 b/s WLAN 54 WLAN 54 2400 b/s 2400 b/s MORŚWIN MORŚWIN length 1.5 m width 0.72 m height 0.72 m base weight 325 kg operating weigh up to 500 up to 500 maximum speed in relation to water 2 m\s range 200–400 200–400 operating operating maximum operating depth 200 m umbilical cable length 1000 m HISAS HISAS operating frequency range 60–120 60–120 transmitter dimensions 32 cm x 32 cm x receiver dimensions 127 x 11 127 x 11 60 Gb of data generated within one hour of operation 60 Gb of data generated within one hour of operation GUPTAK (combat GUPTAK (combat maximum speed in relation to water 3 ms maximum speed in relation to water 200 m range 400 m umbilical cable length 3500 m a warhead in the form of a 1.2-kg shaped charge composed a warhead in the form of a 1.2-kg shaped charge composed www.fragoutmag.com