NNS020730-03. New Technology Helps Shape Future of Navy's Forces
By Journalist 2nd Class Stacie Rose, Joint Information Bureau, Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet Public Affairs
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Transforming the Navy. Force protection. Innovation and technology.
These are the concepts that surround Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet (FBE-J), the U.S. Navy's contribution to Millennium Challenge 2002, the largest and most advanced joint experiment of its kind to date.
With more than 4,000 Sailors and civilian personnel participating in FBE-J, the focus of the experiment is the co-evolution of doctrine, concepts and technology needed to move the Navy into the future of readiness.
An example of that technology was recently displayed and tested aboard Joint Venture (HSV-X1), a leased experimental high-speed vessel. Joint Venture is a converted car ferry that can be used as a platform for a number of operations, from troop and supply transfer to non-combative evacuation.
Among the experimental initiatives in FBE-J, Joint Venture served as a platform for new mine countermeasures technology. Remote Environmental Monitoring Unit Systems (REMUS) and Battlespace Preparation Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (BPAUV) were at the forefront of one of Joint Venture's underway days off the coast of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The Very Shallow Water Mine Counter Measure (VSWMCM) Detachment in San Diego currently employs both units, but FBE-J served as a venue for further operational testing of the equipment to make room for more innovation.
Developed by the Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institution under the direction of the Office of Naval Research, the REMUS is an unmanned underwater vehicle used for reconnaissance in coastal waters up to 100 meters deep. The unit weighs about 80 pounds, so two people can carry it, and it's easy to program.
Vice Adm. Cutler Dawson, commander, 2nd Fleet, explained that the Navy isn't afraid of failure.
"I expect that we will succeed in some areas. In some areas I expect we won't, but either way, we will take something tangible from the attempts, and be able to learn from it and use it in our next stage of planning."
Members of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle platoon, within VSWMCM, connect REMUS to a computer and program specific coordinates into the hard drive located inside the unit. The coordinates tell REMUS the area to survey.
The team then transports it by boat to a specific location, drops it off, and pulls back to safety while the unit scans the littoral waters for mine-like objects.
REMUS uses side-scan sonar and high frequency imaging sonar to gather information. When the surveying is complete, the AUV team retrieves it from a pre-programmed location, brings it back to their operational platform and downloads the information.
According to John Petrick of the Office of Naval Research, "The object is to one day keep the human element out of danger and let robotics do the work. Instead of having the teams go in and place the system, we hope to release it directly from the safety of the platform."
Right now, Wood's Hole and ONR are working on technology that would allow images received by REMUS to transmit directly back to the platform, so information would be available immediately.
The BPAUV is a larger unit, able to survey in deeper waters, up to 300 meters deep. Developed by Bluefin Robotics and the Office of Naval Research, it was designed to perform mine-hunting missions and wide-area bottom mapping. BPAUV also uses side-scan sonar to receive information, and it also uses equipment to test water temperatures and depth. It is currently the most accurate system of its kind.
VSWMCM is the only unit of its kind in the world, and it's comprised of Navy SEALs, Marine Force Reconnaissance and Special Forces.
Innovations such as these, in conjunction with other experimental initiatives examined during Fleet Battle Experience Juliet, have tremendous potential for developing new concepts, creating new doctrine, and evaluating the technologies that will transform the Navy's future.
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