European (EU) Member States (MSs) have long acknowledged the enduring significance of maritime power, particularly for nations surrounded by seas and oceans. Emphasizing the need for a robust and adaptable maritime force with global capabilities, MSs have consistently directed their navies to maintain their presence. Throughout history, EU navies have demonstrated prowess in combining maritime skill with cutting-edge technologies, ensuring their position as maritime powers. From the era of sail to the advent of steam, from battleships to modern aircraft carriers, and from sonar to radar, EU navies have continually embraced technological advancements to bolster their maritime dominance.
In today's dynamic geopolitical landscape, the imperative to secure access to future battlespaces while denying them to potential adversaries remains a critical challenge for all EU navies. As robotics and advanced intelligence technologies continue to evolve, maritime autonomous systems (MAS), including Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV), emerge as indispensable assets, offering a pathway for EU navies to maintain a strategic advantage in expeditionary warfare. By integrating MAS into their naval strategies, EU navies can enhance their operational capabilities, ensuring they remain at the forefront of maritime warfare and defence.
Capability Development Priorities
The Maritime domain Capability Development Priorities are 3:
- Naval Combat and Maritime Interdiction
- Underwater and Seabed Warfare
- Maritime Domain Awareness
These priorities have a robust focus on Autonomous Systems.
Below the list of the most relevant ones, listed per priority. At the completion of the definition of the implementation roadmaps, many of those line will become (if not already) an actionable capability development project:
Naval Combat and Maritime Interdiction:
Long Range Armed Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS)
- Underwater and Seabed Warfare:
- Autonomous underwater vehicles
- Unmanned underwater vehicles
The following list includes the related ongoing projects:
- AHWG on Safety and Regulations for Unmanned Maritime Systems (SARUMS).
- Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS Exercise)
- Harbor Protection exercise in Cartagena, Spain.
Technological challenges
In recent years, the military's interest in MAS has surged dramatically. What was once deemed implausible, a fleet of unmanned and autonomous vehicles navigating the world's waters, is now a focal point of strategic discussions. The discourse no longer questions the feasibility but rather focuses on the timeline, configurations, and pace of development.
Several crucial factors drive this advancement, with several challenges emerging as primary hurdles to the swift integration of new technologies in naval operations. In this regard, digitalization has paved the way to gather and process information swiftly and accurately, resulting in enhanced operational efficiency, heightened situational awareness, and improved decision-making capabilities. Digitalization must facilitate key improvements such as enhanced information availability and accessibility, integration of autonomous and automated operations, development of more resilient systems, increased operational flexibility, and augmentation of safety measures.
However, alongside these advancements come technical challenges that must be addressed. These challenges, in addition to those already identified in the APAS (2), include but are not limited to:
- Autonomy and automation. Achieving reliable and robust autonomy and automation in MAS to ensure safe and effective operations without human intervention. The transition towards increased automation in tasks traditionally executed by human operators also presents intricate legal implications.
- Communication and connectivity. Building and establishing robust communication and connectivity networks to support the seamless integration and coordination of MAS within naval operations. Especially in the underwater domain, where the limited bandwidth, signal attenuation, and complex acoustic environment pose additional challenges for reliable connectivity.
- Sensing and perception. Enhancing sensor capabilities and perception algorithms to enable MAS to accurately perceive and interpret their surroundings in complex maritime environments.
- Navigation and control. Developing advanced navigation and control systems to enable precise manoeuvring and navigation of MAS, especially in challenging conditions.
- Cybersecurity. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect MAS against potential cyber threats and ensure the integrity and security of data transmission and communication networks.
Research and Technology (R&T) approach
The military sector must accelerate technology development and innovation cycles, embracing both capability-driven initiatives and technology-driven advancements. To expedite the transition from ideas to high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) solutions, the APAS advocates for increased end-user engagement with research and development teams. This involves fostering rapid learning through iterative testing and development. To achieve this goal, the APAS proposes a three-layered approach to technological action lines:
- Technology discovery activities.
- Technology development and integration activities up to TRL 6.
- Technology development and integration activities above TRL 6.
In alignment with its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), the CapTech Maritime (3), has promoted and promotes various EDA Ad-Hoc projects.
Notably, the Defence R&T Joint Investment Programme (JIP) on European Unmanned Maritime Systems for Mine Counter Measures and other Naval Applications (UMS) (4), launched in September 2009 and supported by ten (10) EDA Member States (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden) plus Norway, comprised 12 technology projects and 3 working groups dealing with more general issues (System integration – SI, Standards and Interfaces for more Interoperable European UMS – STANDIN, and Safety and Regulations for European Unmanned Maritime Systems – SARUMS). The program's ultimate aim was to deliver the next generation of technical solutions.
In addition to the previous mentioned programme, the CapTech Maritime has also supported the following related EDA Ad-Hoc R&T studies and projects:
- Scenarios for Multiple Unmanned Vehicle Operations (SMUVO). Aimed to provide a comprehensive set of reference scenarios giving a common EU vision of how multiple unmanned vehicles could support future military and civilian operations within the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) (5).
- Maritime Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSV). This study was a stock taking of the EU maritime defence industry´s capabilities regarding MUSVs. It included existing and planned systems, key technologies, opportunities, challenges and areas for which R&T was need.
- Modular Lightweight Minesweeping II (MLM II). Aimed to improve the technology of the demonstrators for unmanned lightweight modular minesweeping system used in the EDA project MLM, and to develop new sources in order to achieve the prototype stage of those systems. (6)
- Signature Response Analysis on Multi-Influence Sensors II (SIRAMIS II). Aimed to improve the understanding of ship signature interaction with multi-influence sensors in relevant and realistic scenarios, by improving and developing models of environmental effects and prediction of signatures, by benchmarking these simulation models ad by evaluating scaling and grouping relationships between signature and vessel types, using the data and knowledge obtained in the first phase.
Finally, it should be also noted, the two on-going EDA Cat. B projects:
- Swarm of Biomimetic Underwater Vehicles II” (SABUVIS II). This Cat. B project involves four
(4) MS (Germany, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia) in the design and implementation of a
swarm of closely cooperating autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). In the project three
different concepts are expected to be tested (large AUV swarm, biomimetic littoral intelligent
swarm technology for underwater navigation and autonomous vessel intelligence, and large
AUV combined with autonomous surface vehicles.
- Modular Lightweight Minesweeping Next Generation” (MLM NG). This Cat. B involves six (6)
MS (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, and Poland). Its primary objective is to
advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of relevant systems and demonstrate the
operational capabilities of modular lightweight minesweeping solutions. Future mine-
sweeping solutions aim to leverage smaller unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) equipped with
lightweight sweep sources. These sweep sources can be deployed either from a single
platform or through coordinated formations of multiple USVs, depending on the operational
requirements. More information at the following link : Next generation minesweeping project, EDA kicks off new development phase.