to the application of capability and regulatory maintenance work to ensure the ship continues to
News
requirements. The NSA Framework will help the operate efficiently and remains within Lloyd’s Register
Ministry of Defence in taking a more commercial classification.
approach to naval ship acquisition and operation,
ensuring overall assurance of through-life capability Testing
management. This will allow significant cost savings
to be made across the UK fleet while maintaining
First UUV recovery
safety, environmental, and military capability.
by submarine
The NSA Framework brings together the capability
and regulatory requirements into one coherent The Boeing Co in the USA has successfully
approach that will assist project teams in developing demonstrated for the first time that an unmanned
their ship specifications and providing an assured undersea vehicle (UUV) can be recovered by a
product, taking account of safety, environment, submerged submarine.
operability, supportability, affordability, and During recent tests, a US Navy attack submarine
programme issues. launched the AN/BLQ-11 UUV from one of its
torpedo tubes. The UUV - formerly known as the
Refit Long-term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS) -
A&P Tyne
then returned to the vessel, where the system’s robotic
arm retrieved it into the submarine.
completes RFA refit
‘With this recent success, Boeing has taken
another important step in UUV development by
A&P Tyne Ltd, part of A&P Group Ltd, has demonstrating that the unmanned vehicle can return
successfully completed the refit contract of the to the submarine and be recovered by a robotic
Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Austin for the UK arm,’ said Dan Jones, director of Boeing Advanced
Ministry of Defence. The vessel departed the yard and Information Systems, a division of Boeing Space
successfully completed sea trials in November 2007. and Intelligence Systems. ‘This milestone represents
The scope of A&P’s work involved upgrades to the a critical next step for the US Navy and opens the
internal and external communications fits, new bridge door for a whole new set of advanced submarine
and command arrangements, improved helicopter missions.’
landing aids, and improved fire suppression systems. The at-sea UUV tests follow earlier assessments
The project also involved increasing the capability during which Boeing and the US Navy proved that
of the ship by fitting a variety of defensive weapons the UUV could successfully home and dock with
systems, together with a large amount of planned the system’s robotic arm, while the submarine was
underway. This milestone was achieved with a US
Navy attack submarine on its first attempt and
A&P Tyne has successfully completed the refit of RFA
repeated two days later.
Fort Austin.
The AN/BLQ-11 demonstrated all of the elements
required for a complete UUV launch and recovery
evolution, and also performed several complex vehicle
manoeuvres during the tests, including station-
keeping and so-called ‘shadow submarine’, during
which the system operates underwater alongside the
host submarine.
Boeing has successfully demonstrated - for the first
time - that a UUV can be recovered by a submerged
submarine.
Warship Technology January 2008
WT Jan - p4+5+6+7+8+9+
10.indd 7 08/01/2008 15:36:28
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