This week’s blog is focused on an article written by Abhijit Singh Unmanned and Autonomous Vehicles and future Maritime Operations in Littoral Asia (July 2016).
As Unmanned Aircraft Systems were significantly enhanced to support wartime efforts in the Asia Pacific theater, so too are efforts to enhance the technological and operational capabilities of Unmanned Marine Systems to provide additional support for the Indian Navy.
Supporting this transition, Singh wrote:
While the more substantive developments in unmanned technology have involved aerial drones, the more interesting possibilities are in the field of underwater vehicles. Indeed, despite the institutional and policy attention enjoyed by aerial platforms, it is unmanned and autonomous undersea vehicles that have been the subject of strategic debate and discussion in Indian maritime circles (para. 15).
Singh presented the significant operational roles this technology plays in supporting the world’s leading navies as; high-tech submersibles for mine countermeasure (MCM) operations, naval intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) roles, and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions (para. 16).
He further categorized Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) as those that are autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated undersea vehicles (ROVs). By clarifying, “an AUV differs from an ROV by maintaining a degree of autonomy from human control. The AUV’s chief attribute is that it can undertake ASW tasks typically carried out by nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), freeing the latter to perform more critical functions” (Singh, para. 16).
Singh also presented two distinguishing operational characteristics of AUVs in that they;
• Possess onboard intelligence and an inherent ability to self-program and execute missions. Unlike ships and submarines that are commanded solely by humans, autonomous undersea vessels exercise their innate judgment in performing operational tasks, and adversely
• They are inherently risky due to their inability to avoid risky maneuvers, leading to untoward incidents or collateral damage in combat situations (para. 18).
Aside from untimely incidents AUVs are also plagued with a moral dilemma as to whether the engagement of an enemy is deemed a legitimate act, minus due authorization from a human in the loop command.
The Indian navy, in consideration of these and other ethical considerations has taken a pro-active approach in the development of numerous UUV platforms from hand-held slow-speed ones, to military-class platforms, with the capability to assist in the entire gamut of maritime security (Singh, para. 19).
Current attention is given to that of the Defense Research and Development Organizations (DRPO) prototype capable of speeds up to seven km per hour at depths of up to 300 meters. The system is reportedly being reworked to include passive sonar and electro-optical sensors for anti-mining missions (Singh, para. 20).
Where these prototype systems are designed and tested to meet the operational requirements of the user, they still must overcome three major technical constraints inherent to UUVs, 1) energy storage 2) communication link and 3) autonomous control.
Essentially all state-of-the-art UUVs today are battery-powered, and battery capacity remains the most fundamental limitation on range and endurance (Whitman, n.d.). Despite improvements to electrochemical and conventional fuel cell technology no significant breakthroughs in energy technology have been made to permit relatively small UUVs to perform theater-scale missions or long-duration trailing tasks (Whitman, n.d.).
R. Turner noted in his article, The Unmanned Underwater Future (2014) that;
UUVs come with a disclaimer; the technology is in its infancy and lags behind unmanned land and air equivalents. Communication with submerged platforms is highly challenging and that problem is compounded when you remove the human from the platform. Additional issues with propulsion, energy use and payload capacity add to the complexity of developing UUVs for naval operations (para. 8).
Ultimately, as technical improvements to AUVs continue and operational capabilities are realized, the world’s navies will struggle with the ethical challenges and decisions associated with operations played out forward of the manned fleet.
References
Singh, A. (2016). Unmanned and Autonomous Vehicles and Future Maritime Operations in Littoral Asia Retrieved from http://www.orfonline.org/research/unmanned-and-autonomous-vehicles-and-future-maritime-operations-in-littoral-asia/
Turner, R. (2014) The Unmanned Underwater Future, the Strategist Retrieved from https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-unmanned-underwater-future/
Whitman, E. C. (n.d.). Beneath the Wave of the Future Retrieved from http://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/underseawarfaremagazine/Issues/Archives/issue_15/wave.html
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