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Nowhere to hide? How to increase submarine survivability

From the cold waters of the Baltic all the way to the warmer climes of the South and East China Seas, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) is back in full swing. Nowhere was this more evident than at the UDT 2023 trade show, where several companies showcased their solutions to enhance submarine survivability.

‘Andrei, you’ve lost another submarine?’

Fans of cult movie The Hunt for Red October will hear the sarcastic tone of Dr Jeffrey Pelt as he responds to the Russian ambassador’s plea for support at the end of the movie.

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While the quote was funny at the time, given the premise of the film, today it would likely be viewed with disbelief – sensor technologies evolve at such speed that it is becoming increasingly difficult for submarines to hide for long periods of time.

The show floor at UDT was a testament to this trend as several companies showcased a variety of technologies designed to enhance submarine survivability. The conference programme reflected similar concerns.

At the thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) booth I spoke with Peter Hauschildt, head of research and technology, for an overview of the main systems aimed at improving submarine survivability.

Key among those, albeit not on display, is the Interactive Defence and Attack system for Submarines (IDAS) – a missile-based solution enabling submarines to defend themselves against ASW helicopters.

Once fired into the air from a torpedo tube or similar, IDAS is designed to be able to both track its target and change course until the endgame starts. An IR seeker, leveraging technology already proven on the IRIS-T medium range IR homing missile, enables the former.

The latter element works thanks to a fibre-optic link attached to IDAS, which allows high data transfers – eg transmission of video from missile to console – and therefore offers the possibility for redirection of the munition if needed.

TKMS’s booth showcased the Atlas Elektronik SeaSpider, an anti-torpedo torpedo originally developed for surface-launched applications which the company is also planning to integrate into submarines. 

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SeaSpider used a digitised homing sonar capable of operating in three modes simultaneously (passive, active and intercept) to maintain performance regardless of the torpedo threat it is facing. More specifically, the active sonar frequency facilitates detection against wake-homing torpedoes.

On submarines, SeaSpider can be fired from dedicated under-casing launchers – potentially leveraging decoy deployment containers – or using a heavyweight torpedo tube insert.

Above: The SeaSpider anti-torpedo torpedo operates in three different sonar modes to match the specific threat it is facing. (Photo: author)

Finally, Hauschildt talked about the company’s progress on submarine propulsion systems.

Chief among those is the development of a new generation of fuel cell batteries, which feature stacks that can be replaced on board during a mission.

‘This greatly contributes to increasing submarines’ operational availability,’ Hauschildt said. TKMS is also working on further development of lithium-ion batteries, ‘all the while keeping an eye on potential new chemistries’, he noted.

Indeed, propulsion was at the centre of several conference papers at this year’s UDT.

The ability of a submarine to stay submerged for long periods of time cannot be underestimated as a key tactic for survivability. This allows a crew to continue using the underwater domain’s opacity to their advantage.

And while lithium-ion batteries were widely discussed as a key enabler – due, primarily, to their faster and more efficient charging – and companies such as TKMS, Naval Group and Saab are all exploring this avenue, several presentations discussed the importance of de-risking such technology.

Over at Hensoldt, the company was showcasing its Optronic Mast Systems (OMS) family.

‘There are situations where submarines have to come to periscope depth, which risks exposing them to adversaries’ detection capabilities,’ Matteo Nespoli, sales manager maritime systems for Hensoldt, told me. ‘Being able to use an OMS with a very small radar-cross section is a game-changer in such circumstances.’

As such, the company has taken its largest, most comprehensive optronic mast, the OMS 150 – featuring daylight and IR cameras, a laser rangefinder, low-light-level (LLL) camera, MWIR and SWIR sensors – and developed the OMS 200 and OMS 300.

The former has a radar cross-section similar to that of a periscope, increasing stealth while retaining features such as the daylight camera, SWIR, and laser rangefinder with the possibility to add MWIR.

The OMS 300 is an ultra-low-profile mast and integrates MWIR as well as daylight capability – although customers can also add SWIR, LLL and the rangefinder. Everything has been designed to optimise time at periscope depth and minimise RCS.

Above: A low-profile optronic mast such as the OMS 300 faces an inevitable trade-off between radar cross-section and the number of sensors it can accommodate. (Image: Hensoldt)

Elsewhere at UDT, Chloe Yarrien, maritime autonomous systems engineer at BMT, presented a paper on ‘The Quantum Enabled Submarine’.

This focused on the way in which new advances in quantum technologies could become game-changers for submarine survivability.

Key among those is quantum sensing, which the paper deems ‘the most promising’, and has benefits in three main areas: navigation – high-precision atomic clocks and improvements to INS; image sensing – the ability to create 3D pictures in extremely low light conditions; and electromagnetic sensing – ‘sensitive quantum magnetometers could enable successful closed-loop degaussing systems, increasing the effectiveness of degaussing and decreasing the mine threat as well as the current lifelong trial and evaluation processes’.

Talking to the author, Yarrien noted: ‘At the moment quantum computing is still too big to be integrated on ships, let alone submarines, but for certain applications we may be five to ten years away from their implementation, and this could greatly enhance submarine stealth.’

From being able to stay submerged longer and efficiently defend against multiple threats to increasing stealth and minimising RCS visibility, UDT 2023 clearly demonstrated that submarine survivability is at the heart of the underwater defence industry’s technological quest.

As efforts continue to go into de-risking battery technologies and downsizing quantum computers, the next few years will tell us whether ‘Andrei’ could potentially lose a submarine or not.

An explosive topic – protecting critical maritime infrastructure

The September 2022 explosions affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea have brought the vulnerability of critical maritime infrastructure (CMI) firmly into the spotlight.

Multiple theories have since emerged to explain what happened, but while the three different ongoing investigations have yet to reach any definite conclusions, recent announcements made by both the European Defence Agency (EDA) and NATO confirm that multiple threats in this arena are being taken seriously.

On 15 February, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the creation of the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Coordination Cell at the organisation’s HQ in Brussels.

This seeks to foster interaction and coordination between NATO’s military, intelligence and planning capability and government, military and industry stakeholders. The aim will be to strengthen information-sharing for improved situational awareness, as well as exchanging good practice and identifying innovative technologies to address potential vulnerabilities.

On 27 April, the EDA followed NATO’s footsteps and organised its first symposium on Critical Maritime Infrastructure Protection (CMIP), with broadly similar talking points. Staff from NATO’s Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters also attended the event, showing growing collaboration and synergy.

Above: IAI’s BlueWhale autonomous sub could be used to provide persistent surveillance of infrastructure such as the Nord Stream gas pipelines. (Photo: IAI ELTA)

At industry level, the challenge has clearly been accepted. This was evident at the UDT 2023 trade show, which took place in May in Rostock, Germany, where a number of technologies aimed at protecting CMI were on display.

IAI ELTA, for instance, unveiled its BlueWhale autonomous submarine system just as UDT was about to kick off. BlueWhale, which is 10.9m long with a 1.12m diameter, has been designed to carry out ISR, ASW and MCM missions.

Featuring an AESA radar, EO/IR sensors, sonar and SATCOM, as well as an onboard computer with integrated AI in the pressure hull, BlueWhale can provide a near-real-time situational awareness picture and early warning, both below and above the surface, in green and blue water environments.

‘Powered by a lithium-ion battery, the system has a full autonomy of approximately 20 days, depending on the mission,’ Michael Sela, business development and marketing manager at IAI, told the author.

Finland’s Image Soft also took advantage of UDT 2023 to unveil the third generation of its Underwater Surveillance System (UNWAS). This is a distributed modular package designed for surveillance of ports, events or CMI, now integrating deep learning, AI and neural networks to help classify and identify targets.

‘In addition, our system features an extremely wide frequency range, from 1Hz up to 120kHz, which means that it can also detect biological life,’ Thomas Pöyry, VP, business development sales at Image Soft, told the author.

‘This means it is particularly efficient in busy environments like harbours and busy sea lanes, providing EW.’

Today CMI plays a deeply embedded role in our economies. Gas pipelines providing energy resources in the North Sea; 99% of transoceanic data traffic going through underwater cables; growing offshore wind farms generating sustainable electricity… the list continues, and shows that protecting this infrastructure is not only critical – it is vital.

Off the record – the quiet rise of naval technology transfers

Transfer of technology (ToT) – these words may not always be said publicly, but the concept is increasingly becoming a key feature of many defence acquisition programmes across the world, particularly in the naval domain where highly complex systems require a certain level of know-how.

What exactly is ToT? In his 2020 book Transfer of Technology – Understanding the Nuances and Making it Work for India, Kevin A Desouza put it rather bluntly: ‘[It has] been defined in numerous ways.’

The key issue is how to define ‘technology’, ie what is actually being transferred. He identifies two aspects: components – such as knowledge, methods, technical data, documents, machines, tools, end products, infrastructure, etc; and the capability this delivers – product development, manufacture, use, maintenance, etc.

Both of these aspects have seemingly become implicit conditions of many naval procurement projects.

Above: Transfer of technology may not be the most heavily advertised part of a defence acquisition contract, but in the current geopolitical context it plays an important role. (Image: Naval Group)

For countries acquiring new, highly complex capabilities, ToT allows them to also gain the ability to manufacture and maintain them, but also the knowledge and skills relevant to these technologies.

For all parties involved, Alex Walchester, senior naval architect at BMT, told Shephard that: ‘The opportunities created by technology transfers are an increasing number of partners, who each bring their own experiences and knowledge to the table, which can be incorporated into truly world-leading ideas.’

A Naval Group representative meanwhile told the author that digital engineering has greatly facilitated the process of ToT.

‘In terms of training, the use of virtual reality tools allow ToT beneficiary teams to familiarise themselves with the technology and train in complex environments, before carrying out on the job training,; they said.

Such an approach speeds up the process and increases the chances of teams ‘getting it right the first time’ – thus saving valuable man-hours.

Augmented reality (AR), on the other hand, is useful in the technical assistance and supervision phase. For instance, a ship represents thousands of kilometres of pipes, which complexity can greatly increase the possibility of an error occurring during installation work.

‘Augmented reality will allow ToT teams to directly visualise where pipes must be installed and how,’ the Naval Group expert added.

Finally, remote assistance and digital twin technology facilitates remote collaboration between Naval Group’s back office teams and ToT beneficiary partners based on the same visual reference. ‘It will be possible for [back office] teams to visit the ships, to make a remote assessment of the situation and to provide the appropriate solutions,’ the expert concluded.

Yet ToT also has its challenges. ‘Arguably the greatest… is around protecting sensitive information, which includes both national and commercially sensitive information,’ Walchester pointed out.

Naval Group’s expert added that: ‘These challenges are compounded with issues of intellectual property, data protection and export control.’

ToT may not be the most heavily advertised part of a defence acquisition contract, but in the current geopolitical context it plays an important role.

With growing tensions and recurrent criticism concerning over-reliance on partners’ technology, many countries have been demanding ToT to strengthen their industrial capability and increase self-reliance. A trend that Australia, with the AUKUS programme, is following to the letter… for better or worse.

Growth strategy – why Norway needs more frigates

Analysis by Giovanni Rasio

In October last year, the Norwegian government announced a 9.8% year-on-year planned increase in the national defence budget to NOK75.8 billion ($7.1 billion). The document emphasised the need to consider replacing current surface vessels.

The Royal Norwegian Navy currently operates four Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates – five were initially built and delivered, but one was declared a loss after running aground in November 2018.

Above: HNoMS Roald Amundsen at sea during Exercise Formidable Shield 2023. (Photo: Norwegian Armed Forces)

Although the class is expected to undergo life extension work to keep it operational until the late 2030s, the budget document highlighted uncertainty around such activity due to costs.

Shephard Defence Insight forecasts that the current frigates will need to be replaced starting from the early 2030s if no mid-life upgrade programme is implemented.

Given the limited anti-air warfare weapons fit (only one Mk 41 module in three out of four frigates) and the low number of in-service platforms, the Royal Norwegian Navy could look at new and more capable warships.

In addition to that, considering Norway’s challenging security environment and the operational framework of its navy, Defence Insight estimates that four frigate-sized vessels are no longer enough to fulfil its requirements.

Above: HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen launches two Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles. (Photo: Royal Norwegian Navy)

In a report published in May 2023, the Norwegian Defence Commission suggested that the number of frigates should be increased to six through joint procurement of new ships with an allied nation. The purchase of this number of platforms would require an estimated $9.5 billion investment.

Regarding the partnership with another country, Defence Insight notes that the Dutch De Zeven Provincien-class replacement programme could represent a suitable option for Oslo. However, other countries such as Denmark, Germany and Sweden are also seeking to acquire new frigates under a similar timeline.

Estimating that, without the life extension works, the Fridtjof Nansen class will have to be retired in the early 2030s, Defence Insight believes a decision regarding the acquisition of new ships needs must be taken within the next years.

This would allow Norway to field a replacement class starting in the early 2030s.

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