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27 Aug 15. US Navy uses undersea wireless technology to recharge UUVs. The US Navy is developing methods to recharge underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs) with the support of undersea wireless technology, in a bid to reduce time between missions and enhance overall utility. The UUVs are used for missions, including the location and identification of underwater threats, such as mines, ocean floor mapping, and optimising remote sensing platforms. Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) technical lead Alex Askari said, “Underwater data and energy transfer are expected to multiply the effectiveness of navy-operated UUVs and other unmanned platforms by providing a vehicle-agnostic method for autonomous underwater energy charging.”
The wireless underwater energy transfer concepts, including forward deployed energy and forward deployed energy and communications outpost (FDECO), were initially developed in NSWCCD’s Disruptive Technologies Lab. During a recent demonstration, the Carderock Division team was able to transfer power wirelessly from an underwater docking station to a mid-sized autonomous research vehicle (MARV) UUV section, and ultimately to the UUV’s battery. NSWCCD integration lead Joseph Curran said: “The NUWC team was on-hand to simulate the full capabilities of the NUWC-developed MARV UUV, as well as to provide assistance with testing.” The underwater energy transfer programme was performed using data that is transferred wirelessly underwater using SSC PAC’s underwater optical communications system. It allowed an enhanced estimation of the charge on the battery through the SOC programme. In July, the US Navy reportedly launched and recovered an underwater drone from its USS North Dakota submarine, which is said to be its first such mission. Since 1970s, the navy has used unmanned vehicles for training purposes to replicate enemy submarines. The UUVs were also used to detect mines and map the ocean floor. (Source: naval-technology.com)
26 Aug 15. Canada Seeks To Deploy Repeaters on USAF Satellites.
Canada’s Department of National Defence will negotiate an agreement with the US Air Force for the installation of search-and-rescue repeaters on the service’s next generation Global Positioning System satellites.
The repeaters provided by Canada’s Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) satellite project will significantly cut down on the time it takes to locate a distress signal, according to Canadian military officers.
The 24 search-and-rescue repeaters will be installed on the USAF’s GPS 3 satellites. The first repeater is expected to be on one of the satellites scheduled for launch in 2017. COM DEV of Cambridge, Ontario, will be awarded the contract to build the repeaters. In 2013 it received a CAN $4.7m (US $3.5m) contract from the Canadian government for research-and-design work on the systems. The MEOSAR satellite project, which will also include the construction of three ground stations, could cost up to $249m, according to Canada’s Department of National Defence. Companies will be asked for bids on the ground segment portion sometime next year. A contract for that will be awarded in 2018, with the ground stations built by 2020. Once in orbit 22,000 kilometers above the Earth, a MEOSAR repeater will be able to detect signals from emergency beacons and retransmit the signals to receiver stations on the ground. The emergency messages can then be sent to appropriate authorities so that people in danger can be quickly located and rescued. (Source: Defense News)
25 Aug 15. US Navy makes largest federal purchase of solar power. Fourteen Navy installations in California will get as much as a third of their power from solar energy, following the Navy’s agreement to make the largest purchase of renewable energy of any federal entity, an agreement that calls for t