29 Jul 16. US Delivers 72 Ravens to Ukraine. Recently delivered UAVs may help to reach the ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he hopes that the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) recently delivered by the United States to Ukraine will contribute to the prevention of violations of the ceasefire in Donbas.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have received a batch of RQ-11B Raven UAVs today [July 27],” he wrote on Facebook.
“These UAVs will help considerably boost the efficiency of the Ukrainian servicemen’s activity, including the prevention of ceasefire violations,” he wrote.
As was reported, 24 RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems comprised of 72 aircraft and associated equipment worth million arrived at Boryspil International Airport on July 27. (Source: UAS VISION/Ukraine Today)
28 Jul 16. Leidos completes initial performance trials of US Navy’s first ACTUV Sea Hunter. Leidos has completed the initial performance trials of the US Navy’s first unmanned surface vehicle Sea Hunter, built as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) anti-submarine warfare continuous unmanned vessel (ACTUV) programme.
The technology demonstration system trials were conducted off the coast of San Diego, California, US.
During the trials, the 132ft-long trimaran vessel met all performance objectives for speed, manoeuvrability, stability, seakeeping, acceleration / deceleration, and fuel consumption of the vessel.
The test also intended to evaluate the vessel’s mechanical system reliability while at sea.
Leidos is planning to conduct further tests in the coming months to validate the vessel’s sensors, autonomy suite, and compliance with maritime collision regulations as well as proof-of-concept demonstrations for a range of US Navy missions.
The Sea Hunter features a modular design which allows the integration of flexible mission payloads making it suitable for a range of tasks.
The ACTUV can operate in a range of maritime climates, and its hardware and software allows the vehicle to operate safely near manned maritime vessels in all weather and traffic conditions, day or night.
In 2012, Leidos was awarded a $59m contract by DARPA to design, build and test the ACTUV prototype through four phases.
In 2014, DARPA signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Office of Naval research to fund an extended test phase of an ACTUV prototype to assess the capabilities of the vessel and several innovative payloads during open-water testing.
In 2018, the ACTUV programme is expected to be transitioned to the US Navy for use in anti-submarine warfare. (Source: naval-technology.com)
27 Jul 16. Israel Navy Readies for Third-Generation USV. The Israel Navy is planning to deploy a new generation of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) based on a US-built combat craft and remote-control technologies and subsystems developed by state-owned Rafael, a naval officer said Wednesday.
Built around a twin-engine combat vessel by Oregon Iron Works and funded with annual US military assistance, the new fleet of four USVs constitutes Israel’s third generation of autonomous surface ships.
Once deployed by the middle of next year, they will complement manned surface ships in multiple missions, including defense of Israel’s economic waters, anti-mine and anti-submarine warfare, the officer said.
A prototype of the advanced USV – known here as Shomer Hayam, or Protector – is undergoing operational testing at the Israel Navy base in Ashdod. Three more USVs are under contract via the US Navy’s International Program Office and are scheduled to arrive year by year’s end.
“We have one that is currently in use in Ashdod, and we are contracted for three more. Once they arrive, my guys will upgrade them to make them more robust so that if they take a hit (from machine guns or anti-tank missiles) they’ll be able to come home,” said the senior officer on the Navy headquarters staff responsible for development, c