Elbit Systems SEAGULL USV operated remotely from Sydney to Haifa
Following the success of the demonstration at DSEI in London in September, the Elbit Systems team travelled to Pacific 2017 in Sydney in October, to showcase the remote capabilities of its SEAGULL 12m long unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
Using satellite communication (SATCOM) and land communication, a USV operator and a sonar operator located in the Elbit Systems booth at Pacific remotely controlled the SEAGULL platform performing operational Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Mine Countermeasure (MCM) missions in the Haifa Bay, Israel, some 14,000km away. However, in comparison to the demonstration held during DSEI, in this case the USV operator was actually responsible for two platforms: one equipped with the L3 – HELRAS Dipping sonar, executing the ASW mission and one equipped with Klein 5900 Side Scan Sonar (SSS) executing the MCM mission.
“In the scenario developed for this demonstration, the Central Control Station detects an object that could be a Submarine. The decision to dispatch two Seagull USV is therefore taken involving one Seagull USV with ASW capacities, to search and deter submarines, and one SEAGULL USV with MCM capabilities, to address mines threat,” says Hanan Marom, Senior BD & Marketing Director at Elbit Systems.
The demonstration highlighted not only the potential of the SEAGULL Multi-Mission USV capabilities, but also the technological advances that allow Elbit Systems to operate two platforms from one single console in a very remote location.
The SEAGULL USV has been operational for the past two years and recently won the Royal Dutch Association of Shipping Technicians (KNVTS) ‘Ship of the Year’ award.
AV