The HUGIN AUV for Force Protection in the Littorals
Abstract
With their low cost and large destructive power, sea mines have the potential to become a weapon of choice for terrorists and rogue nations. The post-cold war mine threat differs from the traditional in a number of ways. Devising ways of countering this threat, ideally without risking own personnel, should be seen as an important task. As a small nation with a very strong dependence on the sea, Norway has always had a need for efficient systems to protect its maritime zone and assets. The HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) programme was initiated in the 1990s to deliver an efficient capability for mine countermeasures (MCM). Since 2001/02, the Royal Norwegian Navy has operated HUGIN AUVs on a regular basis. In order to correctly classify mine-like targets in highly cluttered environments (such as the Norwegian littorals), very high resolution imaging is required. Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) is a key technology for obtaining good classification performance over a wide swath. With the emerging threat of terrorist mining, recognition of traditional mine shapes such as cylinders and truncated cones becomes insufficient. Very high resolution imagery will substantially improve the ability to detect and classify improvised explosive devices.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA485135
Entities
People
- Nils J. Stoerkersen
- Per E. Hagen
Organizations
- Norwegian Defence Research Establishment