The Wall Street Journal Article by Will Connors titled “Underwater Drones are multiplying” argues that water drones are an army patrolling the ocean’s surface. The drones are “small-camera equipped robots” are developed by a range of companies and use specifically for sending information to data laptops and tablet screens. The idea of sending drones to sea developed as a hobby for wealthy adventures has quickly turned into a fast growing market with a rapidly increasing market demand. Even though several people admit that Video Ray Underwater Vehicles has been in progression since the late 1990s. Companies known for the manufacture of such devices include Boeing Company, General Dynamics as well as other companies.
The United States has used unnamed vehicles running underwater to target enemy submarines for a long time. However, most of the drones were mostly used for training purposes. The change happened at the beginning of the 1990s when the United States started using drones for special usage. For example, in October 2010, the United States had drone that completed a 26 hour voyage from Cape Cod to Newport. The capability of these drones is there unquestionable.
The use of underwater drones
The United States Military is famous for using Drones to tackle terrorists far off the shore of the United States. The success of the Drones by the United States military has created a desire for the use of drones in business. Indeed, corporations such as energy companies in coordination with the military are already in advanced stages to use the technology of drones for commercial purposes. However, the business community is arguing for the use of drones, semi-automatic seaborne remote guided vehicles for commercial purposes.
Some giant submarines would be required to protect the seas. While this new concept sounds like a fairy tale movie, the United States Military think that it is a very commercially viable endeavor. The new project has been dubbed Project Hydra and would be used to combat piracy, ungoverned states, and proliferation of sophisticated weapons engineered by enemy states. The center of the program would be a program that secretly supplies the under the water motors with autonomous underwater vehicles.
However, the proposal is in its early stages. However, sources say that unnamed underwater had been operational for a while. One such example is Hydroid. Hydroid is made by a Norwegian company called Kongsberg. Kongsberg specializes in the making of remote controlled underwater vessels. This specific company specializes in making the drones for militaries around the world, some energy companies, and some research or scientific institutions. The advantage of using the AUV’s is that its cost effective, consumes less time, and also has the capability where human beings are incapable of going. Such includes under water mines that are risky for humans to penetrate.
In the United States, AUV’s have been used for several operations. One example of the uses of underwater vessel was in the operations of the Persian Gulf. The United States Navy has a base in the country of Bahrain that has the capability of detecting potential or existing mines in the Persian gulf. The use of the underwater drones for this purpose has been championed by the increasing threats by Iran to mining the Persian gulf if the United States starts an aggression with them. In this case, a specific of drones called the Hydroid called the Remote Environmental Measuring Units was used as a test in a war game with other remote controlled marines such as SeaFox submarine.
In May of 2011, the United States Marine bought the mine-sniffing submarines that were targeting the Iranian military. The underwater vessels bought include minesweeping ships, an assortment of 53, sea dragon helicopters as well as other ordinary arsenals.The original idea was for the United States to defend itself against the Strait of Hormuz capture by the Iranians.
One of the engineers of the project reasoned that the REMUS project was important for the security of the under-sea. The REMUS works through vehicles that are connected to a laptop that gives them the program to dive under water and disappear. While under the water, REMUS has no bandwidth, this means that they have to resurface of the earth to give the information.
In the United States, underwater vessels have been used in New York for anti-terrorism missions. In the article, Underwater Drones Giving More Eyes to Police Harbor Units as Searches Grow, Al Baker reported that the New York Police Department’s Harbor Unit to sweep for bombs when President Obama visited the city on Wednesday last week. The Police Unit used AUV’s that were sent under water to check for bombs in specific joints across the city. The point was to clear the area for the Marine one which the President’s official helicopter. The reason for splashing down the AUV’s was for checking improvised bombs. The device used for this operation is called ROV which is specifically used as a tactical weapon for the police.
The United States Coast Guards sought assistance in disaster situations leading to the birth of new drones. The new drones are called Unnamed Port Security Vessel and are a combination between a sleek, aerial drones and remote controlled boats. The United States Coast Guards have also petitioned for the use of Water drones that would be formidable in tackling situations. The coast guards are calling for drones also called Unnamed Port Security Vessel that also use remote control boats to race in parks and ponds. Like all the water drones, the UPSV is designed for withstanding environments that are unsafe for humans. Unlike the drones discussed above, the UPSV runs on top of water. It usually weighs 160 pounds, six foot long and roves over the ocean. The drone has full equipment for collecting data that detects sensors, and sonar’s. The USPV has no guns because it is not intended for combat. The good thing about UPSV is that is easily deployable and can be dropped on water by helicopter. Its sole purpose is collecting data that can be relayed on a computer. In situations such as oil spills, the UPSV helps by marking out damages. If the event is as big as a tsunamis, then the UPSV becomes handy by adequately inspect the damage level of all infrastructures.
Future development of the Navy hopes that the drones will eventually pilot themselves across the oceans. Although the vehicles are already in use for mapping of the ocean floors, and mining, there is already an increasing awareness for use of the drones for intelligence gathering, and for possible manufacture of anti-submarine warfare. One of the enthusiasts from the United States Navy argued that the under-water vehicles could be possible game changers. Compared with aerial drones, the drones under the sea have challenges of operation. First the water is not user friendly when it comes to the collection of information. The water distorts signals, also the drones must work together with traffic boats that changes water movements swirling currents.
Another challenge of the water drones accrues from the fact that they mostly powered by dry cell batteries. While this is good for mobility, it hinders the capability of the drones to stay on for a longer time. The sailors that handle the drones would need a source of power that can deploy and collect information for a longer period of time. There is a consensus that with an advanced increase in the technology, the drones will become important players in the underwater warfare. The United States Navy has estimated that by the end of 2017, they will be capable of manufacturing drones that have the capability of staying under water for over seventy days.
Bibliography
Baker, Al. "Underwater Drones Giving More Eyes to Police Harbor Unit as Searches Grow." The New York Times. Last modified December 4, 2011. Accessed December 12, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/nyregion/drone-submarines-add-eyes-for-nyc-harbor-police.html?_r=0.
Connors, Will. "Underwater Drones Are Multiplying Fast." The Wall Street Journal. Last modified June 24, 2013. Accessed December 21, 2013. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324183204578565460623922952.
Frankum, Ronald. Like Rolling Thunder: The Air War in Vietnam, 1964-1975. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
Mellia, Michael. "Underwater Drones Tested By U.S. Navy In Narragansett Bay." The Huffintongton Post Tech. Last modified August 7, 2012. Accessed December 12, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/underwater-done-ocean-navy-narragansett_n_1754026.html.
Rolleiv. "Kongsberg to deliver mine disposal weapon system." The Norway Post. Last modified September 22, 2013. Accessed November 30, 2013. http://www.norwaypost.no/index.php/news/latest-news/28995.
