On Tuesday 26 May, members of the undersea defence community were set to gather in Rotterdam for the start of UDT 2020. Following the event's postponement until December, we marked the original show dates with a virtual keynote panel discussion. 

In this webinar, guests discussed the resilience of the undersea defence sector and assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on future behaviours.

Speakers:

• Rear Admiral Simon Williams, Chairman, Clarion Defence & Security
• Ed Rochead, Consulting Fellow and COVID19 Technical and Resourcing Lead, Platform Systems Division, DSTL
• Guy Dabell, Head of Submarine Platform Engineering, Babcock International
• Captain Herman De Groot, Head of The Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service
• Brooke Hoskins, Director of the Products and Training Services, Maritime Services, BAE Systems
• Rolf Ziesing, VP of Programs, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems

 

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This webinar will explore the Operational Drivers & Imperatives pillar. Participants will summarise what papers will be about and identify some of the questions, priorities and challenges this topic raises.

Speakers:

• Captain Ivan Stace, Submarine Capability – SSN Pillar Lead Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy Defence Nuclear Organisation (Moderator)
• Mr Tim Vickery, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL)
• Mr Jack Green, Leonardo Land & Naval Defence Electronics Division UK
• Mr Matthew Gleed, Senior Technologist, BAE Systems Submarines

• Mr Ron Melampy, Business Development- Submarine Communications and Surface Countermeasures, Lockheed Martin

Note: each speaker is a session chair under the Operational Drivers stream at UDT 2020.

What to expect:

Operational drivers underlie all aspects of undersea defence platforms. The combination of capability requirements and usage parameters – including human factors – dictates everything from platform design and system integration to resilience and repair processes.

This live webinar looked at how some of these requirements drive the development of future combat platforms and systems, particularly in the current challenging environment.

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This webinar will explore the Platform Design pillar. Participants will pick up on the latest themes which influenced the selection of papers for this year’s conference, and identify some of the questions, priorities and challenges in these topic areas.

Speakers:

• Mr Jeff Owen, Consultant, AtebTec Ltd (Moderator)
• Mr Nigel Whybrow, Future Submarines & Technology Director, Babcock International Group
• Mr Aymeric Bonnaud, Director of the CEMIS within “Naval Research”, Naval Group
• Captain Ivan Stace, Submarine Capability – SSN Pillar Lead Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy Defence Nuclear Organisation
• Mr Anthony Covarrubias, Senior Manager, Naval Group

What to expect?

This stream typically features technical and scientific papers exploring new ideas and innovations in submarine platform design. From early stage design processes, technological advancement in areas such as power and propulsion, to techniques and process associated with reducing cost and increasing platform availability during the in-service phase of the lifecycle. This webinar will focus on four key areas:

• Early Stage Concept Design
• Battery Technology
• Fuel Cells
• In-Service Support
   

Additionally, the panel will explore areas raised by questions from the audience related to the Platform Design stream.

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This webinar will explore the Sensors & Processing pillar. Participants will summarise what papers will be about and identify some of the questions, priorities and challenges this topic raises.

Speakers:

• Captain-Lieutenant at Sea Ing. Paul Dröge, Ministry of Defence, The Netherlands

• Dr Susan Metcalff, Chief Technology Officer, Head of MOD Research and Advice Division, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK UK Ltd

• Dr Peter Beerens, Senior Scientist, TNO

• Eur Ing Peter Don-Duncan, R&D Director, Advansys Solutions Ltd

• Mr Stéphane Jespers, Head of UWW Department, DGA Techniques Navales

• Mr Nick Sheppard, Technical Director - Maritime Mission Systems, Thales UK

What to expect?

This streams features papers that reveal recently identified techniques and developments in MCM, surface ship, helicopter borne, MPA, and submarine based:

• Sensor Development

• Sensor Processing
• Novel techniques
• Man / machine teaming
• System performance modelling

 

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The final webinar explored the Uncrewed, Remotely Piloted & Autonomous Systems conference pillar. Participants summarised what the papers will be about and identify some of the questions, priorities and challenges this topic raises.

Speakers:

• Dr Jerome Gormley, Director for Undersea Business Development, General Atomics

• Mr Nils Størkersen, Director of Research, Division for Maritime Systems, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)

• Dr Simon Colby, Chief Technical Authority - Mine Warfare and Unmanned Systems, BAE Systems

• Dr Alain Maguer, Head, Engineering and Information Technology, Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), NATO Science and Technology Organisation (STO)

What to expect?

This stream is an expanding element in UDT, featuring technical papers on the design of uncrewed, remotely piloted or autonomous systems. The use of uncrewed systems across the spectrum of applications in the underwater environment were sought for the conference, in particular papers that discuss the following:

• Autonomy and automated decision support

• Energy storage and conversion
• Communication and networked operation of UUV/ AUV
• Underwater sensors for USV
• Improving Survivability
• Strengths and weaknesses of uncrewed systems in underwater warfare
• Further development of uncrewed vehicles in MCM
• Command and control of uncrewed systems and their integration into operations
• Verification/validation of uncrewed systems
• Teaming and exploitation of crewed and uncrewed systems
• Planning and Evaluation tools
• Autonomous systems and the moral dilemma

 

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