SHIPWRECK PODCAST: Exploring USS Stewart with James Delgado
We talk with renowned maritime archaeologist James Delgado about the recently found US Navy destroyer USS Stewart. Stewart was a century-old US Navy destroyer that earned the unenviable distinction of serving under both American and Japanese flags during World War II. This groundbreaking discovery was made off the coast of northern California on a collaborative expedition between Ocean Infinity, the Air/Sea Heritage Foun-dation, SEARCH, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).We also get a bird’s-eye view of what Jim’s
Fincantieri, Sparkle Join Forces for Subsea Cables Protection
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and services provider Sparkle have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of technological solutions for the surveillance and protection of subsea telecommunications cables.Through shared and specialized work teams, Fincantieri and Sparkle will analyze the requirements for improving the security of subsea telecommunications infrastructures, identifying innovative technologies and solutions to ensure their operational resilience.Fincantieri, with its expertise in the underwater domain, is developing advanced solutions for surveillance
NUWC Analyst earns Meritorious Civilian Service Award
Martin J. Guyotte, a recently retired senior staff analyst from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport Undersea Warfare (USW) Mission Engineering and Analysis Department, was presented a Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the third highest honorary civilian award bestowed by the U.S. Navy, during a retirement ceremony held on Nov. 26.Guyotte, a resident of Middletown, Rhode Island, retired on Nov. 29 after 35 years and one month of service at Division Newport. The award recognized his outstanding achievements as a senior staff analyst from January 2018 to
NUWC's Pistacchio wins ONR Achievement Award
David Pistacchio, a senior technologist in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport’s Chief Technology Office, was selected for the 2023 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Fred E. Saalfeld Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Science.The award is granted on a highly selective basis and recognizes naval research scientists for extraordinary lifetime achievements in science that contributed substantially to the knowledge and capabilities of the Department of the Navy (DON), Department of Defense and the nation. It is the highest award that ONR confers on a naval research
NUWC Newport Engineer receives 2024 NDIA Medal
Mark Campbell, an engineer in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport’s Undersea Warfare Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, recently won a 2024 National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Bronze Medal, an annual award that recognizes outstanding individual achievements in science or engineering in the field of undersea warfare.Throughout his 34-year career, Campbell has built a reputation as one the top technical leaders at Division Newport who supports undersea warfare excellence by contributing his torpedo software algorithm expertise to the torpedo
Struggles to Secure Baltic Sea Dominates NATO's 'Freezing Winds '24'
On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 military staff took to the same body of water for one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises.The 12-day 'Freezing Winds' drill was part of a push to step up the transatlantic defence alliance's protection of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of global shipping traffic and are seen as increasingly vulnerable to attack.The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia. There have been at least three incidents of possible sabotage to the 40-odd telecommunication
Wavefront's Intruder Detection Sonar Chosen for Corvettes
Sonar technology company Wavefront Systems has been awarded a contract by global defense company MARSS Group to deliver its Sentinel IDS® (Intruder Detection Sonar) as part of MARSS’s NiDAR surveillance system for a fleet of Corvette-class vessels deployed in South-East Asia.The NiDAR platform will fuse a range of new and legacy sensors – including Wavefront’s Sentinel IDS sonar, navigational radars and infrared cameras – into a single user interface, to provide a highly accurate and rapid means of detecting and classifying underwater and surface threats to the vessel
Kraken Robotics Records 52% Interim Revenue Bump
to net income of $3.0 million in the comparable nine-month period.For the third quarter of 2024 alone, consolidated revenue for declined 4% to $19.5 million compared to $20.3 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2023.The year-over-year decline occurred as a significant increase in SeaPower subsea batteries and Services revenue (Sub-Bottom Imager and Acoustic Corer) did not offset lower KATFISH and Remote Mine Disposal System (RMDS) revenue, according to the company.“Fiscal 2024 is on track to be another record year for Kraken, driven by strength across defense and offshore energy end
Russia Eyed for Subsea Cable Cuts
, the armed forces said separately.A NATO official said the alliance's Maritime Center for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure was working closely with allies to help establish the facts.Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said it had also launched a probe into the broken subsea cable but Sweden would be leading the investigations.In the most prominent Baltic sabotage case, Nord Stream gas pipelines were destroyed in September 2022, seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hastening Europe's switch to other energy suppliers.No one has taken
Germany Reaffirms Suspicions of Baltic Subsea Cable Damage Being Sabotage
The damaging of two undersea telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea should be presumed to be sabotage, Germany said on Tuesday, while Lithuania's armed forces boosted surveillance of its waters in response."No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally. I also don't want to believe in versions that these were ship anchors that accidentally caused the damage," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said before a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels.Two fibre-optic cables - one linking Finland and Germany, the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania - stopped working between
Sabotage: Two Undersea Cables Cut in Baltic Sea
commercial shipping route and is ringed by nine countries including Russia.The damage to the Finland-Germany cable occurred near the southern tip of Sweden's Oland Island and could require five to 15 days to repair, Cinia's chief executive, Ari-Jussi Knaapila, told a news conference.Last year a subsea gas pipeline and several telecoms cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea were severely damaged in an incident raising alarm bells in the region.Investigators of the 2023 cases in Finland and Estonia have named a Chinese container ship that they believe dragged its anchor and caused the
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Submarine Networks
Submarine communication cables – almost 560 of them deployed to date – crisscross our oceans, interconnecting continents and carrying over 99% of intercontinental data traffic. This article looks at how the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) will affect these cables in terms of traffic demand as well as in terms of how we design and operate the key equipment that feeds data into these cables.AI and Network Traffic VolumesThere are several reports that predict a huge increase in the processing power required for AI applications as well as the electrical power consumed by future AI
Sea Machines Gets New Chief
Boston-based developer of marine autonomous technology Sea Machines Robotics has appointed David Wasson as its new chief executive officer (CEO).Founder Michael Gordon Johnson will assume the position of president and chief technology officer for the company, while David 'Chip' Wasson takes the CEO role.“Through Michael’s leadership, the Sea Machines team has relentlessly pursued the mission of safe, secure, and sustainable ocean mobility, building a recognized leader in maritime autonomy. His focus on the technology roadmap and product development going forward will ensure further
Exail Picks ST Engineering's Manufacturing Base for Belgian-Dutch Navy Program
ST Engineering iDirect’s Manufacturing Competence Center (MCC) has been selected by Exail to deliver the electronics for the underwater drones of the joint Mine Counter Measure Program (MCM) of the Belgian and Dutch navies.ST Engineering iDirect’s MCC located in Erpe-Mere, Belgium, delivers electronic high-reliability assembly, testing and repair services.Its capabilities were awarded the esteemed Factory of the Future title four consecutive times since 2015.Factories of the Future invest in digitization, personnel, smart processes and products, as well as in world-class manufacturing.
Singapore Boosts Undersea Might with Two New Submarines
Singapore commissioned two new advanced submarines on Tuesday, vessels its navy says are meant to protect sea lines of communication, and which experts said would range beyond the waters of the tiny city-state to keep tabs on the region.The country's fifth and sixth submarines, the Invincible and the Impeccable, were ordered from Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in 2013 in a 1-billion-euro deal, and join older Archer- and Challenger-class boats.They represent a technological step forward for Singapore's fleet, experts say, allowing the wealthy Southeast Asian nation to operate farther
OPT Bags $1M Contract from US Navy for Autonomous Maritime Tech
Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) been awarded a follow-on contract valued at $1 million to further advance the operational capability of its autonomous maritime technologies to support the U.S. military and its allies.OPT secured the follow-on contract as a subcontractor to EpiSci after the successful 12-month demonstration of its autonomous surface vehicle technologies during the Mission Autonomy Proving Grounds (MAPG) as part of Project Overmatch.With this award, OPT will continue to ruggedize and enhance its operational capability of its autonomous maritime technologies to support the U.S. military
Russian 'Spy Whale' Hvaldimir Found Dead Near Norway
A beluga whale that was suspected of spying for Russia after being discovered in Norwegian waters five years ago has been found dead, according to the non-profit organization that had been monitoring the whale.The body of Hvaldimir - a combination of the Norwegian word for whale and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin - was spotted floating in the sea by a father and son fishing in southern Norway over the weekend, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported."Hvaldimir was not just a beluga whale; he was a beacon of hope, a symbol of connection, and a reminder of the deep bond
Australia Conducts First Maintenance of US Nuclear Submarine
A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine will undergo maintenance in Australia for the first time on Friday, a key step by AUKUS partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the defense ministers of Australia, Britain and the United States said.Australian personnel trained with the United States and Britain over the past year ahead of the submarine maintenance at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, involving personnel from the three nations."Our navies are committed to reinforcing the same guiding principles within Australia that have allowed the United States and United Kingdom to safely operate
Greensea IQ Contract to Further Develop USN Autonomous Vehicle
as an upgrade solution for systems currently running Greensea’s defense software suite and is used throughout Greensea’s own robot product line. Greensea is augmenting IQNS for this program with advanced autonomy capabilities for acquiring, classifying, and eventually neutralizing subsea threats while maintaining a significant standoff for EOD personnel. This new development is capable of upgrading the existing fleet of VideoRay Defender ROVs currently employed by the Navy and other defense forces.The Phase 4 objective of this contract focuses on further developing EOD Edge to incorporate
December 2024
