- Diving and Crewed Submersibles
- Education
- Environmental Forces (SUTGEF)
- Marine Renewable Energies
- OSIG (Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics) and ECOSIGG
- SUT - Policy Advisory
- Salvage and Decommissioning
- Subsea Engineering and Operations (SEO) Atlantic & Europe
- Panel on Underwater Robotics
- Young Professionals International
- Marine Environmental Science
- UXO (Unexploded Ordnance)
Defence
The Defence SIG is a recently formed group that provides a forum for professionals from Navies, industry, academia and government to discuss and share ideas, technologies, applications, concepts and guidance for the development and use of technology in the underwater battlespace
Aims and Objectives
The initial aims of the SIG are as below; as a new group we are in the process of defining these aims and offerings.
- Monitor all underwater technology developments of interest and application to defence sector users.
- Provide a forum for discussion of the modus operandi and associated ethics of technology developments.
- To determine the legal and policy implications of new underwater technology in terms of vehicles, systems, sensors and applications.
- Provide technology foresight reports to government, defence contractors, armed services and other interested parties.
- Deliver an annual seminar or showcase to an invited audience.
- Write papers suitable for publication in appropriate journals.
- Prepare suitable briefs for presentation at identified underwater technology conferences and exhibitions
- Become known as a forum of excellence or ‘think tank’ for innovative underwater defence technologies.
Example Activities
An example of the activities undertaken by the SIG is the presentations at Ocean Business in 2021, which included:
Phorcys – An open and secure acoustic communication standard to enable multi-domain C4 in coalition maritime environments
The speakers for the presentation were Alex Hamilton of DSTL and Jon Davies, the senior technical consultant on the project. The presentation included a review of the recent work done on the open communication systems for the defence industry, including a technical description of the waveforms and the results of recent trials.
NATO Smart Defence Project Anti-Submarine Warfare Barrier
The presentation was given by David Burton is the Director of ASW Barrier Smart Defence Initiative (SDI) at NATO and covered NATO’s initiative to build a viable ASW Barrier Technical Demonstrator (hold at risk) that is enabled by the Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network. It described how Maritime Unmanned Systems, working in conjunction with conventional manned assets will deliver underwater capabilities of the future.
Royal Navy – Animal Biomechanics
The Royal Navy has recently launched an RFI for Animal Biomechanics that may be of interest to SUT members. Click here to read more information.