Pacific 2015: Saab targets RAN ASW training requirement with AUV62-AT

[Zarvan]

A scale model of Saab's AUV62-AT on display at the Pacific 2015 international maritime exposition in Sydney. Source: IHS/Ridzwan Rahmat
Key Points

• Saab is seeking to supply an autonomous underwater system to the Royal Australian Navy for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training
• System is designed to inject realism into ASW training without the need to deploy a submarine

Swedish defence group Saab is looking to supply its AUV62-AT autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to meet anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training requirements for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The company told IHS Jane's at the Pacific 2015 international maritime exhibition and conference in Sydney that it has identified an upcoming ASW training requirement within the RAN that can be met by a modular and customisable AUV system that can replicate the characteristics of a wide variety of submarines.

"The AUV62-AT is a proven system and is currently in use with the Swedish Navy and a Southeast Asian navy for ASW training," said David Ledger, Saab Asia Pacific's marketing communications manager for Australia and New Zealand. "The system adds realism into ASW training by mimicking submarines that are either too costly or inefficient to deploy in naval exercises," he added.

According to specifications provided by the company, the AUV62-AT weighs approximately 620 kg and has an operational depth of up to 300 m. The vessel can operate at speeds of up to 12 kt and has an endurance of more than 24 h when operated at 4 kt.

To generate the acoustic signature of a real submarine, the AUV features an extendable towed-tail system with transponders. Depending on the size and type of submarine that is required in ASW simulations, the length and number of transponders on this tail can be adjusted.

"The AUV also has the intelligence to perform evasive underwater manoeuvres autonomously when it senses that it is being detected by sonar from aircraft, vessels, or torpedoes," said Ledger, who added that these manoeuvres include switching from one thermal layer to another - a typical evasion technique used by submarines under prosecution.

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Pacific 2015: Saab targets RAN ASW training requirement with AUV62-AT - IHS Jane's 360