Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
Sonardyne’s hybrid navigation system has been selected by Oceaneering International for its subsea Freedom and E-ROV vehicles, the company announced on 7 May.
The two vehicle systems are to be fitted with the SPRINT-Nav navigational instrument. SPRINT-Nav combines a SPRINT INS sensor, Syrinx 600 kHz Doppler Velocity Log and a high accuracy intelligent pressure sensor in a single unit.
Oceaneering’s next-generation resident hybrid ROV Freedom will debut in offshore trials later in 2019. The vehicle will be based out of docking stations on the seabed, enabling it to recharge and download data before and after its subsea inspection, maintenance and repair missions. It will operate in tethered and autonomous tetherless modes, performing both AUV and ROV related tasks, including survey, inspection, torque tool operation and manipulator-relator activities.
Char Franey, sales manager for survey and construction at Sonardyne in Houston, said: ‘Tight integration of the separate sensors within SPRINT-Nav as well as the use of high-specification ring laser gyros are behind the high performance our customers are seeing from these units. Combined with their compact form factor, these results are seeing SPRINT-Nav fast becoming the INS instrument of choice for resident vehicles.’
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
The new Amorphous software is a universal controller that would allow a single operator to control a swarm of “thousands” of uncrewed systems, from drones to underwater platforms.
India UAV supplier ideaForge has launched the Netra 5 and Switch V2 drones at Aero India 2025, boasting of enhanced endurance, AI-driven autonomy and improved operational capabilities.
The UAV market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with innovations in technology and battlefield applications driving demand across military sectors. From the battlefields of Ukraine to NATO exercises and beyond, drones are transforming how wars are fought and supported.
Launched at AUSA in October, the company’s multi-stream video codec is attempting to bring a new lease of life to drone technology through its AI accelerator.
Quantum-Systems has been upgrading its UAS family, with new versions of the Vector, Reliant and Twister drones set for release throughout 2025.