Elbit Demonstrates Seagull USV Mine Counter-Measure Capabilities

Elbit Systems has announced that its Multi-Mission USV Seagull has participated in the bi-national MCM (Mine Counter-Measure) trials for unmanned maritime systems that were organized by the Directorate General of Material Resources (DGMR) of the Belgian Defence Ministry. Taking part in the trials conducted from the Belgian Zeebrugge Naval Base were several companies operating different types of unmanned underwater and unmanned surface vehicles (USV).

Seagull is a 12-meter long USV that can be operated from a mother-ship or from shore stations. It provides multi-mission capabilities including Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Mine Hunting & Mine Sweeping (MCM), Electronic Warfare (EW), maritime security and underwater commercial missions, leveraging modular mission system installation and offering a high level of autonomy. It features inherent C4I capabilities for enhanced situation awareness and mission endurance of more than four days.

In the bi-national Belgian & Dutch MCM Trials, a single Seagull unit demonstrated MCM mission execution scanning the whole water column in one path, operating both the K5900 Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and the R2Sonic Forward Looking Sonar (FLS) for Search, Detection and Classification. On the second day the same Seagull platform, operating a VideoRayROV, a light Remotely Operated Vehicle, conducted the Identification and Demolition Phase of the Mine Hunting Mission.

Elbit Systems displayed Seagull’s quick mission ready capabilities in an unfamiliar setup, installing a mobile Command and Control unit onboard a Belgian Pollux Patrol Boat and completing all tasks in just a few hours.

The Seagull team included three operators, with two operators remotely managing the mission and the third monitoring the autonomous cruise. Operating on Elbit Systems proprietary software that includes modules for change detection and automatic target detection, Seagull performed real-time detections, mapping and classification of Mine Like Objects (MLOs). Seagull cruised at a speed of 10 knots in sea states 5 and 6, scanning three different areas,three times the size that were scanned by Autonomous Underwater Vessels (AUVs), emphasizing the Seagull’s clear advantage of processing imagery and generating actionable data in real time and issuing an on the spot report to the Belgian Navy. At the request of the Belgian Navy, the Seagull demonstration was also conducted based on Line-of-Sight (LOS) communication, despite Seagull’s capability to operate using Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) communication.

Yaron Levy, VP of Naval Systemsin Elbit Systems ISTAR Division, commented: “The bi-national trials that were conducted by the Belgian Navy clearly demonstrated the unmatched operational capabilities of the Seagull. We see a growing interest in the novel capabilities that the Seagull provides for executing top quality and cost effective MCM, ASW and commercial underwater missions.”