Defence

Defence Science and Technology Organisation

Scientific leadership

Delivering the maritime technology edge

By Janis Cocking

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s (DSTO) Maritime Platforms Division (MPD) traces its heritage back over more than eighty years, through scientists and engineers who have provided support for Defence and industry. Over this time MPD has undergone various name changes, and its research program has also changed markedly in anticipation of the evolving nature of warfare. Today MPD has staff in Melbourne, Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. Staff are focused on providing scientific leadership in a range of Defence technologies to offer a comparative technological advantage to the warfighter.

In addition to developing technologies in support of Navy’s long-term plans, MPD provides direct support and advice for:

• major acquisitions, such as the new Canberra- and Hobart-class ships and the New Aerospace Combat Capability
• capability improvements, such as the Collins-class submarine, the ANZAC Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD), M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier and Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) upgrades
• maximisation of the current fleet’s operational effectiveness and sustainability
• development of technologies in support of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) longer term plans including support to next-generation undersea warfare.

‘Survivability’

Preparing for measuring the acoustic signature of HMAS Collins

A key focus in MPD is the ‘survivability’ of ships, submarines and armoured vehicles. Survivability has three major elements. The first is the control of signatures to avoid detection and, when combined with the use of decoys, minimise the chance of being hit. The second is vulnerability, which is the damage caused by weapons on the structure and equipment of a submarine, ship or land vehicle. For a ship, vulnerability includes the impacts on buoyancy, stability and mobility. The third element is ‘recoverability’, which is the capacity to recover capability after a given level of damage.

Signature control is a critical technology. Unique indigenous requirements and the difficulty in obtaining access to reliable overseas information have resulted in DSTO developing high-performance solutions, such as the anechoic tiles on the Collins-class submarines. DSTO identified the required operational characteristics, and designed and tested anechoic tiles specifically for the Collins-class and the RAN environment. Close collaboration with industry underpinned the successful transfer of the technology. Several exciting developments in signature control technology are under way.

MPD has invested in extensive infrastructure to support experiments in shock, blast and ballistic protection to validate its modelling and simulation of vulnerability. MPD’s advice has been provided in support of decisions for current acquisition programs and also rapid acquisition programs for vehicles deployed at present on overseas operations. The latter involved the specification of a solution to protect against rocket-propelled grenades as well as other armour technologies to protect against improvised explosive devices. To support such operational requests, MPD has developed world-class expertise in the dynamic loading and deformation of materials and armour systems, and their response to projectiles, fragmentation and blast.

Structural integrity

In addition to survivability, ensuring the structural integrity of warships and submarines so that they are safe to operate is a critical requirement for the RAN. For many years DSTO has provided RAN and Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) with advice on design rectification and whole-of-life support for a range of maritime assets. Structural integrity may be compromised as the result of design deficiencies, shortcomings or degradation of materials, or significant changes in the operational use of the assets. One of the notable successes of the past was the development of the specifications for the hull and welding materials package for the Collins-class submarines. This package incorporated steels with greater fatigue life and better shock resistance. Australian industry produced the steel and fabricated all but two hull sections. The remaining two sections were fabricated in Sweden. DSTO’s extensive research resulted in the special high-strength, low-alloy steel for the submarine hull and is one of the acknowledged successes of the Collins program. Another notable success is the development of a fatigue life management plan for the original propellers on the Collins-class submarine.

Personnel sustainment

Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have a well-deserved reputation for their warfighting capability. Their training, skill and resourcefulness have provided the winning edge many times. MPD is working with the ADF to analyse the RAN workforce, and determine the impact of policy changes and demographics on the future workforce and how technology can aid Navy in its Sea Change program. The studies undertaken provide advice to the ADF on decisions about manning levels, multi-crewing of ships, and the control of the atmosphere in the Collins-class submarine. A current focus is the effect of workload, fatigue and automation on human performance in demanding circumstances. The safety of the crew is the major focus of this program.

Materiel sustainment

MPD also assists the RAN in assessing the expected service life of a vessel and works with them to determine how the life may be extended safely and cost-effectively. The results have also contributed to the revision of design rules set by classification societies. Much of the testing conducted in this area of research involves instrumenting vessels or systems and measuring their performance under operational conditions, often using highly specialised instrumentation and analysis techniques.

Corrosion has a significant impact on structural integrity and maintenance costs. MPD has a significant capability in corrosion protection and works with the RAN, the Royal Australian Air Force and industry to support aircraft, ships and the submarines. In addition to developing solutions across the spectrum of corrosion problems, there is a focus on improved automation techniques to decrease the number of personnel needed to inspect for, and monitor, corrosion. This can only be achieved if reliable monitoring and sensor systems are available. DSTO’s research blends advanced modelling with experimentation in the laboratory and in the field. DSTO has several sensor systems under development and trial. The results of this research are expected to be applied to new acquisitions as well as to the current fleet.

Technology challenges for the future

Forecasting the success of future technologies that might provide a comparative warfighting advantage is always challenging for scientists and decision makers. Notable successes include breech-loading mechanisms, radar and the jet engine. There have also been failures. Despite enthusiastic forecasts by scientists, neither the flying jeep, nor the jet-pack-powered soldier entered the field of battle. Equally mistaken was the Royal Navy’s Surveyor-General when he said, ‘even if the propeller had the power of propelling a vessel it would be found altogether useless in practice, because the power being applied to the stern of the vessel, it would be totally impossible to steer’. So was General Sir John Haig when he noted, ‘I believe that the value of the horse and the opportunity for the horse in the future are likely to be as great as ever… I am all for using aeroplanes and tanks, but they are only accessories to the man and the horse, and I feel that as time goes on you will find just as much use for the horse (the well-bred horse) as you have ever done in the past’.

MPD’s strategy is to invest effort and resources so that it can be flexible and responsive in either adopting or rejecting forward-looking technologies that will support the ADF of the future. Some of the areas of the longer range research form part of DSTO’s initiatives in Smart Materials and Structures, Signature Management, and Automation of the Battlespace. Other areas are specific to future maritime warfare. The Biomimetics and Hydrodynamics Program is aimed at reducing drag resistance of hulls. The Bioblock Program is aimed at treating ballast water in ships and submarines. The Unmanned Maritime Vehicle Program includes research into advanced energy and storage systems, communication and non-traditional navigation, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion, launch and recovery, and concepts of operations for multiple vehicles. The aim of this program is to provide advice on the critical technical issues that affect the transition and operation of unmanned systems, including how they combine with manned systems. The results of the Advanced Materials Program will have a potential impact on blast protection, stealth materials and coatings, hulls, new generations of composite propellers and propulsors. The associated research on smart sensor systems will enable automated, nondestructive monitoring of the degradation of structures and equipment. One element of the latter builds on MPD’s existing stewardship of automated inspection systems for application such as the F-111. There is active collaboration with universities and industry in all these areas.

Reduced cost of ownership and operations

DSTO’s Reduced Cost of Ownership and Operations initiative includes support to naval platforms and systems in service. The aim is to support the ongoing efforts of Defence to continuously improve the availability and management of its assets. DSTO is working with the RAN and DMO to identify the major cost drivers for maintaining the ANZAC-class ships and the Collins-class submarines. The results help determine the priority for development of technology solutions that aim to reduce maintenance costs. The same analytical techniques will be used to determine whether such technology solutions are providing appropriate cost benefits. DSTO is also working with the RAN, DMO and industry to develop tools to predict the sustainability of systems as well as the consumption of fuel and other consumables in a number of operational scenarios. An illustration is MPD’s Predictive Modelling and Simulation Tool (PMAST). PMAST has the ability to analyse and predict the operational availability of a platform and its systems. It will also analyse and predict platform- and system-sparing requirements and costs. In doing this the most critical components and systems for a required performance level or Defence capability can be identified. The tool is flexible enough to incorporate new measures of performance as well as the effects of uncertainty. Once it has been validated, this tool will enable RAN capability managers to quantitatively analyse ship capability management options in relation to different maintenance and sparing policies and thereby allocate available resources more cost-effectively to maximise capability.

External collaboration

Collaboration with industry, Australian academia and the international scientific community is a hallmark of DSTO’s program. MPD is actively involved with DSTO’s industry alliances with the maritime sector and has a number of licensing agreements and Capability Technology Demonstrators (CTDs). MPD has a significant number of research agreements with universities and it also supports interactions through several cooperative research centres and national centres of infrastructure such as the Australian Maritime Hydrodynamics Research Centre. International links are maintained through a range of bilateral and multilateral programs, especially with national government laboratories. By engaging in these international programs DSTO can use its customised application of knowledge to the benefit of the Australian operating environment, and this comparative advantage to the Defence should not be underestimated.

Janis Cocking is Chief Maritime Platforms Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

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