Latest news with #Lura
Scotsman
14-05-2025
- Science
- Scotsman
"Secret weapon" being tested for Royal Navy to hunt Russia submarines
A 'secret weapon' is being developed which the Royal Navy can use to deal with Russian submarines. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... AI sensory technology that was originally used to track whales is set to be installed on underwater drones tasked with patrolling British waters. As reported in The Times, it's hoped a recent technological advancement can be used by Royal Navy technicians to 'illuminate' the oceans and make it easier to hunt submarines. Autonomous mini-hunter submarines could use artificial intelligence to identify sounds and movements under the ocean. The Lura system, developed by European defence company Helsing, can tell the difference between two ships of the same class by analysing acoustic waves. This would allow personnel to be freed from trawling through the data, speeding up reaction time so capabilities can be deployed faster. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad HMS Tyne with Russian Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar in the background. | Royal Navy / SWNS It can be used to identify submarines, tankers, passenger vessels and vessels belonging to the Russian shadow fleet. Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of Helsing, told The Times: 'We must harness new technologies to keep pace with the threats against our critical infrastructure, national waters and way of life.' Autonomous Royal Navy trials The Royal Navy has been consistently investing in autonomous technology and testing various types of equipment. Surface vessels which can sail by themselves have been trialled, and a new team has been formed to trial the latest autonomous military capabilities. The new Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office (DCTO) will include specialists from NavyX, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, and the Navy AI cell, will make up the new formation. XV Patrick Blackett, an experimental ship based at Portsmouth Naval Base, will be used as a hotbed for various tests. Rear Admiral James Parkin, the Royal Navy's Director Develop, previously said: 'This innovation will ensure that the Royal Navy will be better positioned to work with other areas in Defence, and our allies and partners, to learn the lessons from modern conflict, and ensure we introduce cutting edge capabilities into the front line at the speed of relevance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'In this way the Royal Navy will harness the best of today's technology in order to disrupt faster than our adversaries and remain ready to fight and win on day one of any future conflict.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
AI company Helsing unveils swarming underwater surveillance drones
MILAN — Germany-based Helsing has launched an underwater drone surveillance network powered by artificial intelligence for the detection of enemy submarines and ships out at sea for months at a time. The company's artificial-intelligence tool Lura is at the heart of the setup, processing data from SG-1 Fathom drones, Helsing said in a statement. By relying on a large-scale acoustic model, Lura is able to detect and categorize a variety of undersea threats based on the signature they emit, including submarines and different types of ships, at a high accuracy, according to the company. 'Lura's use of this model enables it to detect acoustic signatures 10 times quieter than other AI models, even differentiating between specific vessels from within the same class, at a speed up to 40 times faster than humans,' reads the Helsing statement. Many nations with advanced militaries collect intelligence about adversary ships, from the acoustic noise emitted by their propulsion systems to the characteristics of the wake form and water bubble generated by them. Analysts can then cross-check that data to identify threats at sea. According to Helsing, the Fathom drone is swarming-capable, which means hundreds can be deployed at a time patrolling an area's underwater environment for up to three months. The company demonstrated the setup last week Portsmouth Naval Base, England, as the company expects to deploy the capability within the year. Potential regions for deployment included the North and Baltic seas, where NATO is currently carrying out its Baltic Sentry mission focused on securing critical infrastructure at sea. The military alliance has also trialled an AI software tool, dubbed Mainsail, developed by the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in Italy, which flags suspicious vessels. It allows sifting through and analyzing enormous amounts of data such as maritime traffic to enable authorities to collect underwater intelligence or detect boats diverting off-course. 'Deploying AI to the edge of underwater constellations will illuminate the oceans and deter our adversaries for a strong Europe,' the co-founder and co-CEO of Helsing, Gundbert Scherf, said.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
German defence tech firm Helsing unveils new underwater drone
German defence company Helsing, which specializes in AI technology, has developed an underwater drone that can be deployed to protect ships and critical infrastructure, the Munich-based firm said on Tuesday. Dubbed SG-1 Fathom, the autonomous underwater glider is capable of patrolling "for up to three months at a time in search of underwater threats," Helsing said in a press release. The company also unveiled the Lura software platform and advanced AI system which deploys on the drone and is able to detect and classify sounds made by ships and submarines "with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy" thanks to a large acoustic model similar to language models. "Lura's use of a large acoustic model enables it to detect acoustic signatures 10x quieter than other AI models, even differentiating between specific vessels from within the same class, and at a speed up to 40x faster than human operators," Helsing said. The company also makes the HX-2 kamikaze drone, which is used by Ukraine. "Lura detects [threats] so our navies can deter," said co-founder and co-chief executive Grundbert Scherf. "We must harness new technologies to keep pace with the threats against our critical infrastructure, national waters, and way of life. Deploying AI to the edge of underwater constellations will illuminate the oceans and deter our adversaries, for a strong Europe." Western countries have been looking for ways to protect pipelines and data cables on the seabed from sabotage, attacks and spying attempts for some time.
