GLINT in the eye: NURC explores novel autonomous concepts for future ASW

The La Spezia-based NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) has completed a major trial, known as GLINT09 (Generic Littoral Interoperable Network Technology), to investigate the exploitation of autonomous unmanned vehicles (AUVs) as part of a future anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operational construct.

NURC's Ocean Explorer, used as the primary data collecting platform and behaviour demonstrator for the GLINT09 experiment, was configured with a multiple octave BENS towed array and the TOSSA onboard source. (NURC)

The experiment, conducted in mid-2009, is judged to have been an important step towards the long-term goal of a fully functioning collaborative ASW system. NURC is planning to conduct a networked wide-area system demonstration in the 2011-12 timeframe, with the expectation that a deployable capability could be operational in the period 2020-25.
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