Sleek design, unmanned aircraft systems and next-generation weaponry will make the ships of the future the most imposing ever.
It is difficult to say what types of wars the future will bring, but one thing is clear: robots will participate in most battles. In fact, they are already involved. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flew 258,502 hours last year, up from 27,201 in 2002. US military spending on unmanned aerial systems is expected to reach $ 3.76 billion by 2010. The war of robots, which for a long time remained the lot of science fiction writers, has now become a reality.
That's why, at the end of last year, British defense company BAE Systems unveiled plans to build a fast, specially designed naval home for such combat robots. This ship represents the concept of the UXV Combatant: partly - a ship, partly - a carrier of unmanned aircraft.
From the point of view of shipbuilding, the best quality here is that unmanned aircraft can take off from such a small space, where a man-driven aircraft simply could not.
"This violence - launching an aircraft from a carrier - will be very shocking to the human body," said Charles Thompson of BAE Systems. Remove the person from the craft and the plane can be launched from a smaller area, which will save usable floor space and allow the UXV to act as a fast, powerful ship and an aircraft carrier at the same time. On the UXV, two 164-foot V-shaped decks will be able to fire unmanned aircraft into the air using electromagnetic catapults and ramps. Locators, infrared sensors and radio frequency identifiers (RFID) organize aircraft control, takeoff and landing.
The UXV may look radically new, but in fact it has taken over the design of an already built ship: BAE's 45 Daring destroyer, a massive warship with stealth architecture that will enter the British Navy in 2009. Like the Project 45 destroyer, the UXV will be about 500 feet (150 meters) long and equipped with a diesel-powered propulsion system and an electric turbine. The maximum speed of Project 45 will exceed 27 knots, and the UXV will develop the same speed.
But, unlike its predecessor, the UXV will be able to be efficiently serviced by a minimal crew. The warships have crews of hundreds of people, the UXV will be operated by a team of only 60 sailors, which is enough for organizing a three-shift watch and additionally for servicing unmanned aircraft.
It takes years to build ships, and in order to meet the requirements of the next 2020, when the first ships of the project are expected to appear, the UXV must be multipurpose. That is why BAE engineers, working together with American General Dynamics on various projects, are developing the concept of so-called "modular target compartments", changing the set of which will allow the commander to quickly change the main purpose of the ship. The UXV will be able to be an anti-submarine ship, a minesweeper, and a platform for supplying ground units, and a take-off deck for unmanned aircraft.
Outside of combat activities, various unmanned aircraft can be based on other ships or on a ground base. When the UXV receives a mission, the aircraft are delivered on board. For anti-submarine activities, the ship can be equipped with unmanned underwater vehicles, high-tech sonars, torpedoes, or even a helicopter like the Super Lynx anti-submarine. In the version of a minesweeper, he will be able to carry unmanned aircraft capable of destroying detected dangerous objects. To support ground forces in battle, it is ready to carry amphibious assault vehicles, fire support helicopters and other armored vehicles.
The UXV will also have ample self-defense capabilities. The tank will house launchers for ship-to-air missiles, ship-to-ship missiles and guided missiles. A weapon for firing 6-inch projectiles with a rate of fire of over 20 rounds per minute will become a powerful means of anti-ship warfare and destruction of coastal targets. And the 155-mm medium-caliber cannon will respond to enemy fire when the landing force rushes to the coast.
When plans for the UXV hit the Internet, some commentators were quick to call it a robot ship. But this is not the case. Even with today's unmanned aircraft, most UXV machines will be controlled by humans. Therefore, a small team and a few aircraft pilots will be at risk of losing their lives, in almost any military scenario.
