Operation Helios Continues
- michael pope
- Jul 5
- 1 min read
More ships and aircraft are joining the exercise off the ROD coast, putting new technologies to the test and developing ways to manage the vast amounts of data that unmanned vessels and aircraft generate. This morning the exercise entered a new phase that focuses on UAVs and USVs operating collaboratively, sharing intelligence and targeting data, with human oversight.
The RCN is experimenting with a one way attack version of the Banshee Jet 80 drone onboard HMCS Bonaventure. If proven successful they might become standard equipment on RCN ships.
Construction of the Prototype USV HMCS Trumpeter Swan is taking shape, but the major hurtle we have to overcome is controlling a large group of these USVs in the fleet, one suggestion is to convert a existing ship into a dedicated Radio Control ship where a team of radio operators onboard handle a fleet of USVs over large distances using seperate analog radio frequencies unique to each vessel to avoid confusion. the prototype is expect to be ready by Next week.
There is a battle underway, it started quite sometime ago. Not all Nations are ready, some missed the opening volley in the digital noise. However some are taking note and some are planning to take the high ground.
Robots hunting robots!
KDF new drone is operational.
The RCN is developing their own USV drone at some point seeing that we don't have enough men to crew more ships. a single prototype is currently under construction at our Seaspan ship yard in Halifax now.