What is the Talisman Autonomous Underwater System?

The Talisman Autonomous Underwater System is a car-sized underwater vehicle developed by BAE Systems and developed primarily for military maritime or naval use. The Talisman is designed to detect and clear underwater mines and is intended to replace the team of military divers or remote controlled underwater vehicles that are used specifically for this kind of task. This will reduce risk, cost and the casualties involved in such operations. Furthermore, it is designed to be an improvement over the existing technology for detecting and clearing out underwater mines as it reduces the reports of false positives by sonar and is not affected by poor visibility.

Specifications

The Talisman Autonomous Underwater system does not depend on a human controller in order to do its task, although it still needs verification when deploying its equipment for mine clearance. To clear mines, it uses one of the four BAE Archerfish ROVs with destruction warheads and cameras. This makes the job of clearing mines a much safer task for military personnel. It automates and thereby makes more efficient the job of detecting and clearing out mines.

It weighs approximately 1800 kilograms and is 2.5 meters wide by 4.5 meters long and has a top speed of 9 kph. It can be deployed 50 miles from the shore and can operate for 24 hours.

The Talisman is capable of performing different littoral marine missions. Its open architecture design allows its control software to be easily reconfigured for a variety of missions. Mission parameters can also be changed depending on the type of mission it will be used for. It can be remotely controlled using an Iridium Satcom or RF while on the surface or acoustic communications when it is submerged.

It has a composite hull of carbon fiber enclosing pressure vessels within containing either an integrated or variable payload or an electronics system. Its standard payload is a host of sensors but this can be changed out for more specialized devices. Its propulsion is derived from six commercially available vectorable thrusters that make it agile and maneuverable.

Short History and Future Direction

The Talisman Autonomous System was showcased by BAE Systems in 2004 after years of funding and research. The device is considered part of BAE's goal of building a comprehensive approach to autonomous and robotic vehicles and systems. It was designed by experts from various departments all over the company. This gave it its cost-effective manufacture and design. The hull of the Talisman was designed at the BAE systems military aircraft site in the United Kingdom by stealth aircraft experts. It has already been tested on the waters at the south coast of England and has shown a remarkable 100% success rate with further test runs planned for this year to include a wider range of sensors and payloads as well as updated systems.

With further developments and integration of new systems, BAE Systems hopes to make the Talisman Autonomous Underwater System a part of a networked system and an integral part of military operations.