Unmanned vessels help maritime surveillance

Traditionally, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Border Guard have been responsible for monitoring maritime infrastructure in Finland. The addition of autonomous systems to the range of tools available will provide the authorities with a new tool for more effective control.

Critical maritime infrastructure is privately owned. More effective and flexible solutions are needed to control ports, submarine energy pipelines, telecom cables and offshore wind farms.

Unmanned surface vessels can monitor their surroundings, communicate a situational picture to the control centre and adapt to dynamic and challenging conditions. Airborne and subsurface drones could also be used to enhance surveillance and extend the monitoring area.

The USVA project (Uncrewed Surface Vessels for Automated Critical Infrastructure Protection) develops maritime surveillance capabilities for private infrastructure owners using unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

The USVA project will support the creation of a common snapshot between authorities and critical infrastructure owners, thus facilitating the response if any abnormal activities and risks are detected. The conditions in Finland and the Baltic Sea require vessels to be able to operate in a dispersed archipelago in challenging weather conditions under GPS and communication jamming.

– The USVA project has already created an ecosystem of companies, public authorities and research institutions during the preparatory phase. Finland is able to create a concept with global utility,” says Jarkko Paavola, Head of Education and Research at Turku University of Applied Sciences.

The project is part of the Patria eALLIANCE locomotive programme funded by BusinessFinland. The project is coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences and involves Patria, Marine Alutech, Atostek, Brighthouse Intelligence, Nordic Inertial and Luode Consulting, as well as the University of Turku and Laurea University of Applied Sciences.

– The eALLIANCE locomotive programme provides the capability to address end-user challenges by bringing different types of actors together with a defence integrator in a joint project. The USVA project is an excellent example of this, says Patria’s Director Matti Saarikko.

– Marine Alutech Oy Ab sees the USVA project as supporting the company’s strategy and above all its role as a provider of maritime capabilities to the domestic authorities. In addition, networking with the project consortium and stakeholders will create a basis for the exploitation of wider domestic technological know-how in export markets, says Niko Haro, Managing Director of Marine Alutech Oy Ab.

Turku University of Applied Sciences has a budget of 1.3 million euros. The project will work closely with the authorities, taking into account their specific needs and uses.