HUNTERWATER: A new system for full-cycle un-

manned minehunting HUNTERWATER：全周期无人猎

雷的新系统
D. M. Bertin

Director, Innovation, L3Harris in Milan, Italy [email protected]

Abstract — HunterwaterTM is a next-generation minehunting system created to perform complete
standoff minehunting operations. It applies an innovative all-in-one approach to perform Mine
Countermeasure (MCM) operations safely, using a modular Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) of
compact dimensions. Developed with the novel Precise Acoustic Localization (PAL) concept, the
system can detect and neutralize the mine by a towed remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the ROVS-
CAN and an autonomous mine-killer. The design and capabilities of Hunterwater avoid the use of
multiple USV/UUV dedicated to a specific operational phase, as in the current systems, making it
an ideal solution for both organic and non-organic unmanned minehunting. Hunterwater is under
development as a full mission compact standoff module for MCM missions, with initial sea trials
planned in 2023.

摘要——HunterwaterTM 是下一代猎雷系统，旨在执行完整的远距猎雷操作。它采用创新的
一体化方法，使用紧凑尺寸的模块化无人水面车辆（USV）安全地执行地雷对策（MCM）
操作。该系统采用新颖的精确声学定位（PAL）概念开发，可以通过牵引遥控车辆
（ROV）、ROVSCAN 和自主杀雷器检测和中和地雷。Hunterwater 的设计和能力避免了使
用多个专用于特定操作阶段的 USV/UUV，就像在当前系统中一样，使其成为制式和非制式
无人猎雷的理想解决方案。Hunterwater 正在开发中，作为 MCM 任务的完整任务紧凑型模块，
计划于 2023 年进行初步海试。

2023 年 5 月，意大利国防部在 UDT 展会上公开“水中猎手”新一代无人猎雷系统。该系统采

用精确声定位概念，提升无人系统反水雷效率。

1 Introduction
Unmanned systems offer an extraordinary opportunity to remove personnel from the
minefields at sea and exposure to the dirty, dull and dangerous operations. Unmanned
systems currently developed perform a conventional mine- hunting mission using a set
of vehicles that are dedicated to a specific task of the whole operation.

The new trend towards a MCM toolbox, which is composed of MCM modules that can
be used by different naval platforms in a specific navy or shared by multiple navies, is
also largely supported by unmanned vehicles. MCM modules can be used for organic
and non-organic MCM vehicle operations and have the flexibility and the compactness
to be transported and integrated into a variety of situations.

A specific and important use case is the taxi-USV, where a general-purpose USV hosts
other unmanned sub- modules (e.g. ROV and AUV). In an ideal solution, the USV and
the sub-modules are designed to interface with each other enabling the USV to operate
and enhancing its performance capabilities. For the USV “to operate” means launch, re-
cover and establish a communications link.
1 简介

无人驾驶系统提供了一个非同寻常的机会，可以将人员从海上的雷区移走，并暴
露在肮脏、沉闷和危险的行动中。目前开发的无人系统使用一套车辆执行传统的
猎雷任务，这些车辆专门用于整个行动的特定任务。

MCM 工具箱的新趋势主要由无人驾驶飞行器支持，MCM 工具箱由 MCM 模块组

成，这些模块可以由特定海军的不同海军平台使用或由多个海军共享。MCM 模块
可用于有机和非有机 MCM 车辆操作，并具有运输和集成到各种情况下的灵活性
和紧凑性。

一个具体而重要的用例是出租车-USV，其中通用 USV 托管其他无人驾驶子模块

（例如 ROV 和 AUV）。在理想的解决方案中，USV 和子模块旨在相互接口，使
USV 能够运行并增强其性能能力。对于 USV 来说，“运营”意味着启动、恢复和
建立通信链路。
To conduct such an approach does have its relevant difficulties; for instance, the compat-
ibility of the USV and the sub-modules, especially among different producers, may pro-
duce bigger, more complex systems. Secondly, the USV would likely require a reconfig-
uration, even during the mission, which impacts the efficiency of the operations and the
logistics onboard the mothership for the handling and storage of the sub-modules.

These operational difficulties inspired the development of Hunterwater based on a spe-

cific concept of operations (CONOPS), that allows the use of a single USV with a dedi-
cated ROV.

实施这种方法确实有其相关困难；例如，USV 和子模块的兼容性，特别是在不同
的生产商之间，可能会产生更大、更复杂的系统。其次，即使在任务期间，USV
也可能需要重新配置，这会影响母舰上处理和存储子模块的运营和后勤效率。
这些操作困难激发了基于特定操作概念（CONOPS）的 Hunterwater 的发展，该概
念允许使用带有专用 ROV 的单个 USV。

2 The Hunterwater system

The Hunterwater system consists of an USV platform that can operate a ROV vehicle,
named ROVSCAN, and can launch several autonomous underwater vehicles, called
VGA. ROVSCAN is a unique vehicle capable of operating in both tethered ROV and
towed scanning manners. This capability allows the use of the same ROV to survey the
area and conduct inspection of underwater contacts.

With this configuration, the USV system can be used to perform mine-hunting by means
of a specific CONOPS described in the next section. The USV is a Rigid Hull Inflatable
Boat (RHIB), that is 7.5-meters long, with a 4- ton mass, that can operate at a transit
speed of over 18 knots. The waterjet thruster capability provides the control over the
navigation and maneuvering modes of the vehicle which is mainly teleoperated and in-
cludes an autopilot to follow prescribed hunting track, hover and obstacle avoidance.
2 猎人水系统
Hunterwater 系统由一个 USV 平台组成，该平台可以操作名为 ROVSCAN 的 ROV 车辆，并
可以发射几辆名为 VGA 的自主潜航器。ROVSCAN 是一种独特的车辆，能够以连接的 ROV
和牵引扫描方式运行。这种能力允许使用相同的 ROV 来勘测该地区并对水下接触进行检查。

通过这种配置，USV 系统可以通过下一节中描述的特定 CONOPS 来执行猎雷。USV 是一艘

刚性船体充气船（RHIB），长 7.5 米，质量为 4 吨，可以以超过 18 节的过境速度运行。水
射流推进器功能提供了对车辆导航和机动模式的控制，该模式主要由远程操作，并包括一个
自动驾驶仪，以跟踪规定的狩猎路径、悬停和避障。

Fig. 1. Hunterwater USV towing the multifunction ROVSCAN.

ROVSCAN is connected to the USV by a cable for towing, power supply, communica-
tion&control and the vehicle recovery. Its three active fins are mainly dedicated to the
vehicle control and stabilization in a scanning mode by altitude and attitude, manual or
automatic control. The five thrusters are dedicated to the main propulsion and the the
maneuvers including automatic hovering and tracking functions. Thrusters can also be
used for advanced positioning of the vehicle relative to the USV in scanning mode.

Several sensors on the ROVSCAN allow the vehicle to perform underwater missions of
survey and underwater inspection, they include the sidescan sonar, acoustic camera, HD
camera, doppler velocity log, ultra-sort- baseline and altimeter.

A specific characteristic of ROVSCAN is the storage of acoustic markers, which is a

cylinder, installed below the vehicle and can contain 4 units as base capacity. The use of
this device is associated with the PAL feature described in more detail in the next section
of the paper.

ROVSCAN 通过牵引、供电、通信和控制以及车辆恢复的电缆连接到 USV。它的

三个主动鳍主要用于通过高度和姿态、手动或自动控制在扫描模式下进行车辆控
制和稳定。这五个推进器专门用于主要推进和机动，包括自动悬停和跟踪功能。
推进器还可用于在扫描模式下相对于 USV 的车辆进行高级定位。

ROVSCAN 上的几个传感器允许车辆执行水下调查和水下检查任务，它们包括侧
轮声纳、声学相机、高清相机、多普勒速度日志、超分拣基线和高度计。

ROVSCAN 的一个具体特征是存储声学标记装备，这是一个圆柱体，安装在车辆
下方，可以包含 4 个单元作为基本容量。该设备的使用与论文下一节中更详细描
述的 PAL 功能有关。
Fig. 2. ROVSCAN and a set of 4 VGAs

The USV equipment is completed by several VGAs. This is an Autonomous Underwater

Vehicle (AUV) with quadrotor thrusters that act as mine-killer and is equipped with min-
imal sensors suite for the autonomous guidance to the target: an acoustic positioning de-
vice complemented by a compact forward-looking sonar and camera.

The system is controlled by two mission workstations and the radio communication sub-
system installed onboard the mothership.
USV 设备由几个 VGA 完成。这是一辆带有四角推进器的自主水下飞行器
（AUV），作为地雷杀手，并配备了最小的传感器套件，用于自动引导目标：一
个声学定位装置，辅以紧凑的前瞻性声纳和摄像头。

该系统由两个任务工作站和安装在母舰上的无线电通信子系统控制。

3 Precise Acoustic Localization and the new CONOPS

A key element for the new operation is the concept of PAL. With this concept, the local-
ization of an underwater contact, possibly a mine, is achieved by an acoustic marker that
is placed close to the contact at a known distance from it. This marker-contact distance
is, in the practice, measured once the marker is placed. The precise position of the con-
tact from an observer is then re-constructed from both the acoustic measure of the
marker position and the known marker-contact distance. This position may be precise
enough to reacquire the contact or by using a complementary short-range sensor for the
final reacquisition.

Hunterwater system performs a mine-hunting mission by remotely operating a USV

from a mothership or a shore station. The CONOPS consists of the following phases:

3 精确的声学定位和新的 CONOPS

采用目标精确水声定位概念。

新行动的一个关键因素是 PAL 的概念。在这个概念下，水下接触物（可能是地

雷）的定位是通过一个声学标记来实现的，该标记被放置在接近接触物的已知距
离内。在实践中，一旦标记被放置，这个标记与接触点的距离就会被测量。然后，
从观察者那里重建接触点的精确位置，该位置是由声学测量的标记位置和已知的
标记与接触点的距离共同构成的。这个位置可能足够精确，以重新获取接触点，
或通过使用补充的短程传感器进行最终的重新获取。

新操作的一个关键要素是 PAL 的概念。有了这个概念，水下接触（可能是地雷）

的定位是通过放置在已知距离接触点附近的声学标记来实现的。在实践中，一旦
放置了标记，就会测量这个标记接触距离。然后，从标记位置的声学测量和已知
的标记-接触距离重新构建观察者接触的精确位置。这个位置可能足够精确，可以
重新获取触点，或者使用互补的短程传感器进行最终重新获取。

Hunterwater 系统通过从母舰或岸上站远程操作 USV 来执行寻雷任务。CONOPS

由以下阶段组成：
1. Localization and classification: USV tows ROVSCAN that performs the survey using
its sensors (sidescan and forward-looking sonars).

2. Identification and PAL: USV operates ROVSCAN at a safe distance for a mine-like
object to conduct a visual/sensory inspection of the classified contacts. Controls and sen-
sor data are transmitted in real-time to the remote station. In the case of an identified
mine, ROVSCAN releases an acoustic marker.

3. Autonomous neutralization: at a designated time, the USV launches the VGA mine-
killer that reacquires autonomously the mine guided by the PAL and detonates against
the target.

1.定位和分类：USV 拖 ROVSCAN 使用其传感器（侧扫和前视声纳）进行调查。

2.识别和 PAL：USV 在类似水雷的物体的安全距离上操作 ROVSCAN，对机密接

触进行目视/感官检查。控制和传感器数据实时传输到远程站。在已识别的水雷的
情况下，ROVSCAN 会释放一个声学标记装置。

3.自主中和：在指定时间，USV 发射 VGA 水雷杀手，在 PAL 的引导下自动重新

获取地雷，并对目标引爆。
The steps for a sea bottom mine encounter are illustrated in figure 3.

A similar operation is used for moored mines. In this case the VGA could also be capa-
ble of reacquiring the mine without the use of the marker.

An important operational aspect of the system is the human control in the whole mission,
also referred to as human-in-the-loop.

With respect to the three phases identified above, the human operator is in real-time con-
trol and continuous communication with the operating robots (USV, ROVSCAN and
VGA) from the operating console on the mothership. Therefore the operator can enable
or suspend the operation at any moment during the mission. The level of autonomy for
specific operations can be incrementally delegated, such as track following, dynamic
mission planning, target classification and identification.

Two particular aspects characterize the system: first, the same ROVSCAN vehicle per-
forms the search, the identification and the identification is performed by operating the
ROVSCAN from the highest distance allowed by the camera and sonar in specific water
conditions.

图 3 说明了海底水雷遭遇的步骤。

停泊的水雷也使用类似的操作。在这种情况下，VGA 也可以在不使用标记的情况
下重新获取矿井。

该系统的一个重要操作方面是整个任务中的人类控制，也称为循环中的人。

关于上述三个阶段，人类操作员从母舰上的操作控制台与操作机器人
（USV、ROVSCAN 和 VGA）进行实时控制和持续通信。因此，操作员可以在任
务期间的任何时候启用或暂停操作。特定行动的自主权水平可以逐步下放，例如
跟踪跟踪、动态任务规划、目标分类和识别。
该系统有两个特定特征：首先，同一 ROVSCAN 车辆执行搜索，识别和识别是通
过在特定水条件下从相机和声纳允许的最高距离操作 ROVSCAN 来执行的。

Second, the PAL is used for the autonomous reacquire and neutralization,. The released
acoustic marker can remain dormant underwater for a long period. The neutralization
can be performed when needed and in other cases simultaneously with other identified
mines.

A platoon of Hunterwater USVs allows a modular expansion of the capabilities with the
optimal allocation of the tasks of the individual USV among the three operation phases
and increases the robustness of the mine-hunting operation by a warm redundancy. In
addition, the functional integration of Hunterwater with a set of searching AUVs allows
the dedication of the USVs for search operations at long distances or to the neutraliza-
tion tasks.

其次，PAL 用于自主重新获取和中和。释放的声学标记可以在水下长时间处于休
眠状态。中和可以在需要时进行，在其他情况下可以与其他已识别的地雷同时进
行。

亨特沃特 USV 的一个排允许模块化扩展能力，在三个操作阶段中对单个 USV 的

任务进行最佳分配，并通过温暖的冗余来增加寻雷行动的稳健性。此外，
Hunterwater 与一组搜索 AUV 的功能集成允许 USV 致力于长距离搜索操作或中和
任务。
Fig.4. Hunterwater expansion with multiple modules and the integration with AUVs.

The benefits of this approach which are under development include:

•   A single unit for full-cycle MCM for standoff operation with multiple shots in the same mission
without reconfigurations (no time/space lost). This is exceptional with respect to the common multi
vehicle approach.

•   Complete human-in-the loop and real-time mission data availability al-

lows dynamic mission replanning and incremental autonomy level

•   Scalable mine-hunting efforts with improved the task efficiency in an

integrated use, with more USV units and or complementary AUVs

•   Potential installation on several ships due to the compact dimensions of

standard RHIBs

•   A transportable system that is suitable for non- organic and expeditionary MCM modules in stan-
dard containers

The concept operation of the Hunterwater system can be further exploited for more advanced solu-
tions. A new development, which is in the planning phase, is based on an AUV version of ROVS-
CAN, combined with the technological insertion of Artificial Intelligence.

图 4。带有多个模块的 Hunterwater 扩展以及与 AUV 的集成。

•
 • 正在开发的这种方法的好处包括：
•
• 用于全周期 MCM 的单个单元，用于对峙操作，在同一任务中进行多次射击，无需重新配置
（不会丢失时间/空间）。在通用的多车辆方法方面，这是例外。
•
• 完整的人工循环和实时任务数据可用性允许动态任务重新规划和增量自治水平
•
• 可扩展的寻雷工作，在综合使用中提高了任务效率，有更多的 USV 单元和/或互补的 AUV
•
• 由于标准 RHIB 的紧凑尺寸，可能会安装在几艘船上
•
• 适用于标准容器中的非有机和远征 MCM 模块的可运输系统

猎人水系统的概念操作可以进一步利用，以获得更先进的解决方案。一项新的发展正处于规
划阶段，基于 ROVSCAN 的 AUV 版本，并结合了人工智能的技术插入。

4 The system development

The system development started at the end of 2019 and the MCM-kit, composed by the ROVSCAN
and the VGA, is co-founded by the Italian MOD in the framework of the PNRM (Piano Nazionale
della Ricerca Militare).
The design phase completed in the spring of 2021. The key concept was based on the use of PAL,
which was tested at sea in La Spezia Gulf, Italy, in March 2021. It

demonstrated the autonomous reacquisition of the acoustic marker by an AUV from

400-meters. A demonstrator of the VGA was tested in a basin.

The construction of a complete prototype is in progress and the sea trials of the whole
system are forecasted in 2023.

Fig 5. Camera from the VGA reacquiring autonomously the mine and concept demon-
stration in a basin.

4 系统开发系统开发始于 2019 年底，由 ROVSCAN 和 VGA 组成的 MCM 套件由

意大利国防部在 PNRM（Piano Nazionale della Ricerca Militare）框架内共同创立。
设计阶段于 2021 年春季完成。关键概念基于 PAL 的使用，PAL 于 2021 年 3 月在
意大利拉斯佩齐亚湾进行了海上测试。它

展示了 AUV 从 400 米处自主重新获取声学标记。在盆中测试了 VGA 的演示器。

一个完整的原型的建造正在进行中，预计整个系统的海运试验将于 2023 年进行。

图 5。来自 VGA 的相机在盆地自动重新获取矿井和概念演示。

5 Conclusion
This new system combines two new solutions: an UUV, specifically a towed ROV, and
an automatic reacquisition (Precise Acoustic Localization) for autonomous neutraliza-
tion addressed to simplify the operations and reduce to one compact USV system the as-
set dedicated to minehunting.

The system is currently in development with a co- founded R&D program by the Italian
MOD with the purpose to demonstrate the solution during sea trial.
Hunterwater is promising capabilities to significantly expand the application range of
unmanned systems in MCM operations.

5 结论

这个新系统结合了两个新解决方案：UUV，特别是拖曳的 ROV，以及用于自主中
和的自动重新获取（精确声学本地化），旨在简化操作，并将专用于寻雷的资产
减少到一个紧凑的 USV 系统。

该系统目前正在开发中，由意大利国防部共同创立的研发计划，目的是在海上试
验中演示解决方案。

Hunterwater 有望显著扩大无人系统在 MCM 运营中的应用范围。

Author/Speaker Biography
Daniele M. Bertin. MS degrees in Engineering - Automation Systems and then research
assistant at Politecnico di Milano. He is employed in Calzoni S.r.l., now a subsidiary of
L3Harris Technologies, in Milan, Italy since 1986, with a main activity in marine robot-
ics and then directing the division R&D. Author or co-author of more than 20 papers and
more than 20 patents.