Taiwan: New technology for coastal defence

The navy of the small island nation off the coast of the hungry dragon is investing in WAM-V technology (wave adaptive modular vessels) from the American company Ocean Power Technologies in order to better monitor its subsurface waters. Concealed ordnance on the seabed poses a threat to the island that is difficult to detect, and these platforms are intended to counter this. Two points are of interest here: These WAM-Vs operate autonomously and emission-free, either individually or as a swarm - and they utilise a technology as a sensor platform that is worth presenting here, even though it has already been available on the market for a few years. The 2.5 to 6.7 metre-long inflatable catamarans can travel autonomously equipped with any number of sensors or perform a set task as a swarm - day and night and almost regardless of the weather. Both hulls move independently of each other on the surface of the water and "balance" the sensor level between them with the best possible stability. In addition, the propulsion units, which are decoupled from the floating body, largely prevent the propellers from being forced out of the water by waves. The principle is simple, but very efficient. Take a look!