UK military’s first containerised survey vehicle passes testing

The contract between the Ministry of Defence and Danish subsea engineering specialist, EIVA, was awarded just six months ago.

“The agility with which this total solution has been developed showcases that by combining our efforts with several strong players in the market, we can leverage our many years of experience. Together, we make way for new possibilities in defence and other maritime markets,” said Christian Thomsen, chief executive of EIVA.

Thanks to containerisation, hydrographic surveys with multiple acoustic survey sensors and instruments can be performed from different host platforms within a very short deployment time.

The components include SH Group’s 20 ft Cube container module and launch and recovery system for EIVA’s ScanFish L ROTV, which is equipped with Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav Mini hybrid INS/DVL and Voyis’s Observer Pro optical camera and Insight Pro laser scanner.

Two dedicated computer workstations are built into the container and equipped with EIVA’s NaviSuite software to process the collected data.

“The EIVA team has worked hard to deliver a capability that will expand the survey capability of our ships, enhancing survey operations and features within our Future Military Data Gathering programme,” said Lt Cdr Mark Butcher RN.

“We look forward to the next steps including commission testing and training with the Royal Navy’s specialist Hydrographic teams.”

EIVA is working with Forcys, a global maritime defence company and EIVA’s sister company in Covelya Group, to ensure the solution aligns with the current requirements of navies for portability, flexibility, scalability and standardisation.The UK military’s first containerised towed vehicle successfully completed factory testing, enhancing hydrographic survey capabilities