Seapower - May 2009

Subsurface Threat
Companies take aim at terrorists with diver-detection systems

By THOMAS WITHINGTON, Special Correspondent

Reducing Risks

approach their targets much like military divers and special forces commandoes.

Today, several companies are working on solutions to prevent terrorists from performing a future submerged attack on a ship or harbor target.

Based in Omaha, Neb., 21CSI has built a software system that can be used to integrate a number of sensors, such as underwater diver-detection sonar and above-water surveillance systems, like closed-circuit television cameras,

to provide a single point of command and control for terrestrial and subsurface security sensors around a port.

“We started working on this back in 2003,” said Roger Meisinger, vice president of 21CSI’s WEDJAT Advanced Security and Surveillance Division, “ actually as a result of the USS Cole incident. We were looking at developing a force-protection system that would integrate land-based sensors, cameras, radar, unattended ground sensors and actually tie in security personnel on the pier with wireless devices, like Personal Digital Assistants, to provide situational awareness.

“The U.S. Navy liked our software and invited us to use the same software for an integrated swimmer defense system,” he said. “We’re providing the integrating software to bring in the different sensors and data systems to provide a common operating picture.”

The product, High Resolution Situational Awareness, or HiRSA, uses open architecture software, Meisinger said. This allows the user to “integrate new sensors. We don’t care what kind of sensor it is, whether it’s an infrared camera, radar, sonar or an unattended ground sensor. We like to say that our product is ‘sensor agnostic,’” he said.

HiRSA is a key component of the Integrated Swimmer Defense System being developed by the U.S. Navy. The

Diver- and swimmer-detection systems can increase situational awareness in ports, harbors and around vessels.

■ 21CSI has developed software to integrate land-based sensors, cameras, radar, unattended ground sensors and security personnel.

■ Sonardyne International makes a compact, portable sonar system that can track hundreds of targets simultaneously.

■ Westminster International has a diver-detection system that can disorient a diver if he fails to heed a series of warnings.

■ QinetiQ, which has a portable detection sonar with a range up to 4,900 feet, is working to further miniaturize the system.

The deadly October 2000 attack on the USS Cole by an explosive-laden boat in the Yemeni port of Aden marked the beginning of a sea change for sonar system designers. How could they prevent an attack if the terrorists choose to approach beneath the water’s surface?

Seventeen sailors died in the Cole attack, which vividly illustrated the fact that ports and harbors are not safe from terrorist attack.

Four of the world’s biggest cities — Mumbai, India; Karachi, Pakistan; Shanghai, China; and Jakarta, Indonesia — are on coasts, and, in their own right, can be considered “prestige” targets, much like cargo vessels, cruise liners and warships. An attack on a port risks significant loss of life and could paralyze the local and national economy.

Although not specifically aimed at the city’s port, the deadly attacks in Mumbai, India, last November saw the terrorists arrive in the city from the sea on speedboats. The 10 terrorists attacked more than a half-dozen sites around the city, killing more than 170 people over three days.