Date added: 2024-12-24
"Ukwiał Is Not Retiring" – an article in the magazine Wojsko i Technika.
On 30 June, the Świnoujście Naval Port Command selected the offer from the Centre for Maritime Military Technologies at Gdańsk University of Technology (CMMT) to adapt a pair of Project 207P base minesweepers for the deployment of remotely operated anti-mine underwater vehicles. One of these vehicles is the Ukwiał. Known for over two decades, this system was initially slated for decommissioning from the Polish Navy along with the last base minesweeper, the Project 206FM minehunter ORP Czajka, in December of this year. However, this plan has been revised. The ageing Ukwiały will continue their service, becoming the first devices of their class within the Świnoujście Minesweeper Squadron.
Under a contract worth PLN 2.2 million, the Centre for Maritime Military Technologies at Gdańsk University of Technology (CMMT) will: conduct a major overhaul of the Ukwiał’s deep-water system, make modifications to the portable operator consoles (POCs) of the Głuptak anti-mine defence system, and prepare two Project 207P base minesweepers for their use while also training the crews of both vessels. As a result, sailors from the 12th Wolin Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla in Świnoujście will, for the first time, be able to deploy unmanned, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs)—the Ukwiał, designed for mine detection and destruction, and the Głuptak, an autonomous explosive payload.
This development is notable, as such capabilities are already familiar within the 13th Minesweeper Squadron, named after Fleet Admiral Andrzej Karweta, based in Gdynia (also part of the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla). Indeed, the Ukwiał ROV has been in use for over 20 years. Furthermore, the agreement with CMMT will ensure that the Ukwiał system will not be retired alongside the ageing Project 206FM vessels but will instead remain in service for an extended period. The new Project 258 Kormoran II minehunters are equipped with next-generation vehicles (the prototype ORP Kormoran with the Morświn developed by CMMT and the serial units OORP Albatros and Mewa with Saab’s Double Eagle SAROV, as detailed in WiT 10/2020). What, then, is the rationale behind revitalising the Ukwiał?
Poland’s First Underwater Mine Hunter
The Ukwiał deep-sea anti-mine system, featuring a wire-guided underwater vehicle, was developed at the Department of Naval Architecture and Underwater Robotics at the Faculty of Ocean Engineering and Ship Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology (currently the Centre for Maritime Military Technologies - CMMT). Work began in 1995 with the goal of creating a vehicle smaller and lighter than those used at the time by NATO fleets, while minimising its magnetic signature to reduce the risk of triggering mine detonators and losing the device. Qualification tests were conducted in August and September 1998 aboard the Project 206F base minesweeper ORP Flaming (later one of three modernised to the 206FM variant). The system was officially adopted in 1999 alongside the first modernised 206FM anti-mine vessel, ORP Mewa.
The Ukwiał is designed to locate, classify, and identify mines previously detected by the vessel, as well as to deliver remotely detonated explosive charges (Toczek-A or B) to the vicinity of a mine. The Toczek-A, weighing 48 kg (40 kg of combat payload), is used to neutralise mines, while the Toczek-B, weighing 10 kg (5.7 kg of combat payload), is used to destroy mine detonators. Both charges were developed at the Research and Development Centre of the Maritime Technology Centre in Gdynia. The vehicle is equipped with a 2-metre manipulator arm, enabling it to perform simple tasks such as marking underwater objects. Operating at depths of 5 to 200 metres in sea states up to level 3, the Ukwiał has a horizontal range of 400 metres (for a 1000-metre tether). Its electric propulsion system comprises four horizontal and two vertical thrusters, each providing 220 N of thrust, allowing it to counter currents of up to 1 m/s. The Ukwiał weighs 175 kg and measures 1500 × 720 × 765 mm.
During mine countermeasure missions, the device navigates to the mine location based on data from a tracking system monitoring its relative position in the water column. This involves a shipborne sonar station and an acoustic navigation system with an Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL). Once near the target, the Ukwiał uses a front-mounted Tritech SeaPrince scanning sonar (operating frequency 675 kHz, range 100 m) for precise guidance. When the target comes into the field of view of its cameras—a navigation-observation camera and a manipulator camera, both equipped with 1/3-inch CCD sensors (the colour camera has a sensitivity of 4.5 lx at f/1.4, while the monochrome camera has 0.02 lx at f/1.2)—final identification is performed. If the object poses a threat, the Ukwiał can:
- Mark the target with an acoustic beacon for quick re-identification,
- Remain in the area until diver-miners arrive, or
- Deploy a remotely detonated Toczek explosive charge (A or B) or a Toczek-C cable cutter (3 kg with a 0.56 kg combat payload).
Once the Toczek is placed using the manipulator arm, the Ukwiał returns to the vessel. After the area is secured, a coded acoustic signal from the minesweeper triggers the charge’s detonator.
The Ukwiał is further equipped with additional observation tools, including a Tritech navigation echo sounder (200 kHz) and an underwater navigation system transponder, as well as two 150 W incandescent lamps.
The Polish Navy acquired three Ukwiał systems, each comprising three ROVs—two operational units aboard the vessel and one in storage. Currently, five of these vehicles remain functional. Additionally, a substantial stock of spare parts, some of which are still usable for servicing and repairs, is available. The Ukwiał will remain in service aboard ORP Czajka until the end of this year. Units from ORP Mewa and ORP Flaming have been placed in storage (Mewa was decommissioned on 30 December 2019, as detailed in WiT 1/2020, and Flaming on 4 December 2020). Over two decades of operational and training use aboard the three Project 206FM base minesweepers, the Ukwiał has proven its effectiveness. The average annual number of ROV combat missions during this period was 45, while training missions numbered 189, with 22 Toczek charges expended annually.
The First in Świnoujście
Remote-controlled anti-mine underwater vehicles have so far been the domain of the 13th Minesweeper Squadron. This unit operates vessels equipped with Ukwiał systems, now also featuring Głuptaki and Morświn, and soon Double Eagle SAROV (Semi-Autonomous Remotely Operated Vehicle), designed for identifying dangerous objects located by other means and destroying them with remotely detonated explosive charges. They also have at their disposal ROVs with other purposes, including a self-propelled variable depth sonar (SPVDS) Saab Double Eagle Mk III with the SHL-300 hydroacoustic station, developed by CTM, and autonomous vehicles: Kongsberg Maritime Hugin 1000MR and Teledyne Gavia Defence (the latter also used by the 12th Squadron; mainly operated by diver-miner teams). Crews of the vessels in the Hel, and later Gdynia-based squadron, have substantial experience in the tactical use of such systems, which they have repeatedly demonstrated during national and international exercises in the Baltic and beyond.
The situation in the 12th Squadron, however, is entirely different. In this unit, time seems to have stood still for several decades in this regard. The 207P-class minesweepers in service are equipped only with under-keel Soviet MG-79 (on the first four) and MG-89 Sierna (on the remaining eight) hydroacoustic stations for mine detection, developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Some of these systems have been "digitised" by CMTM, with new operator consoles and digital signal processing systems (marked MG-79DSP and MG-89DSP, Digital Sound Processing). Nevertheless, these ships are forced to pass over mines as their only means of dealing with them are mechanical, acoustic, and electromagnetic sweeps.
Three-Day Presentation
Before the decision was made to transfer the Ukwiał and Głuptak systems to the Świnoujście minesweepers, in October 2020, CMTM organised a three-day presentation in the 12th Squadron, combined with a demonstration of the potential for deploying and using Ukwiał operationally on 207P-class minesweepers. For this purpose, representatives of Gdańsk University of Technology brought a system from the Mewa and installed it on the minesweeper ORP Drużno. The system consisted of the ROV, a cable winch, a navigation system, and a portable operator console (PKO). The trials took place in the Naval Port and the sea range, where bottom and moored mines were deployed. During the range tests, the Ukwiał manipulator was fitted with a training Toczek charge to demonstrate its operational use to representatives of the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla.
During the presentation, the capabilities of the Głuptak system, a self-propelled underwater mine-neutralising explosive device, were also showcased. This system can destroy sea mines or, in its training-reconnaissance variant, identify dangerous objects. Głuptak will also be used on 207P-class minesweepers and operated via a single PKO controlling both vehicles. This is especially advantageous as the Polish Navy already possesses mobile onboard modules of the Głuptak system, which can be deployed on virtually any type of vessel and are manufactured by CMTM. In 2014, the Armament Inspectorate procured the first complete mobile system with an onboard module and four vehicles (two combat units with directional explosive charges and two training-reconnaissance units). Another contract was signed in 2016 for four additional complete systems, with a further set (a stationary one) acquired with the prototype ORP Kormoran minehunter of the 258 Kormoran II class. Additional systems will be delivered to the Albatros and Mewa. A detailed discussion on Głuptak can be found in the January 2018 issue of Wojsko i Technika.
The demonstration proved the feasibility of implementing the Ukwiał system on this type of ship. Representatives of the Polish Navy showed great interest in the idea, particularly since the system can be installed permanently on the vessels with limited modifications. These changes would mainly involve introducing fibre optic lines, network transmission lines, and navigation system cables from the stern area and the upper deck spar deck to the hydroacoustic cabin, which currently houses the MG-89DSP station console. Additionally, a fibre optic winch would need to be installed, alongside transmission to a monomode fibre optic system and technical updates to control components. These adjustments would be relatively inexpensive, especially compared to the cost of procuring a new system of similar class. Moreover, new consoles would not need to be purchased, as those already possessed by the Polish Navy could be utilised. The PKO software for the Głuptak system would simply need to be adapted to accommodate the Ukwiał system (expanding the Głuptak ROV server's functions to include Ukwiał controls). After these modifications, the Ukwiał-207 anti-mine system configuration would include: a deep-sea vehicle, a cable winch, a power supply unit (converter), a portable Ukwiał/Głuptak operator console, and a portable broadband hydroacoustic navigation system (BATS - Broadband Acoustic Tracking System) with an ultra-short baseline from EdgeTech. The latter is essential since 207P-class minesweepers lack such a system. On Kormoran II vessels, this function is performed by the permanently installed Kongsberg Maritime HiPAP (High Precision Acoustic Positioning System).
Major Repairs
Under the agreement with KPW Świnoujście, CMTM is set to carry out major repairs on: Ukwiał factory no. 760/07, the cable winch, and the voltage converter, all of which will be assigned to ORP Drużno. Additionally, the PKO Głuptak will be modified for using Ukwiał systems on ORP Drużno (641) and ORP Hańcza (642). Furthermore, CMTM will prepare the necessary cabling and connection boxes on both vessels to integrate both types of ROV with ship systems (position from the GNSS satellite navigation system and course from the gyrocompass). For Hańcza, this setup will be protected against the marine environment until the complete system is installed, likely next year. Drużno is expected to be ready by the end of the current year. Additionally, the agreement includes a 15-day training program for eight crew members from both vessels on the use and operation of the Ukwiał and Głuptak systems.
The 12th Minesweeper Squadron operates 12 minesweepers, but the two selected vessels are, in practice, the only ones currently capable of being adapted for ROV use. This is because, during major repairs (see Wojsko i Technika 6/2018), they were equipped with a ZWS 13/6-40 folding hydraulic crane by AMEK Offshore Sp. z o.o., replacing the old electric ŻOWe crane. The ŻOWe crane had a rigid arm with very limited reach, making it unsuitable for handling underwater vehicles. It is known, however, that additional 207P-class minesweepers will undergo similar modifications, eventually enabling them to operate Ukwiał and Głuptak systems as well. Due to the limited space on 207P-class ships, each will carry one Ukwiał and one portable Głuptak module.
Admittedly, Ukwiał is no longer at the cutting edge of technology, but its use on the aging and outdated 207P-class minesweepers brings several advantages. Above all, it will enhance the capability of these vessels to counter underwater threats, which are not uncommon in the vicinity of the Pomeranian Bay. Moreover, it will allow the Navy to utilize effective and valuable equipment already in its possession while also training crews in the tactics of using ROVs in mine countermeasure operations (and beyond). There is also a possibility that after the three Kormoran II-class vessels currently stationed in Gdynia, additional units could be built, this time destined for Świnoujście. The proposed solution will help prepare personnel for the effective operation of these vessels. Failing to seize this opportunity would be wasteful not only in financial terms but also in terms of the professional development of Polish Navy personnel.
