14 DAY TRIAL // This week, at the Ocean Business Conference in Southampton, a revolutionary unmanned submarine which can locate and destroy underwater mines is due to be unveiled.
Since World War II, 14 U.S. ships have been sunk or damaged by mines, while only two have been sunk by enemy fire and many more commercial ships belonging to various countries have suffered sever damage from unexpected encounters with underwater mines.
Sitting underwater until they're detonated by the sound of a passing ship, mines are cheap and effective. Robert Martinage, a senior defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, says mines are used by more than 50 nations, and new technology is making them harder than ever to detect.
The Talisman submarine, developed by BAE Systems, has been developed to take over the dangerous task of mine clearance, which currently puts the lives of navy divers at risk.
It is fitted with thruster engines, allowing it to hover and turn 360 degrees so it can remain stable as it deploys its mine-clearance device and can operate at depths of more than 490 ft (150 m) to detonate unexploded mines using remotely-controlled robots.
The body of the submarine has been designed in conjunction with motor-racing manufacturer Lola Cars and is made of composite carbon fiber components, meaning it is strong but lightweight.
"The Talisman M can, for the first time, locate, identify as dangerous and then neutralise mines in one single autonomous mission", says Andy Tonge, Talisman project manager. "We now see, as a matter of routine, unmanned air vehicles flying over Iraq, flying over Bosnia, and now we are doing the same underwater, but 10 years ago that technology was futuristic."
Some countries have tried new approaches, that can eliminate the risk to human navy divers, like robots or even dolphins.
Trained dolphins detected World War II-era mines off the Norwegian coast last year and even guarded the Navy's flagship in Bahrain in 1986 and 1987.
But one thing robots and dolphins can't do is destroy the mines they find. That's left to the Navy's human divers, many of whom have already been sent to the Persian Gulf.
Now, "Talisman M can perform the types of dangerous roles currently performed by service men and women throughout the world - locate, identify and neutralise mines in one single mission, without any physical human intervention." declared Andy Tonge.