WO2024242599A1

WO2024242599A1 - An underwater unmanned vehicle docking arrangement

Info

Publication number: WO2024242599A1
Application number: PCT/SE2023/051279
Authority: WO
Inventors: Markus Norström; Jonas Sandstedt
Original assignee: Elevated Launch AB
Current assignee: Elevated Launch AB
Priority date: 2023-05-22
Filing date: 2023-12-18
Publication date: 2024-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-22
Also published as: SE2330230A1; SE545961C2; EP4716801A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an off-shore wind power plant arrangement (100) comprising a wind power plant tower (102) and a wind power plant nacelle arrangement (101) The wind power plant arrangement (100) comprises an unmanned underwater vehicle, UUV, docking arrangement (110a, 110b) that is adapted to accommodate at least one remotely controlled UUV (140) and comprises an electrical charging connection (112). The electrical charging connection (112) is adapted to electrically connect and charge a re-chargeable battery arrangement (141) comprised in a UUV (140) to an electrical power source (113) comprised in the wind power plant arrangement (100) via at least one power interface means (180). Furthermore, the wind power plant arrangement (100) comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement (190a, 190b, 190c).

Description

TITLE

An Underwater Unmanned Vehicle docking arrangement

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to UUVs (Underwater Unmanned Vehicles), and in particular to UUV docking arrangements.

BACKGROUND

The geopolitical situation today spurs a reinforcement of military defense systems whereof underwater and seabed surveillance, detection, inspection and defense are important parts. In particular, there has been an increasing amount of vulnerable critical infrastructure on the seabed such as electrical cables, substations and communication cables, which must be safeguarded to uphold the basic functions in society. This calls for improved surveillance, monitoring and interference capabilities under water.

Today, unmanned underwater vehicles such as autonomous submarines of the type UUVs are well-known, and can play an important part in protecting such vulnerable critical infrastructure on the seabed as well as monitoring territorial borders, maritime- and underwater activity of different sorts. Normally the UUV's are launched from a vessel, which is both costly and time consuming to dispatch.

It is desired to provide a solution where UUVs can be accommodated such that an early deployment is enabled when necessary and making it possible to maintain a reliable and efficient charging. An early interception provides early confirmation of hostile activity and also enables quick countermeasures.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a solution where UUVs can be accommodated such that an early deployment is enabled when necessary and making it possible to maintain a reliable and efficient charging. An early interception provides early confirmation of hostile activity and also enables quick countermeasures. This object is achieved by means of an off-shore wind power plant arrangement comprising a wind power plant tower and a wind power plant nacelle arrangement. The wind power plant arrangement comprises an unmanned underwater vehicle, UUV, docking arrangement that is adapted to accommodate at least one remotely controlled UUV and comprises an electrical charging connection. The electrical charging connection is adapted to electrically connect and charge a re-chargeable battery arrangement comprised in a UUV to an electrical power source comprised in the wind power plant arrangement via at least one power interface means. The wind power plant arrangement further comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement.

This enables one or more UUVs to be docked in such a way that electrical charging current is provided by the wind power plant arrangement. This means that electrical charging current can be generated at the wind power plant arrangement and/or supplied to the wind power plant arrangement from an external source. This both provides a reliable supply of charging current as well as a strategically beneficial home position for one or more UUVs. Furthermore, since the wind power plant arrangement comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement, for example a passive and/or active sonar, and/or a hydrophone, an efficient surveillance of the volume surrounding the wind power plant arrangement is enabled.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement further comprises at least one UUV that is adapted to be housed in the UUV docking arrangement. The UUV docking arrangement is positioned below, or at, sea level.

This means that at least one UUV is a part of the wind power plant arrangement, such that the wind power plant arrangement can form a complete defense outpost and also carry out civil tasks. The UUV can monitor the sea at an underwater position in a more or less soundless manner, for example using a passive sonar.

The UUV 140 can also be used for monitoring and defending the wind power plant arrangement 100 and associated equipment such as underwater power cables against attacks, sabotage and the like. According to some aspects, the wind power plant nacelle arrangement further comprises a radar arrangement adapted to detect target objects which are remote from the wind power plant nacelle arrangement.

In this manner, suspected activity can be detected at the power plant nacelle arrangement, and if an UUV is within range, this can be dispatched for further investigation and/or interference. Positioning the radar arrangement at the wind power plant nacelle arrangement provides an elevated position relative ground as well as existing supply of electric power.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement further comprises a control unit arrangement adapted to control at least one of the UUV and a radar arrangement.

This provides a combined control of the UUV and the radar arrangement such that the UUV can be controlled in direct dependence of radar detections, which provides reliability and efficiency.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement further comprises a communication unit that is adapted to communicate with a remote server and/or other communication units. This enables radar detections and UUV control commands to be handled remote from the wind power plant arrangement. This also enables an UUV to roam between different communication units in a cluster of wind power plant arrangements, enabling an UUV to dock at any suitable UUV docking arrangement, thus increasing range and versatility.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement comprises a foundation, floating or standing on the sea floor, that at least partly is positioned below sea level. The UUV docking arrangement is mounted to the foundation at or below sea level. This provides reliability.

According to some aspects, at least one of the UUV, the UUV docking arrangement and the foundation comprises a hydroacoustic sensor arrangement. This means that the wind power plant arrangement comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement that may be mounted to either the UUV, to the UUV docking arrangement or to the foundation, or to several of these in case of more than one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement.

According to some aspects, the UUV is adapted to carry equipment, where the equipment comprises at least one of

- a camera arrangement, vision system;

- an explosive detonable weapon system that is adapted to be dropped;

- a torpedo system that is adapted to be launched from the UUV;

- a hydrospatial sensor system;

- an underwater LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor system;

- an IR-sensor system;

- a hydroacoustic sensor system;

- a hydrophone system;

- a countermeasure dispenser system;

- magnetic anomaly detector system;

- a compass, gyroscopic or magnetic;

- an inertial measurement unit (IMU) system;

- a Global Positioning System (GPS);

- a depth sensor system;

- a manipulator device or robot arm;

- a mine deployment system

- a mine clearance system

- a sensor deployment system

- a communication node deployment system

- an underwater optical communication system;

- a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) system;

- a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) system; and

- an acoustic positioning system.

It is evident that the UUV can carry many other sorts of suitable equipment. Clearly, the UUV can be made very versatile, and its starting position at a wind power plant arrangement makes the UUV a very efficient tool. This object is also achieved by means of defense systems and methods that are associated with the above advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will now be described more in detail with reference to the appended drawings, where:

Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective front view of an upper part of a wind power plant arrangement with a radar arrangement;

Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective front view of a wind power plant arrangement with UUV docking arrangements and a LJUV.

Figure 3 shows a schematic top view of a defense system;

Figure 4A schematically illustrates a wind power plant arrangement;

Figure 4B schematically illustrates an electrical power source;

Figure 5 shows a schematic cut-open side view of a UUV in a UUV docking arrangement;

Figure 6 shows a schematic top view of a rotatable equipment storage unit;

Figure 7 schematically illustrates a control unit arrangement;

Figure 8 schematically illustrates a computer program product; and

Figure 9 shows flowcharts illustrating methods according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The different devices, systems, computer programs and methods disclosed herein can, however, be realized in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the aspects set forth herein. Like numbers in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

The terminology used herein is for describing aspects of the disclosure only and is not intended to limit the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Wind power is an increasingly popular way to generate electricity since it has a competitive cost and very small climate change effect compared to most other energy sources. In many parts of the world, wind power is deployed in large scale, often close to the coastline or in off-shore wind energy parks, far out at sea, in order to get windy conditions. The rapid deployment of wind power and other sources of electricity being phased out is one of the most important means to combat climate change and is forecasted to grow exponentially in the coming decades. Today, wind power is however considered to disturb the ability to uphold a strong military defense. One main reason being that a wind energy park reduces the visibility for existing radar systems, especially for items close to the ground or sea level like low flying objects and naval vessels. This could lead to late detection of incoming threats and has led to a conflict between defense interests and the interest to generate renewable energy and to reduce climate change, both being paramount goals of society.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an off-shore wind power plant arrangement 100 comprising a wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 mounted to a wind power plant tower 102, the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 comprising wind turbine blades 105a, 105b, 105c. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 .

With reference also to Figure 2, the present disclosure relates to the off-shore wind power plant arrangement 100 that comprises an unmanned underwater vehicle, UUV, docking arrangement 110a, 110b that is adapted to accommodate at least one remotely controlled UUV 140 and comprises an electrical charging connection 112, where the electrical charging connection 112 is adapted to electrically connect and charge a re-chargeable battery arrangement 141 comprised in a UUV 140 to an electrical power source 113 comprised in the wind power plant arrangement 100 via at least one power interface means 180, as shown in Figure 5. According to the present disclosure, the wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190b, 190c.

This enables one or more UUVs to be docked in such a way that electrical charging current is provided by the wind power plant arrangement 100. This means that electrical charging current can be generated at the wind power plant arrangement 100 and/or supplied to the wind power plant arrangement 100 from an external source. This both provides a reliable supply of charging current as well as a strategically beneficial home position for one or more UUVs. Furthermore, since the wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190b, 190c, for example a passive and/or active sonar, and/or a hydrophone, an efficient surveillance of the volume surrounding the wind power plant arrangement 100 is enabled.

The electrical power source 113 that is comprised in the wind power plant arrangement 100 can be positioned at any suitable place in the wind power plant arrangement 100, the placement in the wind power plant tower 102 indicated in Figure 1 is only an example. With reference to Figure 4B, the electrical power source 113 can be constituted by one or more separate parts, for example a nacelle generator 114, possibly a power converter 115 and possibly also a re-chargeable power source 116 such as power plant battery 116. Keeping the power plant battery 116 charged ensures a reliable charging one or docked UUVs 140.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement 100 further comprises at least one UUV 140 that is adapted to be housed in the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b, the U UV docking arrangement 110a, 110b being positioned below, or at, sea level 210.

This means that at least one UUV 140 is a part of the wind power plant arrangement 100, such that the wind power plant arrangement 100 can form a complete defense outpost and also carry out civil tasks. The UUV 140 can monitor the sea at an underwater position in a more or less soundless manner, for example using a passive sonar. When remote communication is necessary, according to some aspects the UUV 140 may rise to the surface, the sea level 210, and communicate wirelessly from there. In this manner, less power is needed for communication, and less communication signals are released in the sea.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises at least one corresponding radio beacon device 135, 136. By means of one or more radio beacon devices 135, 136, navigation is facilitated for the UUV 140, enabling homing and triangulation functions for the UUV 140. In this way, navigation is facilitated even in cloudy/muddy water. As shown in Figure 2, a radio beacon device 135 may be positioned above sea level 210, and another radio beacon device 136 may be positioned below sea-level 210, and the wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises at least one of these radio beacon devices 135, 136. For the above purpose, and many other purposes, according to some aspects, the UUV 140 comprises an UUV communication unit 146 and an UUV control unit arrangement 147 as indicated in Figure 5. The UUV control unit arrangement 147 is for example adapted to, at least partly, control internal systems, calculations and communication.

The UUV 140 can also be used for monitoring and defending the wind power plant arrangement 100 and associated equipment such as underwater power cables against attacks, sabotage and the like. Having a UUV 140 that is based off-shore is furthermore of high interest since there has been an increasing amount of vulnerable critical infrastructure on the seabed such as electrical cables, substations and communication cables, which must be safeguarded to uphold the basic functions in society. This calls for improved surveillance, monitoring and interference capabilities under water.

In this context, an UUV is any type of unmanned underwater vehicle, and can be any type of drone vehicle, including a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). The UUV can be at least one of autonomous, adapted for wireless control and/or communication, and adapted for wired control and/or communication. The UUV 140 can have propellers and/or jet motors, and has a range, speed and load capacity that depends on size, energy source and motor type.

It is possible that the UUV 1 0 is arranged to collect and store sensor detections and images of different kinds, and to upload these when docked to the UUV docking station 110a, 110b. The UUV docking station 110a, 110b is then connected to a communication connection 117 that connects the UUV docking station 110a, 110b to an appropriate receiving, and possibly transmitting, device at the foundation 220, at the tower 102 and/or at the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101. Such a connection 117 can for example be wired or wireless and is schematically indicated for the first type UUV docking station 110a.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises a foundation 220, floating or standing on the sea floor, that at least partly is positioned below sea level 210. In Figure 2, the foundation 220 is shown floating, moored by means of a plurality of mooring cables 221 (only one referenced in Figure 2) in a previously well-known manner. Of course, the foundation 220 can be positioned standing on the sea floor, mainly depending on the present sea depth.

In Figure 2, two types of UUV docking arrangements 110a, 110b are shown; a first type UUV docking arrangement 110a and a second type UUV docking arrangement 110b.

The first type UUV docking arrangement 110a is not directly mounted to the foundation 220 but is floating at or below the sea level 210, but is electrically connected to the electrical power source 113 and is moored, for example to the foundation 220 or to the sea bottom in any suitable manner. The first UUV docking arrangement 110a can for example be arranged to a floating means such as a small flatboat, barge, jetty or similar. This provides flexibility and uncomplicated deployment of the UUV docking arrangement 110a.

The second type UUV docking arrangement 110b is directly mounted to the foundation 220. This provides reliability. According to some aspects, at least one of the UUV 140, the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b and the foundation 220 comprises a hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190b, 190c. This means that the wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190b that may be mounted to either the UUV 140, to the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b or to the foundation 220, or to several of these in case of more than one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190b, 190c. When the foundation 220 and/or the docking arrangement 110a, 110b comprises a hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190c, it is possible to surveille the volume surrounding the wind power plant arrangement 100 even when there is no UUV present. Such a hydroacoustic sensor arrangement 190a, 190b, 190c can for example be used to detect sounds from objects 350 ships and submarines, and sounds from underwater activity, for example due to frogmen 351.

According to some aspects, with reference also to Figure 3, the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 further comprises a radar arrangement 130 adapted to detect target objects 133, 350 which are remote from the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101.

In this manner, suspected activity can be detected at the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 , and if an UUV 140 is within range, this can be dispatched for further investigation and/or interference. Positioning the radar arrangement 130 at the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 provides an elevated position relative ground as well as existing supply of electric power. The radar arrangement 130 can be of any suitable type such as for example a Doppler radar that is adapted to transmit generated signals 131 and to receive reflected signals 132 that have been reflected by an object 133, 350.

According to some aspects, with reference also to Figure 1 and Figure 4A, the wind power plant arrangement 100 further comprises a control unit arrangement 120 adapted to control at least one of the UUV 140 and a radar arrangement 130. This provides a combined control of the UUV 140 and the radar arrangement 130 such that the UUV 140 can be controlled in direct dependence of radar detections, which provides reliability and efficiency. The control unit arrangement 120 can be comprised by one or more parts that may be separate. According to some aspects, the control unit arrangement 120 may comprise the UUV control unit arrangement 147, be adapted to control the UUV control unit arrangement 147 and/or be adapted to communicate the UUV control unit arrangement 147. The control unit arrangement 120 is therefore only schematically indicated in Figure 1.

In addition to the radar arrangement 130, the wind power plant arrangement 100 may according to some aspects comprise an UCAV (unmanned combat aerial vehicle) docking arrangement (not shown) adapted to accommodate at least one remotely controlled UCAV 150 as indicated in Figure 2, the UCAV 150 comprising suitable sensor equipment as well as suitable weapons. In this manner, aerial surveillance and defense is enabled as well and can be combined with the capabilities of an UUV 140 and a radar arrangement 130.

For example, an UCAV can be used for deploying sensors, sonar buoys, communication buoys, etc., and being comprised in a communication network.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant arrangement 100 further comprises a communication unit 121 that is adapted to communicate with a remote server 420 and/or other communication units, directly or indirectly, and with the UUV communication unit 146 comprised in the UUV 140. This enables radar detections and UUV control commands to be handled remote from the wind power plant arrangement 100. This also enables an UUV to roam between different communication units in a cluster of wind power plant arrangements, enabling an UUV to dock at any suitable UUV docking arrangement, thus increasing range and versatility. The communication unit 121 is for example adapted for wired communication such as fiber, and/or wireless communication such as radio link communication. The communication unit 121 can be comprised in a communication network according to the above.

According to some aspects, the communication unit 121 may be arranged to communicate 410 with a cellular communication system 400. This communication system may, e.g., be a third generation partnership program (3GPP) defined access network like the fourth generation (4G) or the fifth generation (5G) access networks. The access network may provide access to remote networks and other resources such as, e.g., the Internet or other remote network 420.

It is also appreciated that some processing functions may be performed by resources in a remote network 420, such as a remote server 430. Thus, functions of the control unit 120 may be performed remotely on, e.g., the remote server 430. In these cases, the remote server is comprised in the wind power plant arrangement 100.

According to some aspects, with reference to in particular Figure 5, the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b further comprises an electrical charging connector 180, adapted to electrically connect a re-chargeable battery arrangement 141 comprised in a UUV 140 housed in the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 100b to an electrical power source 113 via the electrical charging connection 112. This means that the rechargeable battery arrangement 141 can be automatically re-charged when accommodated at the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b. The electrical charging connector 180 can for example use an indirect inductive connection or a direct connection, to a corresponding connector 181 comprised in the UUV 140, which corresponding connector 181 is connected to the re-chargeable battery arrangement 141.

According to some aspects, the UUV 140 is adapted to carry equipment, where the equipment comprises at least one of

- a camera arrangement, vision system 143;

- an explosive detonable weapon system 144 that is adapted to be dropped;

- a torpedo system 145 that is adapted to be launched from the UUV 140;

- a hydrospatial sensor system;

- an underwater LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor system;

- an IR-sensor system;

- a hydroacoustic sensor system;

- a hydrophone system;

- a countermeasure dispenser system;

- magnetic anomaly detector system;

- a compass, gyroscopic or magnetic; - an inertial measurement unit (IMU) system;

- a Global Positioning System (GPS);

- a depth sensor system;

- a manipulator device or robot arm;

- a mine deployment system

- a mine clearance system

- a sensor deployment system

- a communication node deployment system

- an underwater optical communication system;

- a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) system;

- a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) system; and

- an acoustic positioning system.

According to some aspects, as mentioned in the examples above, the UUV 140 carries a manipulator device such as a manipulator arm with a gripping function. By means of such a manipulator device, objects can be examined and disturbing or threatening objects can be disabled or removed.

The above are only examples, it is evident that the UUV 140 can carry many other sorts of suitable equipment. Clearly, the UUV 140 can be made very versatile, and its starting position at a wind power plant arrangement 100 makes the UUV 140 a very efficient tool.

According to some aspects, the UUV 140 is adapted to launch and/or guide one or more weapons 144, 145 towards a target object 133, 350. Such guiding may for example be performed by means of a sonar or an underwater LIDAR device carried by the UUV 140.

According to some aspects, the UUV 140 is adapted to releasably attach one or more pieces of equipment 143, 144, 145 stored at the wind power plant arrangement 100. Said equipment can be any one of the pieces of equipment disclosed above, and of course any other suitable types of equipment. The UUV 140 can launch a weapon and return to the wind power plant arrangement 100 to pick up another weapon to be launched. Correspondingly, the UUV can carry and replace other pieces of equipment, as exemplified above. Some equipment may be fixed to the UUV 140, other equipment may be exchangeable.

Exchangeable pieces of equipment 143, 144, 145 can be attached to the UUV 140 in many different ways, for example by means of electrical attachments activated by one or more electrical motors or by means of one or more electromagnets. Other types of attachment means are of course conceivable.

Another example is schematically illustrated in Figure 5 and Figure 6, where an UUV platform 111 , comprised in the UUV docking arrangement, comprises a rotatable equipment storage unit 160 that comprises compartments with pieces of equipment 162. By rotating the storage unit 160, a suitable piece of equipment can be positioned to be attached to the UUV 140 by means of a suitable attachment means, for example as described above. The storage may be positioned at another place at the wind power plant arrangement 100, not necessarily at the UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b, for example at the foundation 220. The storage unit 160 is shown having an axis of rotation that essentially runs along a vertical extension. It is of course conceivable to have a standing storage unit that has an axis of rotation that essentially runs along a horizontal extension.

According to some aspects, the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 comprises a missile launch platform 200, schematically indicated in Figure 1 , that in turn comprises a plurality of missile holding chambers. This enables missiles to be launched from an elevated position, offering defense for the wind power plant arrangement 100 itself, as well as for a territory.

By using a wind power plant arrangement 100 as a defense arrangement 100, being a host for one or more UUVs 140 and associated technical systems such as radars arrangements 130, wind power installations become strategic assets to the defense, offering permanent installations, with positions favorable for launch of UUVs as response to, and interception of, threats. The co-location of wind power and UUV docking arrangements 110a, 110b and even UUVs 140 helps solving the conflict of interest and instead creates synergies both in function as well as in lowering the total cost for upholding the functions of military defense and electricity production. The total cost for upholding both functions is reduced by sharing the same establishment, physical constructions, communication, and utility systems.

With reference to Figure 3, the present disclosure also relates to a defense system 300 comprising a plurality of wind power plant arrangements 100 according to the above.

Here, a plurality of wind power plant arrangements 100 are shown in a cluster 301 that forms the defense system 300, and according to some aspects this cluster 301 is positioned at sea, at a certain distance d from a shoreline 310. According to some aspects, the defense system also comprises at least one of said communication system 400, remote network 420, and remote server 430.

A radar arrangement 130, for example a radar arrangement 130 that is comprised in a wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 is normally continuously monitoring incoming objects and feeding information to the control unit arrangement 120. There can be one or more radar arrangements 130 in a defense system 300 and a radar arrangement 130 does not need to be mounted on a wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101 that carries a UUV docking arrangement 110a, 110b or even geographically close. For example, a radar arrangement 130 can be placed at one location and communicate with one or more UUV docking arrangements 110a ,110b at corresponding wind power plants 100 at a second location, remote from the first location. For example, a radar arrangement 130 can be comprised in a wind power plant nacelle arrangement of a wind power plant that either can be alone or comprised in a further cluster of two or more wind power plants. There can be several radar arrangements 130. In Figure 3, a radar arrangement 130 is shown remote from the defense system 300, and can for example be alone or be a part of another similar defense system. This is of course only an example.

This arrangement can be advantageous for example if it is desired to keep UUV docking arrangements 110a, 110b and UUVs within territorial waters e, where a state has full sovereignty, while using more geographically advanced areas as e.g. an exclusive economic zone f for radar arrangements 130. That would enable even earlier detection and interception, without breaking the widespread practice to not place fixed military equipment outside the territorial waters e.

With reference also to Figure 4A, according to some aspects, for a plurality of of the wind power plant arrangements 100, the communication unit 121 is adapted to communicate with corresponding communication units 121 comprised in other wind power plant arrangements 100 in the cluster 301. This communication can be direct from communication unit 121 to communication unit 121 , or via an intermediate arrangement such as the cellular communication system 400. This means that roaming can be performed between those wind power plant arrangements 100 such that the LJUVs 140 can be guided in a more efficient manner. In particular, an UUV can communicate with any wind power plant arrangement 100 and dock with any free UUV docking arrangement 110. Information of one or more suitable UUV docking arrangements 110 can be relayed via the communication units 121 of two or more wind power plant arrangements 100, such that a decision can be taken were a certain UUV 140 should dock. This increases the range for each UUV since any free UUV docking arrangement 110 can be used for re-charging.

With reference also to Figure 1 and Figure 2, according to some further aspects, for a plurality of the wind power plant arrangements 100, each wind power plant arrangement 100 comprises at least one corresponding radio beacon device 135, 136, such that the cluster 301 comprises a plurality of radio beacon devices 135, 136. By mean of these radio beacon devices 135, 136, navigation is facilitated for the UUVs 140, and enable homing and triangulation functions for the UUVs 140. In this way, navigation is facilitated even in cloudy/muddy water. As shown in Figure 2, a radio beacon device 135 may be positioned above sea level 210, and another radio beacon device 136 may be positioned below sea-level 210. At least one, and possibly more than two, of these radio beacon devices 135, 136, may be used for each wind power plant arrangements 100 in the plurality of the wind power plant arrangements 100.

In order to further alleviate navigation, the defense system may be adapted to provide cooperative positioning/cooperative navigation for the UUVs 141 such that the UUVs 140 cooperate in order to determine their respective position and movement with a higher degree of accuracy. For example, by using the positions of each UUV 140, a confidence propagation model can be formed among for the UUVs, where factor graph and product criterion can be used to achieve cooperative positioning/cooperative navigation. For this purpose, the UUVs are adapted to either communicate directly with each other or via the respective UUV communication units 146, or via the respective communication units 121 at the wind power plant arrangements 100.

According to some aspects, a UUV 140 is adapted to communicate and co-operate with e.g. other UUVs in a cluster 301 , other marine or submarine vessels over e.g., long wave or acoustic communication systems, seabed sensors, pre-set weapons, surface buoys, submerged buoys, satellites etc.

In view of the above, the present disclosure also relates to a defense system 300 comprising a plurality of wind power plant arrangements 100 as described herein.

The control unit arrangement 120 can according to some aspects be adjacent or remote and be adapted to support a combination of automated decision and manual decisions.

Military tasks include surveillance tasks, and the UUV 140 is controlled to bring suitable equipment for the specific tasks, examples of different types of equipment having been provided above.

With reference to Figure 9, the present disclosure also relates to a method at a wind power plant arrangement 100 as described herein. The method comprises scanning S100 for underwater activity, maritime activity and/or objects using sensor detections, including sound detections, using at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement comprised in at least one wind power plant arrangement 100 and determining S200 if at least one underwater sensor detection requires further investigation. The determining may for example be performed by using a sensor device such as a sonar, camera etc. Maritime activity includes vessels moving on the water surface such as boats and ships. If further investigation is required, the method further comprises launching S300 at least one UUV 140 with guidance of the sensor detection.

This purpose of this launching is defense, including all military defense operations which in turn include military surveillance operations. According to some aspects, the method comprises equipping the UUV 140 with appropriate equipment before launching S300 the UUV 140.

According to some aspects, the method further comprises identifying S400 an object and/or activity associated with the sensor detection, and determining S500 if the object 133, 350 and/or activity requires further action. If that is the case, the method further comprises reporting S600 the object 133, 350 and/or activity to a remote server 430.

According to some aspects, the method further comprises manipulating S700 the object using a manipulator device.

According to some aspects, the method further comprises launching S800 and/or guiding one or more weapons 144, 145 towards the object 133, 350 and/or activity.

The method steps described above can be performed in any suitable order,

In Figure 7 it is schematically illustrated, in terms of a number of functional units, the components of the control unit arrangement 120 according to embodiments of the discussions herein. Processing circuitry 125 is provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit CPU, multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor DSP, etc., capable of executing software instructions stored in a computer program product, e.g., in the form of a storage medium 126. The processing circuitry 125 may further be provided as at least one application specific integrated circuit ASIC, or field programmable gate array FPGA. The processing circuitry thus comprises a plurality of digital logic components.

Particularly, the processing circuitry 125 is configured to cause the control unit arrangement 120 to perform a set of operations, or steps to control the operation of the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 100 including, but not being limited to, at least one of controlling at least one UUV 140, the UUV docking arrangement 110, the radar arrangement 130, the missile launch platform 200 and other components of the wind power plant arrangement. For example, the storage medium 126 may store the set of operations, and the processing circuitry 125 may be configured to retrieve the set of operations from the storage medium 126 to cause the control unit arrangement 120 to perform the set of operations. The set of operations may be provided as a set of executable instructions. Thus, the processing circuitry 125 is thereby arranged to execute methods as herein disclosed.

The storage medium 126 may also comprise persistent storage, which, for example, can be any single one or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid state memory or even remotely mounted memory.

According to some aspects, the control unit arrangement 120 further comprises an interface 127 for communications with at least one external device such as a control panel or an external device, for example the UUV 1 0 and its components, such as for example the UUV control unit arrangement 147, preferably via the UUV communication unit 146, the UUV docking arrangement 110, the radar system 130, components of the missile launch platform 200 and other components of the wind power plant nacelle arrangement 101. The interface may be adapted to communicate with the communication unit 121 , and may even be at least partly comprised in the communication unit 121. As such the interface 127 may comprise one or more transmitters and receivers, comprising analogue and digital components and a suitable number of ports for wireline communication. The interface 127 can be adapted for communication with other devices, such as a server, a personal computer or smartphone, the charging station, and/or other robotic working tools. Examples of such wireless communication devices are Bluetooth®, WiFi® (IEEE802.11 b), Global System Mobile (GSM) and LTE (Long Term Evolution), to name a few.

Figure 8 shows a computer program product 800 comprising computer executable instructions 810 stored on media 820 to execute any of the methods disclosed herein.

A full integration of the software necessary to control at least one of the UUV 140, the UUV docking arrangement 110, the radar arrangement 130, the missile launch platform 200, and other components of the wind power plant arrangement 10 is advantageous. According to some aspects, in normal operation for energy generation, the civil personnel have only access to the civil parts of the installation to prevent misuse and/or accidents. In case military equipment 110, 130, 140, 200 needs to be used, military authorized personnel can access the system and their control shall overrule any commands from civil personnel.

The present disclosure is not limited to the examples provided above, but may vary freely within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the UUV may additionally be adapted to perform non-military tasks such as inspecting the wind power plant arrangement 100, suitable the foundation 220 and the mooring cables 221 , perform rescue missions, survey missions, general information collection, etc.

According to some aspects, the control unit arrangement 120 is adapted to control the UUV 140 in an autonomous manner, such that the UUV 140 is dispatched automatically when determined necessary, for example in view of radar or sonar detections. Only when deemed necessary, an operator is informed. In order to control such autonomous actions, a machine-learning model may be implemented, for example by means of an algorithm based on convolutional neural networks (CNN). Such a machine-learning model can for example be taught to classify different objects, and to determine appropriate actions.

Claims

1. An off-shore wind power plant arrangement (100) comprising a wind power plant tower (102) and a wind power plant nacelle arrangement (101 ), where the wind power plant arrangement (100) comprises an unmanned underwater vehicle, UUV, docking arrangement (110a, 110b) that is adapted to accommodate at least one remotely controlled UUV (140) and comprises an electrical charging connection (112), where the electrical charging connection (112) is adapted to electrically connect and charge a re-chargeable battery arrangement (141 ) comprised in a UUV (140) to an electrical power source (113) comprised in the wind power plant arrangement (100) via at least one power interface means (180), characterized in that the wind power plant arrangement (100) comprises at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement (190a, 190b, 190c).

2. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the wind power plant arrangement (100) further comprises at least one UUV (140) that is adapted to be housed in the UUV docking arrangement (110a, 110b), the UUV docking arrangement (110a, 110b) being positioned below, or at, sea level (210).

3. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to claim 2, wherein the wind power plant nacelle arrangement (101 ) further comprises a radar arrangement (130) adapted to detect target objects (133, 350) which are remote from the wind power plant nacelle arrangement (101 ).

4. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to any one of the claims 2 or 3, wherein the wind power plant arrangement (100) further comprises a control unit arrangement (120) adapted to control at least one of the UUV (140) and a radar arrangement (130).

5. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to claim 4, wherein the wind power plant arrangement (100) further comprises a communication unit (121 ) that is adapted to communicate with a remote server (420) and/or other communication units (121 ).

6. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to any one of the claims 2-5, wherein the wind power plant arrangement (100) comprises a foundation (220), floating or standing on the sea floor, that at least partly is positioned below sea level 210, where the UUV docking arrangement (110b) is mounted to the foundation (220) at or below sea level.

7. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the UUV (140), the UUV docking arrangement (110a, 110b) and the foundation (220) comprises a hydroacoustic sensor arrangement (190a, 190b, 190c).

8. The wind power plant arrangement (100) according to any one of the claims 2-7, wherein the UUV (140) is adapted to carry equipment, where the equipment comprises at least one of

- a camera arrangement, vision system (143);

- an explosive detonable weapon system (144) that is adapted to be dropped; a torpedo system (145) that is adapted to be launched from the UUV (140);

- a hydrospatial sensor system;

- an underwater LIDAR, Light Detection and Ranging, sensor system;

- an IR-sensor system;

- a hydroacoustic sensor system;

- a hydrophone system;

- a countermeasure dispenser system;

- magnetic anomaly detector system;

- a compass, gyroscopic or magnetic;

- an inertial measurement unit, IMU, system;

- a Global Positioning System, GPS;

- a depth sensor system;

- a manipulator device or robot arm;

- a mine deployment system

- a mine clearance system

- a sensor deployment system

- a communication node deployment system

- an underwater optical communication system; a Magnetic Anomaly Detector, MAD, system; a Doppler Velocity Log, DVL, system; and an acoustic positioning system.

9. A defense system (300) comprising a plurality of wind power plant arrangements (100) according to any one of the previous claims.

10. The defense system (300) according to claim 9, wherein, for a plurality of the wind power plant arrangements (100), the communication unit (121 ) is adapted to communicate with corresponding communication units (121 ) comprised in other wind power plant arrangements (100), either directly from communication unit (121 ) to communication unit (121 ), or via an intermediate arrangement (400).

11. The defense system (300) according to any one of the claims 9 or 10, wherein, for a plurality of the wind power plant arrangements (100), each wind power plant arrangement (100) comprises at least one corresponding radio beacon device (135, 136) that is adapted to enable homing and triangulation functions for the UUVs (140).

12. A method at a wind power plant arrangement (100) according to any one of claims 2-8, the method comprising scanning (S100) for underwater activity, maritime activity, and/or objects using sensor detections, including sound detections, using at least one hydroacoustic sensor arrangement comprised in at least one wind power plant arrangement (100); determining (S200) if at least one underwater sensor detection requires further investigation; and if that is the case launching (S300) at least one UUV (140) with guidance of the sensor detection.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising identifying (S400) an object and/or activity associated with the sensor detection; and determining (S500) if the object (133, 350) and/or activity requires further action; and if that is the case reporting (S600) the object (133, 350) and/or activity to a remote server (430).

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising manipulating (S700) the object using a manipulator device; and/or launching (S800) and/or guiding one or more weapons (144, 145) towards the object (133, 350) and/or activity.