Undersea harbour defence: A new choice in magnetic networks

Abstract

In the following, we report the advances made in the development of a magnetic component for peripheral monitoring of port environments for anti-intruder systems. The project was initiated with the aim of improving the detection performance of current acoustic-based anti-intruder systems, in the vicinity of quays or the seabed or in acoustic shadow zones behind natural or artificial objects. In the 5-year period from 2004 to 2008, the system has been subjected to detection-performance tests in experiments involving divers equipped with air tanks and rebreather kits in real port environments and, at the same time, the associated signal processing has been subjected to development, to enhance detection performance. In tests involving simulated diver attacks against a vessel moored alongside a quay in the port of La Spezia, the system has been proved particularly effective by detecting 9 divers out of 9.