Magnetics Business & Technology - November/December 2021 - 8

FEATURE ARTICLE
Australian Navy Planning New Over-Run Magnetic Treatment Facility
Photo: AMRA
The Royal Australian Navy is planning to build an innovative
over-run magnetic treatment facility offshore Western Australia,
designed to reduce the magnetic signature of vessels passing
over it while speeding up what otherwise can be an arduous
process.
Currently, the Australian navy (RAN) is evaluating proposals
from several companies which submitted bids for its SEA 1350
Phase 2 Navy Magnetic Treatment Facility. The request for
tenders closed in September 2020 and the project is targeted
for initial operation in 2023. A spokesman for the Australian
Defence department, tells Magnetics Magazine that a decision
on the tenders is expected by late this year.
Anticipated to be worth between $50 and $100 million, the
project will replace an existing deperming facility at Fleet Base
West which uses the traditional process of wrapping the entire
body of a ship or submarine in a massive wire coil and passing
electricity through the coil to reduce the vessel's magnetic
signature, enhancing its stealth capability and preventing it from
triggering magnetic mines or attracting certain types of torpedoes.
Among
the bidders are Victorian-based Advanced Magnetic
Ranges Australia Pty Limited (AMRA), a joint venture combining
the engineering expertise of AMOG with French naval
technology specialist ECA Group. Another consortium in the
8 Magnetics Business & Technology * November/December 2021
competition is an alliance group including L3Harris Technologies,
Ultra Electronics and Indianic Group.
In September, upon submission of the AMRA bid, whose
proposal is depicted above, AMOG CEO Ben Clark, noted that
it " Includes an impressive list of Australian subcontractors and
SMEs who will ensure that Australian industry content is maximized,
whilst delivering the best global technology from ECA
Group. "
" Safety at sea is a continuous challenge since it is a hostile
environment. Beyond the fact that AMRA's solution is based on
a tried, tested and approved method of ship protection through
magnetic risk management such as deperming of submarines,
our solution is a real technological breakthrough as it simplifies
the process and reduces the time required, " added Philippe
Novelli, chief commercial officer of the Robotics Division at ECA
Group.
The design uses wire coils laid down on the seabed, supported
by a custom-designed subsea structure, through which a specific
current form is passed as the vessel moves over the coils,
taking as little as four hours. This single day over-run process
provides a significant operational advantage when compared to
the traditional wrapping, which can take up to 10 days.
Back in May, L3Harris Technologies announced the alliance
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