Efficient, robust, and secured underwater communication is a key enabler for maritime uncrewed systems (MUS), including the use of uncrewed underwater systems (UUS). There is a need for exchange of classified information in MUS. Identification, authentication and authorisation are important functionalities in the field of digital trusted gateways. Further research needs to be done to overcome the physical characteristics of the underwater environment that limits the possibility of having wireless communication systems with sufficient robustness and bandwidth required by many underwater warfare functions.

The specific objective is to design and demonstrate feasibility of secured (communications security COMSEC and transmission security TRANSEC) underwater (network) communication solutions (acoustic, optical, or other modalities) for UUSs designed for military needs.

Scope:

The proposals must address research of secure underwater communication, with focus on acoustic technologies, including networked solutions, that contribute to the improvement of current performance, through the creation of new low-distortion modulation techniques, interference avoidance/suppression mechanisms, recovery from fading, etc. This requires the communication to be highly adaptive and self-reconfigurable. To improve the performance of the acoustic underwater communication channel, the environmental conditions in situ, such as noise, depth, sound velocity profile, etc., must be considered.

Furthermore, research in underwater communication, with focus on optical technologies, must be addressed, with the aim of improving bandwidth and transmission distance, reducing signal distortion, in order to improve communication within and between platforms, networks and infrastructures.

The security aspects should be included in the underwater communication systems. The challenging communication conditions (low data rate, long latency, delay and Doppler spread effects, highly varying channel conditions and high noise levels, etc), which may result in unreliable and low-bandwidth communication links, also give special challenges for security mechanisms. This should be taken into account in the design of the complete communication system (modulations, network protocols, etc), carefully balancing modular/layered approaches and cross-layer approaches. During the design, performance metrics describing efficiency and robustness should always be assessed, to avoid that this gets too much compromised by the security measures. Also, encryption methods should be considered in order to obtain metrics about its efficiency. Different encryption methods can be used depending on the mission state, data classification level, etc.

The suggested design solutions should be tested in a realistic environment in salt water.

Types of activities

The following table lists the types of activities which are eligible for this topic, and whether they are mandatory or optional (see Article 10(3) EDF Regulation):

Accordingly, the proposals must cover at least the following tasks as part of mandatory activities:

• Integrating knowledge:
  • Security techniques integrated or working in tandem with the underwater communication systems, through encryption and/or other methods. The techniques must take into consideration specific challenges in underwater communications, including short block lengths in many scenarios.
  • Integrate knowledge on suitable key distribution techniques, which may include quantum key distribution and resilience to quantum computer enhanced counterparts (post-quantum cryptography).
  • Authentication and integrity protection for autonomous underwater communication systems (including tampering).
  • Application interfaces between MUSs and their embedded secured underwater communication systems.
  • Definition and assessment of suitable performance metrics for secured underwater communication systems.
  • A simulator-based benchmark test to certify that the given concepts of this proposal are realistic and feasible.
• Studies:
  • In-depth research that addresses the most critical technology gaps to enable capabilities for efficient, robust, and secured underwater communication.
  • The research must be supported by experimentation.
  • Studies must address methods, systems and devices for efficient, robust, and secured underwater communications for MUS.
  • The communication architecture, design and solution-space must include networking capabilities. Gateway to allow links between underwater communication networks and surface/terrestrial and satellite networks.
  • Studies must include wireless underwater communication systems (including modulations and network protocols) suitable for MUS, based on at least acoustic and optical modalities (using e.g., generic propagation models).
  • Studies must include suggestions for optimal technologies for different underwater environmental conditions (taking into account features such as noise, depth, sound velocity, etc.).
• Design:
  • Integration of secured underwater communication systems on MUS.
  • A final comprehensive System-of-systems (SoS) demonstration involving MUS with embedded secured underwater communication.
  • The design must respect an open (non-proprietary) architecture approach and interoperability standards.

In addition, the proposals should cover at least the following tasks:

• Studies:
  • A supply chain analysis addressing critical dependencies for the EDTIB.
• Design:
  • Security multilevel mechanisms, designed specifically for underwater communication systems and their challenging communication conditions, including analysis of the possible hurdles for obtaining official accreditation for handling classified information.
  • The proposals should address secure underwater communications for areas with a wide variety of conditions, such as deep water, harbours and fjords.
  • The proposals should address both LPI (low probability of intercept) and LPD (low probability of detections) communications.
  • The proposals should include solutions suitable for vehicle-to-vehicle communications in a heterogeneous system-of-systems, including MUS-MUS, MUS-nodes and C2-nodes.
  • The proposals should explore solutions for high bandwidth and short-range acoustic communication, low bandwidth and long-range acoustic communication, covert acoustic communication and very short range and very high bandwidth optical communication.
  • The proposals should explore solutions for both horizontal, slant, and vertical communications.
  • The solutions should be tested in a realistic environment in salt water.

A final test should demonstrate results of the research activities, present potential military value and identify technology shortfalls that need to be addressed in subsequent activities in the EU.

Functional requirements

The proposed design and technologies should meet the following functional requirements in support of secured underwater communication, including TRANSEC and COMSEC:

• Monitoring the network with intuitive and ergonomic graphical user interface (GUI) while the UxVs are performing the mission.
• Sending of tasks and commands, either inter-vehicle or from an operator through an ad hoc underwater communication network consisting of USVs, UUVs and sensor nodes.
• Exchange of data such as
  • Lists of targets or anomalies detected by a survey UUV, sent to an UUV with equipment for identification in e.g., mine countermeasures (MCM) or seabed warfare (SBW) operations;
  • Target, tracks or data packets from active or passive sonars, to improve the performance in an unmanned system-of-systems ASW operation;
  • Recorded data from stationary sensor nodes on the sea floor to UUVs,
  • Recorded data from specific sensor mounted on board the UUVs (for instance, conductivity temperature and depth, CTD, probe),
  • UxV critical data (such as battery level, mission status, speed).
• Multi-sensor data fusion for underwater positioning.
• Adaptivity of the system depending on the number of nodes in the network and the conditions of the underwater channel(s).
• Key distribution for the applied security mechanisms.

Expected Impact:

The outcomes should contribute to:

• Reduce dependencies on non-European suppliers by boosting the EDTIB and promoting the development of a European solution.
• The strategic autonomy of EDTIB in the area of secured underwater communication.
• The interoperability of EU Member States’ and EDF Associated Countries’ Armed Forces.
• The improvement of protocols and standardisation of underwater communications.
• The improvement of range and bandwidth of underwater communications.
• The improvement of command-and-control systems for unmanned platforms.

The improvement of safety and security of underwater communications.