Keeping a 78-metre long, 3,000-tonne metal cylinder invisible is a real challenge – and it’s a job that Bill Wood thrives on.
Mr Wood, ASC’s Signatures and Acoustics Manager, is an international expert in the area of submarine signatures and stealth, and will give an overview of the topic at a free public talk tonight (Wednesday, 1 August).
“Submarines are designed to be undetectable – they rely on stealth to operate effectively,” Mr Wood says.
“Keeping a submarine quiet is an enormous challenge for all submarine designers and builders. There are thousands of internal moving parts; because the submarine is made of metal it gives off magnetic and electric fields; and as it moves through the water it also creates noise.
“A lot of time and effort also goes into detecting submarines through methods like passive and active sonar, low-flying planes which use sophisticated detection equipment, sea mines, and so on.
“All these factors have to be considered in submarine design and construction, and my presentation will give an overview of these and other challenges involved in this field."
Mr Wood said Australia’s
Collins Class submarines – designed, built and now maintained by ASC – were excellent examples of how effective silent submarines could be.
“Obviously I won’t be able to go into too much detail about the work we do with Collins, but they are regarded as the best non-nuclear submarines in the world partly because they are very good at remaining undetected,” he said.
“In exercises with a number of world navies, including the
United States Navy, they have been able to break through the surrounding ‘anti-submarine warfare screen’ and get close enough to ‘enemy’ aircraft carriers to sink them – a credit to both the design of the submarine and the crews operating them.”
Mr Wood has more than 20 years of experience in the UK defence industry across the private, Government and university sectors. He joined ASC in November 2006.
Bill Wood will present ‘Submarines, signatures and stealth’ at Engineering House, North Adelaide tonight (Wednesday, 1 August) from 7.45pm. The presentation is free and all are welcome. It is jointly presented by the
Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and the
Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).
For more information:
Ben Osborne, Senior Communications Consultant
ASC Pty Ltd
Telephone: 08 8348 7000
Mobile: 0412 251 390
Email:
ben.osborne@asc.com.au
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