A treat for you guys, the Carlosa Special Report about the C-212 marine patrol bird of Vietnam, you are not going to find this article anywhere, I put it together myself from a variety of sources:
Vietnam Marine Police has launched a fleet of Casa-212-400 aircraft to monitor vessels in coastal areas, detect oil spills and coordinate rescue activities.
It is reported that these CASA C212-400 will be used to perform coastal patrol duties. Previously, Vietnam has sent pilots to Seville, Spain to accept this type of patrol driving training.
The Casa 212-400 aircraft is the latest version of the C212 model manufactured by Airbus. The plane accommodates a crew of three and can be used for long patrol journeys. The aircraft can transport 24 soldiers a cabin load 2.7 tons, in addition, it is also equipped with two hardpoints, can carry guided missiles and unguided rockets, mounted capacity of 500 kg.
A Casa 212-400 is 16.1 meters long, 6.5 meters tall, and has a wingspan of 20.2 meters. The plane can fly at a maximum speed of 370 kph, with a range of 1,800 km.
The plane is also equipped with a MSS-6000 airborne maritime surveillance system which is made in Sweden.
The core of the MSS-6000 is a mission management system that links all available information together and presents a situation overview to the operator for interpretation and further action. The mission management system is based on GIS (Geographical Information System) technology, and the available information is presented against a backdrop of a digital nautical chart.
These aircraft in the service to Vietnam will not only enhance the surveillance capabilities of the sea, it will have a certain airborne early warning capability.
The Casa-212 can operate during the day and at night and in all weather conditions. It can take off and land at makeshift airports with short, narrow runways.
Equipped with two propeller turbine engines, the aircraft can fly at very low altitude, making it ideal for patrolling and identifying vessels at sea, spotting oil spills, and con- ducting rescue missions.
MSS 6000 Maritime surveillance system to support oil spill, rescue operations in Vietnamese waters
The Vietnamese contract comes from the Vietnam Marine Police, which has ordered systems for installation on three new CASA C212-400 aircraft – a project that will take three years to complete. The contract has an extensive scope, including installation and testing of the systems in the aircraft, establishment of a ground station and mission command center, and operational and technical training of personnel.
SSC will supply a fully integrated MSS 6000 system, including SLAR (side-looking airborne radar), still and video cameras, airborne AIS (automatic identification system for ships), an IR/UV (infra-red/ultra-violet) line scanner, an FLIR (forward-looking infra-red) scanner, and communications via high-speed satellite data-link and HF (high frequency) radio.
The customer will use the equipment for patrolling Vietnamese waters, detecting and responding to oil spills and illegal fishing activities, protecting the economic zone, and participating in search-and-rescue operations.
The MSS 6000 provides an effective means to monitor activities in national waters and to detect unwanted or illegal events, such as oil pollution, whether accidental or deliberate, and unauthorized fishing. The technology can also be applied to monitoring movement of ice, likely to become increasingly important as offshore oil and gas operations spread to arctic regions.
Data from the different sensors is processed, integrated, and presented in one integrated view to the operator. All recordings are annotated with GPS data and digitally stored in an on-board geographical database. Data and digital images are presented integrated with an electronic nautical chart data base and also correlated with the mission report, all at the operator’s finger-tips. All information from the mission is saved and can be compiled in mission reports and sent via the satellite data-link to a command center and/or cooperating units.
Since the technology was first launched in the 1970s, its capabilities have continually expanded. “With the MSS 5000, which we launched in the 1990s, we were able to do things we could only dream of in the 1970s,” says Colliander. “The MSS 6000 does things we didn’t even dream of.
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We can safely say that we give a better performance than military surveillance systems at a fraction of the cost. We’re now exploring what the advent of broadband communications enables us to do. We’ve put a lot of effort into developing software for the man/machine interface. We have kept the system user-friendly and intuitive: one operator can handle it all.”
One of the MSS 6000’s capabilities is to read a ship’s name at a distance of 10 nautical miles in the middle of the night. This makes it an important weapon in combating illegal fishing – cheating occurs frequently with the transponders on fishing vessels, so being able covertly to read ships’ names provides an important means of checking their true identity.
FEATURES
Search radar
A search radar can be added to the system for general surveillance. The MSS 6000 is designed to interface to a forward looking or 360 degrees search radar for importing target tracks into the tactical map database.
SLAR
The Side Looking Airborne Radar
The main sensor of the MSS is the Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR): a mapping radar for surveillance of large sea surfaces.
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The forward motion of the aircraft is utilized by the radar to scan the sea surface perpendicular to the flight track
Whereas a traditional radar typically obtains less than twenty echoes per radar scan from each target, the SLAR obtains up to a thousand. This gives a very high capacity for detecting small targets as well as for showing sea surface properties. Oil floating on the sea surface has a dampening effect on the sea clutter (capillary waves) resulting in less radar return to the aircraft from an oil slick than from the surrounding, undisturbed water surface, and this contrast is clearly visible in the SLAR image.
Objects with higher reflectivity to radar pulses than the sea surface will instead give a more intense radar return, and the resulting image will therefore show not only oil spills but also ships, boats and other small objects against a background picture of the sea surface.
Thus the SLAR is the ideal sensor for large area surveillance for both oils pollution and very small vessels, target types that are difficult at best, and often impossible, to detect with traditional radar technology.
The SLAR is a day and night sensor. It can be operated under all weather conditions.
MSS 6000 provides for GPS accuracy in positioning the SLAR image and will present the image either superimposed on a backdrop digital chart or display it as a traditional "scrolling waterfall".
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IR/UV SCANNER
The Infrared/Ultraviolet (IR/UV) Line Scanner is used to obtain high resolution imagery of ship wakes, accident sites etc. It is ideal for mapping oil spills and other types of pollution, as well as other types of hydrological phenomena such as upwelling warmer/colder water .
The Infrared/Ultraviolet (IR/UV) Line Scanner is used to obtain high resolution imagery of accident sites etc. It is capable of observing minute temperature differences on the water surface and is ideal for mapping oil spills and other types of pollution, as well as other types of hydrological phenomena such as upwelling warmer/colder water .
The IR/UV scanner, operating in the 8.5-12.5µm region (IR) and in the 0.32-0.38 µm region (UV), provides high resolution imagery of oil spills and other features on the surface. IR data can be obtained both day and night providing information on the spreading of oil and also indicating the relative oil thickness within the oil slick. Usually 80% of the oil is concentrated within less than 20% of the visual oil slick. By using the IR information, the efficiency of clean-up operations can be greatly improved.
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UV data is obtained during daylight conditions, and is primarily used to map the entire extent of an oil slick, irrespective of thickness. The UV data adds confidence to the IR registration by distinguishing between natural thermal phenomena, such as cold upwelling water, from suspected oil pollution. It also assists an on-scene commander in determining the location of the thicker parts an oil spill, thus adding to the efficiency of the clean-up operation.
The MSS 6000 will infterface to any IR/UV line scanner on the market.
MSS 6000 provides for GPS accuracy and the capability to either superimpose the IR and UV images on a backdrop digital chart or to display the images as a traditional "scrolling waterfall".
The information from the aircraft can be used as input to oil drift modelling, thus further enhancing the aircraft as an asset in your oil spill contingency planning.
SSC CAMERA AND VIDEO CAMERA
The MSS 6000 still and video cameras provide digital imagery and video documentation. Each frame is annotated with relevant mission information for future, tamper-free reference. The built-in DGPS system provides accurate and consistent annotation of all MSS 6000 observations.
The MSS 6000 assists the operator in keeping track of all exposures made with the still camera and video sequence registered with the video camera by logging the time and position of each exposure and displaying this information in a selectable digital map overlay. Imagery and other information are linked to the geographical position and to the operator's comment, thus creating a comprehensive folder of data to document an observed activity on the sea surface.
Video recordings can be made from the FLIR(Forward Looking Infrared) as well as from the handheld video camera to allow close-up documentation of activities on the sea surface. The video is stored digitally and can be reviewed either in the aircraft or on the ground. Video sequences or selected frames can also be transmitted over the data link.
AIS - AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
A (normally silent) airborne AIS transponder is integrated with the MSS 6000 system.
The AIS receives identity information from all transponder equipped ships with VHF distance in the patrol area. Live AIS information is displayed on the MSS 6000 map display and logged in the built-in target database. The possibility for the operator to immediatly compare AIS information with target information acquired from other sensors, will greatly facilitate the control of all sea surface activities within the patrol area.
AIS contacts plotted on a patrol of the St. Lawrence inlet (Courtesy Transport Canada)
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FLIR /EO-SENSOR
Forward Looking Infrared-/Electro-Optical Sensor
A FLIR is an indispensable supplementary sensor for most mission profiles. It will add day and night identification and documentation capability to complement the information gathered from other on-board or external sources.
The FLIR is integrated into the surveillance system. Imagery from the FLIR is annotated and stored together with the all other mission data. The FLIR can also be slaved to any target position or geographical reference in the MSS 6000 database as selected by the operator, thus facilitating the sorting and identification of targets detected by other means.
Most FLIRs in the market can be integrated to the MSS 6000 system. The pictures show the Wescam MX-16 gyro estabilised sensor,the FLIR systems, the EuroFLIR 350 and the Star Q sensor.
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Image from the EO/IR sensor
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MWR - THE MICROWAVE RADIOMETER
If oil pollution control is one of your main missions, the Microwave Radiometer may provide valuable information to assist in the combating effort.
The SLAR will map the area of the oil slick. Once the slick is detected, the extension and distribution of the oil within the slick is assessed with the IR/UV scanner.Examples of Infrared and Microwave Radiometer registrations
of an oil spill.
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LFS - LASER FLOUROSENSOR
If pollution control is one of your main missions, the Laser Fluorosensor System may provide valuable information to assist in the combating effort.
The SLAR will detect and map the extent of an oil spill on the sea surface. Once the slick is detected, the extension and distribution of the oil within the slick is assessed with the IR/UV scanner. The Microwave Radiometer will measure the thickness and thusgive a better estimate of the volume of the spill.The Laser Fluorosensor can be said to take a "finger print" of some of the properties of the surface beneath the aircraft
A deeper analysis of the oil pollution is achieved from the Laser Fluorosensor. Its sensitivity to very thin oil films on the water surface, makes this sensor an interesting addition to the sensor package. Apart from the pollution related applications this instrument can also be used for hydrographical measurements and for algae monitoring.
The LFS-light can assist the operator in distinguishing between oil and other substances and to analyze the optical signature of different oil types which has been assembled from a catalogue of the optical properties of different oils from laboratory investigations.
On request a laser fluorosensor can be integrated into the MSS 6000 system.
ATCOM - SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
For real-time in-flight data communication a SATCOM system is integrated with the MSS. With a high-speed SATCOM link the mission report with images and tactical map snapshots captured during the mission can be delivered while in the air or by e-mail or mobile phone after landing. With a low-speed SATCOM link only short messages with information of position and properties of observed activities on the sea surface will be delivered while in the air and mission report and pictures will follow by e-mail or mobile phone data transferred after landing. The recorded mission can also be replayed after landing in the aircraft or on a ground station.
High-speed satellite communications is integrated in the MSS 6000 system for real-time information to other units in the surveillance operation.
VMS - VESSEL MONITORING SYSTEM
The integrated Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) functionality provides a possibility to upload information on fishing vessels from the national fisheries authority to be accessed together with other mission data.
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DF - DIRECTION FINDER
The Direction Finder (DF) functionality provides direction information on radio transmitters, including the 406 MHz emergency frequency and decoding of COSPAS/SARSAT data.
MSS 6000 OPERATOR WORK STATION
The MSS 6000 operator workstation is innovatibly and ergonomically designed; from his or her seat, the operator has access to all system functionality.
The MSS design allows for more than one operator workstation on board the aircraft, each with configurable functionality. Thus the work distribution between the operators may be configured to maximize mission effectiveness, according to the requirements of the customer organization.
MISSION COMMAND CENTRE - MCC
With the Mission Command Centre SSC has developed a new addition to its maritime surveillance concept.
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he MCC in command mode showing the tactical map.
The first complete MCC will be delivered together with three MSS 6000 equipped aircraft to the Vietnam Marine Police.
The MCC provides an exquisite tool for the Mission Command to plan, follow, analyze and archive the missions of all flying units.
In the MCC the mission is prepared before flight and followed and managed from the ground in real time during the flight.
The MCC displays the flight track of all flying units on the tactical map. It receives data from the aircraft including position, updates, incident reports, AIS and target information, images and streaming video. The incoming data is shown on a digital map in the MCC to give an overview of the situation. From the MCC further instructions can be issued to the aircraft in real time on how to proceed with the mission.
All mission information is stored in a database from where it can be analyzed processed. Using the filter functions and background databases, important information about ship movements and the identity and activity of observed vessels can be easily visualized on the screen.
