This week we welcome Jordan Christie to Steller Systems.
Jordan is a Chartered Engineer and project manager with seven years’ experience in the naval defence sector. Jordan brings experience of in-service technical support to Royal Navy submarines with particular focus on the provision of specialist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic support.
Jordan joins our Uncrewed and Underwater Systems team and will be based at Steller Systems’ offices in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.
Steller Systems is recruiting talented naval architects and marine engineers at all levels; please see our website for details.
Steller Systems’ Alastair Wallace will be presenting alongside BAE Systems at this year’s Annual Maritime Engineering Conference of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors (RCNC).
Alastair and Nicola Paterson will be presenting their paper “Optimising the Future Fleet using Deep Learning Tools” which describes how high-speed computing combined with a subset of Artificial Intelligence called Deep Learning is taking ship design optimisation to new levels in terms of both speed and performance results.
BAE Systems is already harvesting the rewards of this new technology by being able to offer better performing and more affordable ships. A future frigate hull design has been optimised so significantly that the resistance has been reduced by 29% at cruise speed allowing smaller engines to be fitted whilst improving stability.
The conference, which this year has the theme of “Challenges Facing Today’s Maritime Engineers”, runs from the 24th to the 25th January in Bristol.
2023 has been an incredible year for Steller Systems and we would like to thank all of our customers, partners and suppliers.
Many of our own designs have become a reality this year. We have developed our designs for an Inflatable Launch and Recovery System and have built and successfully trialled a scale demonstrator. Our work on an innovative Uncrewed Surface/Surface Vessel has continued, with extensive trials conducted over the summer to prove the concept and a significant contract award to develop the full-scale design. Meanwhile we have built and demonstrated a design under the Novel Amphibious Craft competition, and further developed our Inflatable Damage Control System which will save lives.
We have launched HullTune, our Deep Learning tool to optimise ship designs, and have used it to lower build and running costs and drastically reduce emissions for our customers’ designs.
Our teams have met suppliers and customers at numerous events such as CNE and DSEI and have presented at conferences including the UK NEST Artificial Intelligence conference. We have joined new frameworks such as Futures Lab and have helped launch SCUBA – our SME Collaborative Underwater Business Alliance with like-minded SMEs.
We have had an increased focus on skills development for our graduate recruits and have supported them towards chartership, including conducting the UCL Submarines Design Course. We have also provided work experience placements, and were even mentioned in the House of Commons for our support to developing the next generation of engineers.
We have restructured the business around Uncrewed and Underwater Systems, Surface Ships and Misson Systems to better reflect our breadth of capabilities. We have grown the team in both Nailsworth and Hamble, and have tripled the size of our Hamble office to accommodate our expanded team. We have also established a permanent presence at the Defence Battlelab in Winfrith to allow us to be closer to End Users.
2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Steller Systems.
Wishing a very merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of our customers, partners and suppliers.
Last week, Steller Systems’ William Ainsworth, Alex Pardoe and Madeleine Arnold successfully completed open water trials of its Inflatable Launch and Recovery System (ILARS) against the exceptionally scenic backdrops of Gare Loch in Scotland.
The trials were conducted from RNMB Hellcat with the autonomous mine hunting team Wilton. ILARS was used to safely launch and recover an Iver 3 AUV under a range of speeds. Further tests were undertaken to test the towing limits of the ILARS with results surpassing expectations.
ILARS can launch and recover a vast range of marine systems and facilitate increased safety by minimising human interaction during operations. The system significantly reduces the impact on stowage requirements owing to its compact, inflatable design. These latest trials have proven a use case for both typical hull forms and more cylindrical AUVs.
Steller Systems has been awarded a significant contract under the MOD’s Uncrewed Surface Subsurface Vessel (USSV) framework to further develop its WRAITH USSV design for the UK MOD and Royal Marines.
WRAITH will provide significantly enhanced flexibility and capability for maritime forces. This new contract will build on previous MOD-funded work which was contracted to design, build and test a number of scale functioning demonstrators in order to de-risk the technologies and demonstrate the unique Concept of Operations.
