Defence`s Feeds

The Community of Sant'Egidio is putting the finishing touches to its traditional Christmas lunch, a meal shared on Christmas day

The Van Aucker Group (TVAG) has been working Capitol Hill on behalf of the embassy of Turkey, a lobby disclosure

Whether looking for the perfect end-of-year gift for an intelligence fan, a security buff, a military enthusiast or a keen

Ghebi production studio, the long-serving US partner of Rossiya Segodnya, parent company to the Russia news network RT (IO, 26/01/22),

Intelligence Online has learned that a new Chinese review, Afghanistan Studies, is, in fact, a commercial public relations operation backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Behind it is the Lianglu International Trade Corp (Beijing), a little-known company that has

Washington: Patrick Willis joins Touchstone FuturesUS firm Touchstone Futures continues to grow its teams with technical intelligence industry veterans. The

American legal interceptions company SS8 has been for some time looking for a buyer among the leading defence groups, according

Despite the Israel-Hamas war, retired Israeli Army General Rami Ben Efraim is pursuing the development of his cyber empire. His

Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) has entered the crowded field of companies that have expressed interest in

The French government is developing its multi-level disinformation watch and counterspeech capacities (IO, 27/10/22). The press and communication directorate (DCP)

Bosnian tycoon Mujo Selimovic has begun a lobbying campaign in Washington, DC as he attempts to combat criminal charges in

The final meeting of the EDA project “Next Generation of Propellers” (NextProp) took place in Brussels this month. NextProp, a cross-domain activity involving EDA’s CapTechs “Naval Systems” and “Materials & Structures”, successfully developed models and tools for the design of low-noise naval propellers. With a budget of 4 million Euros, NextProp was cooperatively funded by Italy, Norway, and Poland. Eight partner entities from these three countries implemented the project over the past three years.

Designing modern naval propellers involves various considerations such as efficiency, weight, durability, cost, and detectability. Testing these propellers through experiments, using either scale models or full-size prototypes, is crucial but can be expensive and time-consuming. Fortunately, advancements in high-performance computing have increased the importance and feasibility of numerical simulations and modelling.

Creating a model for the acoustic field generated by propeller motion is a complex task. It encompasses factors like the flow around the hull, turbulence, fluid-structure interaction at the propeller blades, and the interaction between the hull wake and propeller. This complexity defines a multi-physics and multi-scale problem that needs simplification in a computational model.

Reducing the signature

The primary project outcome is an improved software tool for the minimisation of the acoustic signature of naval propellers. To this end, models based on hydro-elastic physics are used to predict the behaviour of typical propeller materials, including metals and advanced composites, under operational conditions. Results obtained from NextProp improve the understanding of sound generation and propagation from naval propellers and support advanced low-noise propeller design. Beyond this, NextProp brings forth new methods and setups for experimental propeller tests as well as advanced knowledge of sensor integration for the purpose of condition-based maintenance.

More detailed information on NextProp is available in the executive summary.

In combining knowledge in the fields of hydro-acoustics and advanced material properties, the project has effectively exploited synergies among EDA’s Capability and Technology Groups (CapTechs) “Naval Systems” and “Materials and Structures”. Several Member States support the continuation of the NextProp research line towards further optimisation and validation of the design and fabrication of composite and isotropic polymer propellers, with a follow-up project currently being prepared.

Eight partner entities from Italy, Norway and Poland

FFI (coordinator), FiReCo, Light Structures, SINTEF Ocean, CNR-INM, CETENA, Politecnico di Milano, Polish Naval Academy.

The deal is expected to be finalised in January. As Intelligence Online understands, talks have intensified in recent weeks between former US Secretary of State and ex-CIA chief Mike Pompeo, now involved with an hedge fund based in the US,

US cyber company Dark Circuit Labs (DCL) is continuing to develop despite having had to deal with an internal commercial

A federal contractor whose CEO was convicted of defrauding the National Security Agency (NSA), as related in a December 7 report

The Chinese Ministry of State Security's (MSS, or Guoanbu) new soft power strategy has the European continent in its line

London - Elicius Intelligence expandsDiscreet London investigation firm Elicius Intelligence has recently made a number of recruitments to bolster its

Several corporate investigation firms are busy restructuring as the new year approaches. As we understand, the US firm Nardello &

The decision of the High Court of Justice in London was keenly awaited by former Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

The US intelligence community is putting the finishing touches to an unclassified version of a report on corruption by leading figures in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Intelligence Online understands. Despite doubts linked to developments in the diplomatic situation, the