Italy Hosts Successful International Undersea Defence Show
UDT saw an 8% delegate increase based year on year, defining its position as the leading European forum uniquely focused undersea defence event. UDT Event Manager Pearl Donvin-Crook stated, “It is excellent news that even through all of the problems we have had, UDT still remains top on the agenda of the leading figures within the undersea defence industry. We have broadend the scope for the first time in our history due to the demand from the naval community, and this was a total success.” She went on to say, “There are so many events that class themselves as international maritime events but do not cover the markets they state. UDT has a unique position whereby attendees meet potential clients who are focused in their relevant industry”
Delegates, including procurement specialists, naval scientists, defence consultants, naval attaches, ambassadors, and government, commercial and academic researchers, attended over 150 lectures and visited 100 exhibition stands, showcasing the latest R&D and industrial capabilities in undersea technology. Products on display included active and passive acoustic detection systems for surface ships and submarines, torpedoes, unmanned undersea vehicles and remotely operated vehicles.
The event saw a 20% increase in conference sessions this year, due to the huge number of papers submitted for the event. J Ludwig and P Bitzen, of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG Submarine Division, were awarded the honour of best oral paper, for their work titled, “State of the Art and Future Communication Capabilities of Submarines". The award for best poster paper was presented to A Elminowicz, R&D Marine Technology Centre; Z Klusek, J Tęgowski, J Szczuka, Institute of Oceanology PAS, Poland for their paper titled “Underwater Acoustic Barrier in Harsh Reverberation Environment”
Dr Francois Regis Martin-Lauzer, Director of NURC La Spezia was also commended for his thought provoking and insightful speech, in which he proposed deeper involvement of private industries in the research and development of undersea technology.
Conference Chairman, Giorgio Rittore said “UDT Europe 2007 has been a huge success, with vastly increased numbers of delegates and some of the most respected speakers in the industry. The theme of dual use applications was a well chosen one and inspired much discussion amongst attendees. We now look forward to the next UDT Europe event in Glasgow, UK in 2008”
