Additional Military Layers - ukho.gov.uk · Additional Military Layers ... AML supports digital navigation within WECDIS to greatly enhance the manoeuvrability, access and reach of

DMGIC Defence Maritime Geospatial Intelligence Centre Part of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, a Trading Fund of the Ministry of Defence

AML User Guide Additional Military Layers Information superiority in the maritime environment

Version 2.1 2011 1

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UNCLASSIFIED 09/08/2012

DMGIC © British Crown Copyright 2012

AML USER GUIDE This User Guide is provided for UK users of AML, but may be useful for others. We welcome your comments or contributions to tips for users: Please contact [email protected] For technical help and access to the AML Global CD Please contact Fleet Information Management Unit at: [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0) 2392 212240 AML Catalogues There are three separate catalogues available showing current AML coverage:

Standard Catalogue of AML designed for use in WECDIS, WAIS, DNA2 and other AML Capable systems.

WVS – World Vector Shoreline - Catalogue showing the AML coverage optimised for

ADAWS The standard and WVS catalogues are supplied in one document.

Environment Risk Management Capability Catalogue showing AML coverage optimised for S2117

Catalogues are provided in paper and digital formats by UKHO.

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mailto:[email protected]

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INTRODUCTION AML - Additional Military Layers - was introduced to replace the need for specialist paper charts and overlays in order to meet the RN aims for the paperless bridge. The purpose of the products is to enhance operational effectiveness in the maritime and littoral environments through superior situational awareness. At present 10 NATO members are actively involved in either producing or using AML while other defence forces interested in their application include the US Department of Defence, the Royal Australian and Swedish Navies. Within the UK they are produced by UKHO Taunton in support of the Recognised Environmental Picture (REP), part of ISTAR Network-Enabled Capability (NEC). The underlying concept of AML is to replace the need for reference to environmental information contained within specialist legacy printed publications by embedding it within databases that can be displayed on electronic systems, thereby enhancing situational awareness and tactical decision making. Within the Royal Navy AML is intended for display on WECDIS, WAIS, JC2SP, DNA2 as well as non-surface combatant command systems (e.g. MERLIN Tactical Command System). AML is distributed by FIMU to all RN ships and submarines in the form of a Global AML CD and are supported by the CSS-based UK AML Catalogue and NP114 NATO AML Catalogue (to be replaced by NATO AML e-Catalogue). THE BENEFITS OF AML AML provides enhanced operational effectiveness through information superiority. Designed for situational awareness, AML supports digital navigation within WECDIS to greatly enhance the manoeuvrability, access and reach of maritime forces. AML provides:

• Unified data in one place • Attributed and searchable data • Rapid display • Selectable data • Can be displayed with other geospatial information • Interoperability with NATO nations • Format standardisation

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AML Types AML is divided into the following product types: Vector Products:

• RAL – Routes, Areas & Limits (see Fig1.0) • CLB – Contour Line Bathymetry (see Fig2.0) • LBO – Large Bottom Objects (see Fig 3.0) • ESB – Environment, Seabed & Beach (see Fig 4.0) • MFF – Maritime Foundation & Facilities (see Fig 5.0) • SBO – Small Bottom Objects (see Fig 6.0)

Gridded Products: • IWC – Integrated Water Column • AMC – Atmospheric and Meteorological Climatology • GS-ESB – Gridded Sediment ESB

AML is not a navigational product and any navigation decision must be made with reference to the ENC. However some types of AML can be displayed with an ENC on a navigation system but further guidance should be obtained from BR45. Routes, Areas and Limits - RAL

Intended for Planning and in theatre Situational Awareness: Main features:

• PEXAS / Exercise Grids • SM Transit Lanes • Fishery Limits • Patrol Areas • Stovepipes / Shipping Lanes • Territorial Water Limits • RAL can be displayed over ENCs • Maritime Protected Areas in support of MESAT (Maritime Environmental Sustainability

and Assessment Tool)

At present coverage for Territorial Waters limits within RAL cover the following regions*: • Eastern Mediterranean • Red Sea

* UKHO has a schedule of planned Territorial Waters AML; this priority can change if demand requires it.

• Gulf of Aden • Persian Gulf • Caribbean

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Fig 1.0 - Scale Band 0 Routes Areas and Limits Cell



Contour Line Bathymetry - CLB CLB is intended for ASW operations showing higher density bathymetric information. Main Features:

• Depth Areas • Depth Contour and Survey Reliability data • Soundings

CLB should not be overlayed with an ENC in a navigational scenario. Products used for situational awareness do not have the same updating cycle as navigational products and may also be constructed from other source material. If viewed together in a navigational scenario the resulting display could prove very misleading.

Fig 2.0 - Scale band 4(1:1,000,000) Contour Line Bathymetry west of Scotland, useful for planning (Viewer – ECPINS, RN WECDIS)

Large Bottom Objects - LBO LBO is an un-scaled product showing all objects on the sea bed greater than five metres in any direction. Main Features:

• Wrecks (charted and uncharted) • Rocks • Obstructions • Seabed installations

All objects are captured as point geometry. LBO includes information additional to that shown on standard navigational charts e.g. wrecks which are not significant to navigation. Each wreck depicted includes full attribution which cannot be shown on a standard chart making the data useful for submarine and anti-submarine operations and for mine warfare applications.

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Fig 3.0- Features from LBO (Viewer – ECPINS, RN WECDIS) alongside ENC. The attributes of a wreck can be seen in the display window. Environment Seabed and Beach – ESB Designed to provide the user with information about the sea bed and beach areas, ESB is of particular value in support of mine counter-measure activities and amphibious operations. It is a scaled product. Main Features:

• Composition and thickness of multiple sediment layers including bedrock • Acoustic/physical properties • Slope • MCM areas • Sand waves • Trawl scours • Vegetation • Beach – full map/chart at very large scale, or as an overlay to standard mapping/charting • Low resolution seabed information to support ASW

Fig 4.0 - Sediment Layer from ESB (Viewer – ECPINS, RN WECDIS).

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Maritime Foundation and Facilities - MFF MFF is a scaled product designed to provide a suitable reference background and context where standard electronic products such as ARCS or ENC are not used. Main Features:

• Coastline • National boundaries and major cities • Main ports, harbour locations and facilities • Major lights and buoyage • Magnetic information • Tidal information • Radar reflective entities such as offshore platforms, buoys, beacons • Communication facilities and coverage • Pipeline and Cable information • Fishing activity • Oil, Gas and mineral production information • Ice limits • Search and rescue information • Miscellaneous sea bed obstructions that cover a significant area

Fig 5.0 - Scale band 4MFF viewed with Scale Band 4CLB (Viewer – ECPINS, RN WECDIS) Small Bottom Objects- SBO Used by the mine warfare community, SBO is un-scaled and includes all known bottom contacts whose dimension is less than five metres in any direction. SBO is categorised into mines and mine-like contacts.

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Fig 6.0 - Fictitious sample Small Bottom Objects displayed alongside ENC (Viewer – ECPINS, RN WECDIS). The attributes of a mine have been queried.

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LOADING TIPS The display settings for viewing AML are important; individual features will not display if the settings are incorrect. Recommended settings for AML within WECDIS/WAIS –Version 5.3.1 Colour Scheme - OSL DAY HI or OSL NIGHT HI AML Feature Group Feature RAL – Category - AML Groups

Displayed Features - Water-space Management Intelligence and Information (TW)

Category - Viewing Groups Displayed Features - Cautionary Areas,

Administrative Areas (TW) CLB – Category - Viewing Groups

Displayed Features – Contour Labels, depths Contour Labels, Safety Contours, tides and Magnetic Data Water and Seabed features MFF – Category - Viewing Groups Displayed Features - Administrative Sources Conspicuous Landmarks Information Areas Lights Port Features Seabed/Obstructions

Services (Pilots) Shore Features

ESB – Category - AML Groups Displayed Features - Bottom Information Beach and Landing Information Intelligence and Information Category - Viewing Groups

Displayed Features - Information Areas Major Coastal Features Natural Features Seabed and Obstructions Shore Features

LBO - Category - AML Groups Displayed Features - Bottom Information Category - Viewing Groups Seabed and Obstructions

Loading Sequence of AML into WECDIS/WAIS Insert AML disc into WECDIS/WAIS terminal. Begin install procedure as indicated below:

Choose directory where AMLs are being imported from i.e. CD drive. Single click on drive and click “Search for Charts” or double click on drive

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In the left hand window, all the products on the disc will be displayed. These will generally be displayed as exchange sets. Select or create a folder you wish to place the cells in.

Double click on the exchange set e.g. UKCBU107. All the cells within the exchange set will appear in the “select charts” window. Click on “Select visible” then “Install Charts”. This will install all the charts into the folder selected.

A message informing you that all the cells have installed correctly will be visible.

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Once the AML cells have been installed, they then have to be loaded to view. In the main menu, click on chart selection then as shown below “load charts”

A loading window will appear as shown below. Choose the folder you wish to view contents of in left hand window.

Double click on the cell you wish to view or click once and then click load. 14



Note: If when you load the cell an error message appears “Invalid Checksum”, this means there is a problem with the Catalogue file. (The catalogue file is a text file generated when AML cells are packaged together to form an exchange set. It is this file ECPINS (WECDIS) looks for when loading AML data to know, not only what cell it should be loading but also the geographic extents of these cells).

If the CATALOGUE file is not present another error message appears “Note: Required CATALOG file(s) could not be found……” Without this file some AML cells i.e. RAL will still load but any additional components like those found in ESB i.e. photographs, beach gradient diagrams will not.

IF EITHER OF THESE MESSAGES APPEARS, PLEASE CONTACT FIMU, HMS COLLINGWOOD OR DEFENCE SERVICE DELIVERY UKHO TAUNTON. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Viewing Territorial Waters AML

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In order to view Territorial Waters AML it is essential to use the correct settings.

Example of Territorial Water Limits (TW) displayed in ECPINS, RN WECDIS showing the settings needed to view RAL (TW) AML.

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If you have user tips to share for the benefit of others please contact [email protected]

The following user tip was provided by the NO of HMS Liverpool October 2011: Decryption: Currently the documentation states that the disk should be decrypted on a Bycrypt laptop, then the AMLs can be burnt to a CD to be installed on WECDIS. The process is smoother if you take softlock off WECDIS and decrypt the CD to a temporary folder on the D drive. Then all three WECDIS terminals can install the AMLs from that location. The danger is that on completion you are using up disk space by having two copies of the AMLs on the system, so the temporary folder needs to be deleted once the AMLs are installed. This process also prevents a decrypted disk from needing to be destroyed. This tip was provided by the Navigator of HMS Illustrious October 2011 By using a DII capable USB stick in the RPT (AES lock type) I can move the AMLs into the WAIS terminals.

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Documents

Additional Military Layers - ukho.gov.uk · Additional Military Layers ... AML supports digital navigation within WECDIS to greatly enhance the manoeuvrability, access and reach of