Small/Medium Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
Abstract
Small and Medium Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) are a segment of the Navy's Family of UUVs defined as having a diameter between 3 inches and 10 inches for small UUVs and a diameter of 10 inches to 21 inches for medium UUVs. The UUVs can be launched by submarines, surface ships, or larger UUVs, and can be recovered by surface ships and submarines. This class of UUVs can have one or more types of sensors to perform multiple missions including Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (IPOE), battlespace awareness, and mine warfare. Small Unmanned Undersea Vehicle program will field a light-weight, highly portable and mission configurable UUV for use by the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Naval Special Warfare (NSW), Submarine UUV Squadron (UUVRON), the Naval Oceanographic Community (NMOC), and United States Marine Corps operators. The program will deliver a baseline UUV capability and implement an incremental development approach, including phases for prototyping, integration, demonstration and fielding of Small Diameter UUVs to integrate with mission packages from each community. Funding supports the development of unmanned systems for the Navy's expeditionary unmanned underwater Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Mine Countermeasures (MCM) capability. Specifically, it provides for development of affordable expeditionary, unmanned underwater systems to support Navy Expeditionary forces including EOD, Mobile Diving and Salvage, Underwater Construction Teams (UCT), Very Shallow Water (VSW), and Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures (ExMCM) mission operations. The equipment must be highly portable in order to support the Navy EOD technician to safely approach, render safe, recover, exploit, and dispose of underwater explosive threats to include sea mines, limpet mines, and unexploded ordnance. Provides support for the Navy's high priority missions of Maritime Homeland Defense and MCM, including clandestine reconnaissance and mine clearance in support of amphibious operations. Development of Expeditionary UUV systems to support localization render-safe and detailed intelligence gathering of unexploded ordnance (UXO) including Underwater Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). This project directly supports Department of the Navy Unmanned Campaign Framework promulgated in March 2021 and the requirements defined by the Maritime Expeditionary MCM UUV (MEMUUV) CDD and is being executed in accordance with approved CNO N9I Requirement #056-95-19, "Capability Development Document for Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response Family of Systems," July 23 2019. FY24 will continue the development and testing of advanced technologies that will allow warfighters to detect, classify, and localize high priority threats in meeting mine and undersea warfare missions. Investments will continue in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Leaning (AI/ML) technologies, as well as continued improvements in Automated Target Recognition (ATR) algorithms, more advanced autonomy architecture and enhancements to acoustic and electro-optic sensor performance. Surface Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (SMCM UUV) - The Knifefish program develops advanced medium class UUVs to support clandestine mine detection capability against volume, bottom, and buried mines. Equipment includes vehicles and associated systems support equipment. In parallel, Block Upgrade design efforts aligned to Fleet needs are ongoing to support insertion of incremental capability when the technology is ready. Planned Block Upgrade candidates being considered include increased detection range capability, communications upgrades, on-board sonar processing and target recognition, command and control improvements, increased operational depth, and other smaller tasks, as well as future payloads as required. Razorback is a medium class UUV capable of persistent, autonomous, ocean sensing and data collection in support of Navy Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (IPOE) mission. Razorback is deployed from host submarines in two variants: from the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) or from the torpedo tube. The DDS deployed Razorback variant has been procured beginning in FY17 with Fleet operational deployments beginning in FY21. Development of requirements and submarine integration efforts commenced in FY19 for the torpedo tube launch and recover (TTL&R) variant, which was competitively sourced to industry in FY22. In order to deploy Razorback, or other small or medium class UUVs from a host submarine platform with sufficient endurance to perform a desired mission, high energy density sources such as lithium-ion batteries are used. Consequently, safety is paramount and mitigation systems must be in place to prevent or stop a high energy casualty event. SAFECAP is being developed as an active mitigation strategy that includes a shock qualified capsule that aides in the launch and recovery of small and medium sized vehicles through the torpedo tube. It also contains a Battery Casualty Detection System that constantly monitors battery health and status, providing early warning signs of a battery short via an alarm. In the event of a casualty, the capsule and vehicle portion of SAFECAP are flooded via the fire hose connections and the event is extinguished. MEDUSA is a medium class UUV capable of offensive mining capabilities deployed from a submarine. MEDUSA features torpedo tube launch capability, long range, high payload placement accuracy, and can handle heavy payloads. A demonstration system was developed and tested in FY21 using dummy payloads using a land-based launch facility and surface launched in-water demonstrations. Lessons learned from the demonstration will inform a competitive award to Industry in FY23 to develop and produce tactical prototype systems. The MEDUSA demonstration and Industry prototype variant differ from the Razorback Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTL&R) variant. MEDUSA is approximately 21 inches in diameter, impulse launched from the torpedo tube, and expendable once the payloads are deployed. Razorback TTL&R is expected to be less than 15 inches in diameter, swim out launch and recover from the torpedo tube, and be capable of swappable payloads to conduct a variety of missions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2024
- Source ID
- 0604028N_4_1319_PB_2024
- Change Summary Explanation
- Program Changes: Technical: Not applicable. Schedule: Not applicable. Cost: FY 2022: -$2.141M Small Business Innovative Research FY 2023: No Change FY 2024: +$31.515M program adjustments: +$17.816M Razorback development; +$4.591M Knifefish development; +$9.108M Viperfish development; +$0.822M Miscellaneous Adjustments
- Service Agency Name
- Navy
Entities
Organizations
- United States Navy
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