Unmanned Surface Vehicle Enabling Capabilities
Abstract
In order to accelerate future capability and support steady growth of the Navy's Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Family of Systems (FoS), the Unmanned Surface Vessel Enabling Capabilities project includes development, test, and integration of USV technologies; the advancement of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Industry USV efforts for associated technologies and the development and fabrication of payloads for Large Unmanned Surface Vessels (LUSVs) and Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSVs). USV technology efforts in this project unit support demonstration of mission level autonomy, communications, command and control, navigation compliance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (COLREGS), endurance, at sea replenishment, payload feasibility, mission planning and execution for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) Overlord efforts, and enabling technologies for other USVs in the USV FoS, as applicable. Modular payloads employed by LUSVs and MUSVs will be developed under this project unit. Payloads will be customized to meet Navy needs and demonstrate useful capability for the Fleet. MUSVs will achieve their mission capability through their employment of modular payloads. LUSVs will augment organic warfare capabilities with additional modular payloads. Efforts to develop LUSV organic warfare capability will also be executed under this project. In order to support LUSV future missions, investment in LUSV payload development, payload integration, and Integrated Combat System (ICS) development is required. Investment is also needed to support LUSV payload testing and follow-on operations. The Autonomy portion of this project funds efforts (in conjunction with Program Element 0604029N, Project 3393 UxS Payloads, C2) to develop common standards, interfaces, and systems to support cross-domain (surface, sub-surface, aviation, and ground) applications. These efforts include advanced development, prototyping and demonstrations to accelerate the design and development of system commonality and interoperability for the cross-domain requirements of the Navy. Autonomy development efforts will demonstrate scalable, adaptable and interoperable warfighting capabilities across various unmanned systems. The advanced development emphasis will encourage innovation and enable rapid integration of UxS capabilities across domains while common standards, interfaces, and systems development occurs in parallel. Autonomy and Command and Control (C2) architectures and interface definitions will be incorporated into near-term and future USV requests for proposals (RFP) and associated artifacts. Coordinated autonomy and C2 efforts, will define, develop and demonstrate capability that advances new technology, and the hardware and software of control systems that will be used to operate multiple and dissimilar Naval UxSs. Under this project, the Navy is pursuing prototyping efforts to develop modular payloads to enable USVs to deploy persistent airborne systems, extending the C2 reach of host platforms and providing USVs and human operators with more time and space to identify potential threats and make critical decisions. In FY 2020, the Navy is conducting market research and technology feasibility studies that will provide options on mature technologies that can be quickly adapted into developmental systems. Following up in FY 2021, the Navy will consider promising options and will release a technical data package for bids for vendors on the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Family of Systems (FoS) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) and plans to award a design and developmental contract in Q4FY 2021 which will deliver in FY 2025. In FY 2021, Integrated Combat System development efforts will continue under both this project and under the Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) project (Project 3066). Technology development and maturation efforts will build upon activities executed throughout FY 2020, with the goal of delivering a Land Based Test Site (LBTS) software build in early FY 2022 and executing an at-sea capstone demonstration of the ICS remotely from a surface combatant. Also in FY 2021, the Navy will transition the prototype modular payloads developed by OSD SCO into production. Due to the nature of this project, specific applications and detailed plans are available at a higher classification.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Source ID
- 3067_0603178N_4_1319_PB_2021
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