Unmanned Vehicle Carrier Supporting Distributed Maritime Operations
Abstract
This project informs the concept of operations and system design decisions related to the usage of unmanned systems in support of Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO). The research supports capability-level analysis of an Unmanned Vehicle Carrier (UVC) through systematic variation of system design characteristics and operational activities in a simulation model. The analysis shows that the UVC improves operational availability (Ao) and time-on-station (TOS) for a variety of unmanned systems by providing ready access to maintenance, refueling, and rearming facilities without the need for long transit times to shore-based facilities or distributed support vessels. Improvement in Ao for individual unmanned systems ranged from 6 percent to 31 percent when comparing configurations utilizing a UVC vs. configurations that distribute unmanned systems support across the adaptive force package (AFP). The simulation model analysis identified a UVC architecture consisting of at least eight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch recovery stations, at least three ship side-bays, and at least five well deck bays to maximize Ao.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1164206
Entities
People
- Arnold R. Winston
- Craig Fletcher
- Jairus Potts
- Jeffrey Patel
- Richard C. Mccann
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School