Tag Archives: UUV

Navy

Unmanned underwater vehicle

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Mission Technologies division has revealed a new medium-class Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV): REMUS 620.

REMUS 620
HII unveils REMUS 620 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

Building on the design philosophy of the highly successful REMUS 300 – recently selected by the U.S. Navy as the program of record for the Lionfish Small UUV – the REMUS 620 has a battery life of up to 110 hours and a range of 275 nautical miles/316 miles/509 km, providing unmatched mission capabilities for mine countermeasures, hydrographic surveys, intelligence collection, surveillance and electronic warfare.

«Retaining a forward strategic advantage requires the ability to deliver a multitude of effects from under the sea», said Duane Fotheringham, president of Mission Technologies’ Unmanned Systems business group. «The REMUS 620 is the first medium UUV designed to accurately deliver this range of advanced above-and-below water effects at long range».

Built to support current and next-generation naval and special operations forces operations, REMUS 620 features a modular, open architecture design to facilitate seamless payload integration and HII’s Odyssey suite of advanced autonomy solutions for intelligent, robotic platforms.

REMUS 620 is the same size and weight of the first and only full-rate production medium UUVs: the MK 18 Mod 2, Littoral Battleship Sensing-Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (LBS-AUV) and LBS-Razorback systems operated by the U.S. Navy’s Mine Countermeasure Squadrons, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office and Submarine Forces, respectively.

Multiple REMUS 620s operating collaboratively can be deployed from submarines, small manned or unmanned boats, amphibious ships, surface combatants and helicopters. REMUS 620 can also be used as a platform to launch and operate other unmanned vehicles or payloads from beneath the sea.

 

Energy

REMUS 620 is equipped with multiple batteries capable of 110 hours and a range of 275 nautical miles/316 miles/509 km per mission, which provides unmatched multi-day endurance, range and stealth. The increased REMUS battery life enables the UUV to execute a significantly longer route to and from a mission area than previously afforded by medium-class vehicles. The energy modules are swappable, allowing for quick turnaround and incorporation of alternative energy sources as they become available.

 

Intelligence

REMUS 620 is built with modern core electronics, navigation and communication systems, and the vehicle’s open architecture can now be enhanced with HII Odyssey, a suite of advanced autonomy solutions for intelligent, robotic platforms. The vehicle includes the new Odyssey Mission Management Software.

 

Multi-Mission

REMUS 620 standard synthetic aperture sonar payload can be replaced or enhanced for multi-mission capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and cyber and electronic warfare operations.

REMUS 620 builds on the success of HII’s REMUS platforms, with 30 years of innovation and delivery of more than 600 UUVs to 30 countries worldwide, including 14 NATO member countries. The scientific community will also benefit from the payload flexibility and variety of environmental sensors that can be easily added to the base vehicle.

Navy

Manta Ray

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Phase 2 contracts to continue the Manta Ray program that began in 2020. The effort seeks to demonstrate innovative technologies allowing payload-capable autonomous Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to operate on long-duration, long-range missions in ocean environments. The two prime contractors, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Martin Defense Group, are each developing unique full-scale demonstration vehicles.

Manta Ray
Artist’s concept of a Manta Ray UUV

The Manta Ray program seeks to develop UUVs that operate for extended durations without the need for on-site human logistics support or maintenance. In Phase 1 of the program, performers designed and conducted preliminary testing on novel approaches in energy management, UUV reliability, biofouling and corrosion control, navigation, and undersea obstacle avoidance, among other areas that directly enable long-endurance missions.

«DARPA’s Manta Ray program has made significant breakthroughs toward enabling payload-capable autonomous underwater vehicles to operate independently of crewed vessels or support infrastructure», stated CDR Kyle Woerner, Manta Ray’s program manager. «By investing in diverse solutions, DARPA strengthens our ability to transition innovative undersea technologies to our national security partners. Manta Ray is uniquely positioning itself to simultaneously introduce a new class of underwater vehicle while contributing key component technologies to other vital undersea programs».

The Manta Ray program concluded Phase 1 with Critical Design Reviews (CDR) that demonstrated design maturity and readiness for advancement to Phase 2. The selected performers will now work on subsystem testing followed by fabrication and in-water demonstrations of full-scale integrated vehicles.

The Manta Ray program seeks to develop unmanned underwater vehicles that operate for extended durations without the need for on-site human logistics support or maintenance

Navy

First Knifefish system

General Dynamics Mission Systems recently delivered the first Knifefish Surface Mine CounterMeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV) system under a contract awarded by the U.S. Navy on August 26, 2019. The contract, awarded immediately after a successful Milestone C decision and approval to enter Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP), calls for the procurement of five Knifefish systems (10 total UUVs) and support equipment.

Knifefish SMCM
First Knifefish system delivered to U.S. Navy six months after final acceptance test completed

Knifefish SMCM is a medium-class mine countermeasure UUV intended for deployment from the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and other Navy vessels of opportunity. Knifefish SMCM will reduce risk to personnel by operating within minefields as an off-board sensor while the host ship stays outside the minefield boundaries.

«Together with the U. S. Navy’s Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants, our Knifefish team has worked to deliver critical mine countermeasure mission capabilities to protect our Sailors», said Carlo Zaffanella, vice president and general manager at General Dynamics Mission Systems. «We designed Knifefish using an open architecture concept that can be quickly and efficiently modified to accommodate a wide range of missions».

General Dynamics Mission Systems is the prime contractor for the Knifefish program. The company designed the tactical UUV using an open architecture concept that can be quickly and efficiently modified to accommodate a wide range of missions. The Knifefish SMCM UUV is based on the General Dynamics Bluefin Robotics Bluefin-21 deep-water autonomous undersea vehicle.

General Dynamics Mission Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (GD), provides mission critical solutions to the challenges facing our defense, intelligence and cyber security customers across all domains. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, General Dynamics Mission Systems employs more than 12,000 people worldwide.

Navy

Echo Voyager

Boeing and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) are teaming on the design and production of Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) in support of the U.S. Navy’s Extra Large UUV program.

Boeing, Huntington Ingalls Industries to Team on Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
Boeing, Huntington Ingalls Industries to Team on Unmanned Undersea Vehicles

«This partnership provides the U.S. Navy a cost-effective, low-risk path to meet the emergent needs that prompted the Navy’s Advanced Undersea Prototyping program», said Darryl Davis, president, Boeing Phantom Works. «We are combining Boeing’s preeminent UUV maritime engineering team with our nation’s leading shipbuilder and Navy technical services company to get operational vehicles to the Navy years ahead of the standard acquisition process».

Boeing is currently testing its newest and largest UUV, Echo Voyager, off the Southern California coast. The vehicle is designed for multiple missions and could include a modular payload bay of up to 34 feet/10.36 meters, offering enhanced endurance and increased payload capacity over traditional UUVs. Echo Voyager is fully autonomous, requiring no support vessel for launch or recovery, enabling operation at sea for months before returning to port.

«We look forward to a long relationship with Boeing as we embark together to field this unmanned force-multiplier for the U.S. Navy», said Andy Green, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries and president of the company’s Technical Solutions division. «I am confident this team will continue redefining the autonomy paradigm for UUVs».

The partnership will leverage design and production facilities in Huntington Beach, California, Newport News, Virginia, and Panama City, Florida, and will offer access to all of the expertise and capability of Boeing and HII.

Navy

Autonomously for Months

On March 10 Boeing introduced Echo Voyager, its latest Unmanned, Undersea Vehicle (UUV), which can operate autonomously for months at a time thanks to a hybrid rechargeable power system and modular payload bay.

51-foot/15.5-meter Echo Voyager largest of three such vehicles Boeing offers
51-foot/15.5-meter Echo Voyager largest of three such vehicles Boeing offers

The 51-foot-long/15.5-meter-long vehicle is not only autonomous while underway, but it can also be launched and recovered without the support ships that normally assist UUVs. Echo Voyager is the latest innovation in Boeing’s UUV family, joining the 32-foot/9.7-meter Echo Seeker and the 18-foot/5.5-meter Echo Ranger.

«Echo Voyager is a new approach to how Unmanned Undersea Vehicles will operate and be used in the future», said Darryl Davis, president, Boeing Phantom Works. «Our investments in innovative technologies such as autonomous systems are helping our customers affordably meet mission requirements now and in the years to come».

Echo Voyager will begin sea trials off the California coast later this summer. Boeing has designed and operated manned and unmanned deep sea systems since the 1960s.

«Echo Voyager can collect data while at sea, rise to the surface, and provide information back to users in a near real-time environment», said Lance Towers, director, Sea & Land, Boeing Phantom Works. «Existing UUVs require a surface ship and crew for day-to-day operations. Echo Voyager eliminates that need and associated costs».

Boeing Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Can Operate Autonomously for Months
Boeing Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Can Operate Autonomously for Months