domingo, 14 de septiembre de 2014

Warning: multi-UUVs swarm strike

UUVs are already in the hands of adversaries of the United States. There is evidence that the development of multi-UUVs swarm strike doctrines is underway, and US Army specialists believe it is only a matter of time before someone initiates such an attack against a US objective.

The Knifefish Program


One of the biggest focus areas of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) development is decreasing risk for sailors deployed in mine-heavy areas.

The Knifefish program, led by General Dynamics, is one of the leading UUV technologies is this area. The underwater drone will be used for mine countermeasures aboard the littoral combat ship, said Tom Mason, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems’ senior program manager for Knifefish.

“With the ability to reliably detect and identify volume, bottom and buried mines in high-clutter environments, Knifefish acts as an off-board sensor while the host ship stays safely outside the minefield boundaries,” Mason said in an email to National Defense. “In addition to enhancing intelligence reporting and situational awareness for commanders and the fleet, Knifefish also significantly reduces risk to Navy personnel.”