General Dynamics Links Bluefin Robotics UUVs and AeroVironment‘s Blackwing UAV to Submarine Combat Control Center

General Dynamics Mission Systems and General Dynamics Electric Boat demonstrated multiple mission command, control and communication capabilities connecting Bluefin Robotics’ unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and a third-party provided unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a simulated AN/BYG-1 submarine combat control center ashore.

The General Dynamics team demonstrated capabilities for real-time, two-way communications from the AN/BYG-1 control center to change the mission Bluefin SandShark UUV, via a third-party UAV while the Bluefin SandShark was operating in the water.

The General Dynamics team also launched both a Bluefin SandShark UUV and a Hammerhead canister containing the third-party AUV from two platforms, a Bluefin-21 medium-weight UUV and then from a STAPLS launcher designed by General Dynamics Electric Boat.

Kenneth Perry, a vice president of General Dynamics Electric Boat said, “The General Dynamics team successfully demonstrated our innovative STAPLs submarine payload launcher with UAV and UUV payloads, all integrated via an air-land-undersea network.  It reflects General Dynamics’ commitment to delivering advanced and relevant undersea capabilities for the Navy.”

Admiral John Richardson considers UUVs to increase power

Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, says they could get closer to the target faster by counting unmanned vessels with capabilities similar to a manned ship.

Richardson brought senior officers to Newport, Rhode Island, this month to talk about accelerating their development. The future Navy is going to be very different from today’s fleet, he said. Richardson said he’s trying to figure out how to increase naval power as quickly as he can because the Navy is being challenged at sea by very capable foreign naval forces.

He said he’s looking at vehicles that can do a range of things, including acting as sensors and carrying weapons, and can be networked in with the rest of the fleet. Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) currently used by the Navy aren’t at the point now where they could replace manned platforms. While they can complete a task to support a mission, they can’t complete an entire mission on their own, and none are weaponized, according to the Navy.

DARPA and BAE Systems to develop SUUVs

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded BAE Systems a $4.6 million contract for an Small Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SUUV) that would help U.S. Navy submarines detect adversary subs while minimizing their own risk of being detected. “Advances in maritime technology are critical to the Department of Defense and an area where the U.S. military can continue to strengthen its advantage,” Geoff Edelson, director of Maritime Systems and Technology at BAE Systems, said in a company news release.

Additive Manufacturing of Customized UUV Propellers

Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock Division and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory are exploring the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to produce customized Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) propellers.

The propellers can be produced on-demand from both metal and plastic material--without inventory concerns--and could be tailored to specific mission requirements. Furthermore, since the AM process itself does not require tooling or fixturing, it enables rapid turnaround from customized design changes to final parts. 

More info:

http://www.secnav.navy.mil/innovation/Documents/2017/05/UUVPropellers.pdf