US Navy Chooses Three Vendors To Develop Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Platforms

Undersea warfare is essential to succeeding in the Pacific and other similarly contested areas. Offering much-needed autonomous underwater sensing and payload delivery in long-range, dispersed, deep, and contested environments is crucial. Crewed submarines are typically high-value, high-resource capital platforms essential for combat missions.

The U.S. military needs a fleet comprising large displacement uncrewed underwater vehicles (abbreviated as LDUUVs) with diverse capabilities. One of the main capability areas of the LDUUV effort is the need for the long-endurance undersea craft that can deliver payloads as well as effectors against the adversaries for Subsea and Seabed Warfare (abbreviated the SSW) as well as Undersea Warfare (abbreviated the USW) scenarios. To solve the issue, the U.S. Navy’s Program Office for Advanced Undersea Systems (PMS 394) collaborated with the Defense Innovation Unit (abbreviated DIU) to identify commercial tech that extends a potentially transformative impact in such maritime scenarios.

Following a rigorous examination procedure, DIU granted three prototype contracts to Oceaneering International, Anduril Industries, and Kongsberg Discovery. The agreements emphasize how important it is to improve underwater capabilities, use unmanned technologies, and tackle current and emerging maritime threats in a scalable and affordable manner. Successful prototypes will open up fresh opportunities for SSW and USW activities. Along with advancing autonomous systems, underwater engineering, and communications, this project will impact how LDUUVs will be used in future naval operations.

This joint effort, supported by the Program Office for Unmanned Maritime Systems, Program Manager Expeditionary Missions, Navy Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, The US Pacific Fleet, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Penn State Applied Research Laboratories, and also Undersea Unmanned Vehicle Squadron ONE. With DIU and PMS 394, the organizations will offer rigorous assessments to optimize the alignment with an ever-evolving global defence landscape, beginning with live demonstrations from March onward.

DIU’s prototype deals, coupled with the association among key Navy partners, represent a massive stride in accelerating the development of the nation’s maritime defence capabilities. Such strategic initiative positions America to sustain its decisive edge in advancing maritime interests – highlighting a proactive approach to upholding dedication and technological superiority to shape the future of naval defence.

Reference: DIU

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