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December 9, 2020 | International, Naval

The US Navy wants to find ships to kill using aerial drones launched from submarines

By:

WASHINGTON – The name of the game in the Pacific is stand-off range. But with longer range torpedoes and anti-ship missiles in the arsenal, submariners are looking to a new domain to help them extend their deadly reach: The air.

In an October request for information, Naval Sea Systems Command's Submarine Combat and Weapons Control Program Office asked industry for input into a “Submarine-Launched Unmanned Aerial System,” or SLUAS, currently in development.

The Navy has been interested in sub-launched drones for some time and has been testing prototypes, but the RFI shows the service is getting serious about the idea as it adds longer-range torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles to the arsenal of its attack submarines.

The idea for the SLUAS is an ambitious one.

The drone would launch from a submerged submarine out of a 3-inch ejector tube used for sonobuoys, flares and countermeasures among other things. The battery-operated UAS would then deploy its wings and operate for an hour, well beyond the range visible from just the low-in-the-water periscope.

Additionally, the UAS should have an “electro-optic capability with reliable target solution analysis,” the RFI said, adding that it should be able to “operate at ranges out to the line-of-sight radio horizon, and use a variable bandwidth encrypted datalink with at least 256-bit encryption strength.

The drone should also have a degree of autonomy and “include the ability to operate in an emission-controlled environment and operate without constant radio communication links.”

“Every submarine has a 3-inch launcher, so in theory, every submarine could operate with UASs,” said Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and senior fellow with The Hudson Institute. “The idea is that you would be about the size of a sonobuoy — it could be pretty long — and you'd put it inside a canister. Then you launch this in a canister, it floats to the surface and the USA deploys from there.

“And from there it can either connect up with the submarine or it could connect with another unit, and it gives you the ability to have over-the-horizon surveillance.”

“The demonstrations have been pretty successful,” Clark added.

The responses to the RFI were due in November.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/12/07/the-us-navy-wants-to-find-ships-to-kill-using-aerial-drones-launched-from-submarines/

On the same subject

  • Can the US military still innovate quickly?

    September 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

    Can the US military still innovate quickly?

    By: Daniel Cebul WASHINGTON — In the era of great power competition, the speed at which competing militaries are capable to innovate and evolve could determine who would win in a war. In light of the need for speed, military innovation experts at the Defense News Conference tackled the question of whether the Department of Defense can still move quickly to develop new technologies and capabilities. While the conversation surrounding innovation tends to revolve around the development of new technology, other organizational changes are arguably more important for military innovation. Col. Liam Collins, director of the Modern War Institute, said that while new technologies play a role, they are not the driving force of innovation. “Sure, there were technological innovations that were part of it, such as new signals intelligence capabilities, but it was really more of an organizational or doctrinal innovation in which technology played a part,” Collins said. “Technology facilitates those other innovations, which are really often the most critical and often the less studied [of] what we focus on.” One example of changes to organizational doctrine and behavior is the DoD's uptick in using other contracting authorities, or OTA. Shawn Black, vice president and general manager for electro-optical and infrared systems are Leonardo DRS, said that from the commercial side, these alternative contracting authorities are appealing because they move quicker and better communicate requirements. “They represent a faster procurement cycle. You are able to move through the process of responding to a solicitation and providing a proposal much quicker. There is more flexibility in the intellectual property provisions,” Black said. "[Leonardo] has seen much-improved communication with the acquiring organization as you move through the process. “Right up until the submission we are able to zero in right on what they are looking for.” So how fast are these alternative options able to pump out contracts? Mike Madsen, partner and head of Washington operations at Defense Innovation Unit, said his office is looking to “leverage the OT authority and put award prototyping contracts within 60 to 90 days." "The fastest we've been able to do is just under that, and we are averaging 100 days,” he added. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/smr/defense-news-conference/2018/09/06/can-the-us-military-still-innovate-quickly

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 8, 2019

    May 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 8, 2019

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Coastal Environmental Group Inc., Farmingdale, New York (W9126G-19-D-0020); and CJW JV, Santa Ana, California (W9126G-19-D-0025), will compete for each order of the $5,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build, design-bid-build horizontal construction task orders in support of the Department of Homeland Security San Diego, El Centro, Yuma and Tucson Border Patrol sectors, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South-Western Division and South Pacific Division. Bids were solicited via the internet with 38 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity. Science and Engineering Services LLC,* Huntsville, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0045); Y-Tech Services Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0046); and Tyonek Worldwide Services Inc.,* Madison, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0047), will compete for each order of the $2,440,000,000 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide modifications to aviation systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 3, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Ashridge Inc.,* St. Stephen, South Carolina, was awarded a $16,951,622 firm-fixed-price contract for the Savannah Harbor oysterbed revetment repair, rock along the shoreline to prevent erosion, repairing the boat dock, and repairing the barge dock. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Hardeeville, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2020. Fiscal 2018 civil works; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $16,951,622 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5003). Southeast Cherokee Construction Inc.,* Montgomery, Alabama, was awarded a $13,341,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Judge Advocate General School expansion. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Montgomery, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2020. Fiscal 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $13,341,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0017). NAVY ICF Inc. 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  • House Appropriators Add 12 F-35s, Boost Weapons Spending, But…

    July 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval

    House Appropriators Add 12 F-35s, Boost Weapons Spending, But…

    "To us, it means that there is going to be much more tension and debate over future modernization programs as flat investment will not enable DoD to recapitalize in a timely and militarily relevant pace," says defense analyst Byron Callan. By COLIN CLARKon July 07, 2020 at 7:38 PM WASHINGTON: House appropriators made their first cut at the annual defense spending bill today, approving spending $3.5 billion below the Trump Administration's request — although lawmakers added a substantial $4.1 billion for several weapons systems, including 12 additional F-35s. Overall, the House Appropriations Committee trimmed $3.5 billion from the Trump Administration's 2021 budget request while still fully paying for a 3% pay raise and force structure increases to all but the Marines, who will lose 2,100 people. The appropriators approval of an increase in F-35 buys makes it unlikely the House Armed Services Committee's skepticism of the Joint Strike Fighter program will prevail. The HASC added no more planes above the administration request for 79 aircraft of all three models and docked at least a score of supporting line items by a total of $561 million. By contrast the SASC added $1.36 billion to buy more Air Force F-35As, Marine F-35Bs, and Navy F-35Cs, plus spare parts. In other bump ups, the HAC funds 11 V-22 aircraft, adding $1.1 billion to buy two more than the request. It also adds three P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the Navy Reserve, three more than the request for an additional $510 million. And echoing the House authorizing committee's support, the HAC added 16 MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles to the Pentagon request, for a cost of $344 million. But making sense of the HAC-D bill is difficult because it's not yet clear what and where they've cut, as veteran defense stock analyst Byron Callan notes. It all gets complicated by the CARES Act and adjustments to contracts that have been made. Overall, Callan says, it looks as if fiscal 2020 — last year — may have been the peak of whatever Trump defense boost there has been. But it's all uncertain. “Absent the pandemic budget impacts, however, the markups so far suggest that FY20 was a peak for DoD investment. This does not mean investment is at the peak and headed fast downhill in FY21 and beyond,” Callan writes. “To us, it means that there is going to be much more tension and debate over future modernization programs as flat investment will not enable DoD to recapitalize in a timely and militarily relevant pace.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/house-appropriators-add-12-f-35s-boost-weapons-spending-but/

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