Following a request for international assistance to locate the Argentine navy's missing submarine, the A.R.A. San Juan, and its crew, the U.S. Navy has deployed one Bluefin 12D (Deep) UUV and three Iver 580 UUVs to assist in the search, which is taking place in South Atlantic waters.
The UUVs are operated by the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron 1 (UUVRON), which was established back in September, and is based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Capable of deploying quickly, the UUVs use a system called Side Scan Sonar, which is used to “efficiently create an image of large areas of the sea floor,” to search wide areas of the ocean.
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Weekend Roundup
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
Using the company's KnifeFish UUV, which is a mine countermeasure (MCM) UUV, the General Dynamics Mission Systems' Knifefish team has successfully completed contractor trials for the U.S. Navy's Knifefish program. Using buried, bottom and volume type mine-test targets, the UUV operated in multiple mine test target fields at-sea. At various depths, the UUV showcased its ability to detect, classify and identify potential mines that would serve as unique threats to naval vessels operating in a mission area. (PR Newswire)
University of Mississippi and General Atomics collaborating on UUV technology
The University of Mississippi (UM) and General Atomics are starting an “on-campus collaborative effort” that will focus on acoustic sensing and navigation technologies for UUVs, in an effort to help Department of Defense operations in deep-sea areas.
Starting on Nov. 1, GA Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS) will work out of UM’s research facility, Insight Park, and GA-EMS will look to fortify the relationship established with UM and its National Center for Physical Acoustics, so that it can advance the investigation of “acoustic-based techniques for navigation and control of unmanned underwater systems.”
Lockheed Martin to design U.S. Navy's XLUUV Orca
Under a design phase contract valued at $43.2 million, Lockheed Martin will design the U.S. Navy’s Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) known as Orca, in an effort to “support the growth of the U.S. Navy’s family of unmanned undersea systems.”
Including the currently awarded design phase, XLUUV Orca is a two-phase competition, as it also includes a “competitive production phase for up to nine vehicles,” to meet the growing need for undersea operational awareness and payload delivery.
From Unmanned Systems magazine: Navy plans 'simpler truck' for its unmanned countermine mission
The U.S. Navy still plans to hunt for maritime mines using autonomous craft but the service likely will attack the problem from a different angle, says Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations.
For much of the past decade, the Navy worked off a plan to replace its aging wood-hulled mine-hunting boats mostly with a network of systems launched from the service’s new littoral combat ships (LCS), anchored by an unmanned underwater vehicle called a Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) that would launch from the LCS and lead the mine-finding and destroying operations, relying on the most advanced sensors and associated equipment.
Hydroid teams with industry partners to demonstrate latest UUV capabilities during ANTX 2017
In August, during an advanced naval technology exercise known as ANTX in Newport, Rhode Island, Hydroid, Inc., L3 Aerospace Systems, Sparton Corporation and AeroVironment, Inc. collaborated to demonstrate the latest UUV capabilities of the Hydroid REMUS 600 UUV through a threat mission scenario conducted in the water.
The UUV was equipped with L3’s Rio Nino signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection payload, as well as a Sparton Hammerhead canister that contained an AeroVironment Blackwing UAV, which was launched during the exercise.
Navy establishes first UUV squadron, UUVRON 1
The U.S. Navy officially set up its first unmanned undersea squadron, Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron 1, or UUVRON, at an event on Sept. 26 in Washington state.
Cmdr. Scott Smith, of Hartford, South Dakota, is its first command officer.
"Today we are transitioning our UUV detachment into the first UUV squadron,” said Capt. Robert Gaucher, who turned over his command of Submarine Development Squadron 5 (DEVRON 5) at the same event. “Why is this historical? It's because in standing up UUVRON 1, it shows our Navy's commitment to the future of unmanned systems and undersea combat."
Riptide receives North American Product Leadership Award in the UUV market from Frost and Sullivan
Business consulting firm Frost and Sullivan presented its North American Product Leadership Award in the UUV market to Riptide Autonomous Solutions on Sept. 18.
Riptide’s Chief Operating Officer / Chief Financial Officer John Vestri accepted the award during Frost and Sullivan’s Growth, Innovation, and Leadership Awards Gala in Lost Pines, Texas.
“It is a great honor for us to receive such high recognition from an independent market research group as well regarded as Frost & Sullivan,” says Jeff Smith, Riptide’s founder and president.
“Our team and our customers know we are doing things very differently from the established players but it’s a tremendous compliment to receive this public recognition.”
Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in Ocean Aero, maker of the Submaran unmanned maritime vehicle
Lockheed Martin Ventures has announced that it is making a strategic investment in Ocean Aero, a company that has developed an unmanned maritime vehicle called the Submaran.
Built for ocean observation and data collection, the Submaran is a new class of unmanned underwater and surface vessel. The vehicle, which is powered by wind and solar energy, can travel for months, even in extreme conditions.
Easily deployable and recoverable, the vehicle can avoid surface traffic or conduct C4ISR operations thanks to its ability to dive to depths of 660 feet.
Weekend Roundup
This Week in the Unmanned Systems and Robotics World
Yuneec International has announced that its “first product offering dedicated to commercial use,” the H520 sUAS, is now available. The H520 sUAS, which uses Yuneec’s six-rotor platform, includes enterprise-grade cameras and mission planning software, making it useful commercially across a variety of verticals such as construction, inspection and public safety. Some of the offerings of the sUAS include an assortment of payload options, reliable and stable flight, and an integrated ground controller. (Yuneec)
