Lockheed Martin to develop undersea vehicle

Sea Power, Jul 2003 by Burgess, Richard R

The Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Lockheed Martin a $6.8 million contract to design a mission-recon-figurable unmanned undersea vehicle (MRUUV) capable of being launched from the 21 -inch torpedo tube that is standard on all U.S. Navy submarines.

The MRUUV-an evolutionary development of the tube-launched Long-range Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS) being developed by Lockheed Martin-is intended to be launched from a Virginia-class or Los Angeles-class attack submarine (SSN) for clandestine intelligence collection, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), as well as mine neutralization and tactical ocean survey.

The mission-reconfigurable UUV offers advantages over single-mission UUVs because submarine torpedo spaces are too small to carry separate 21-inch UUVs for each mission. By reconfiguring sensor packages and other mission payloads on the UUV either inside the submarine or at a support facility ashore, the mission payload can be optimized for the submarine's overall mission.

Several economies also would be possible by implementing the MRUUV concept because, although the mission payloads would be interchangeable, the vehicle's propulsion, control, navigation, ballast, trim, and obstacle-avoidance systems would be common for all missions.

The Flight 1 21-inch MRUUV is expected to weigh approximately 2,800 pounds and will capitalize on the BLQ-11 Long-range Mine Reconnaissance System to provide an initial ISR capability for current SSNs. The Flight 1 development phase is scheduled to follow the design phase in fiscal year 2005. Operational tests are scheduled for FY 2007. The Flight 1 MRUUV is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in late 2007.

A larger MRUUV-5,000-20,000 pounds or more-also is envisioned for fleet deployment beginning in FY 2010. This large vehicle-which would dock to a mother submarine or be launched from a missile tube-may include robust ISR as well as advanced mine counter-measures and antisubmarine warfare capabilities including submarine track and trail. The Flight 2 MRUUV also may be able to deploy smaller UUVs, decoys, unmanned aerial vehicles, and/or fixed sensors.

Perry Technologies, a unit of Undersea Systems, a division of Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems in Riviera Beach, Fla., will perform most of the design and development work on the MRUUV. Development of the company's WLD-1 Remote Minehunting System also took place at the Riviera Beach facility.

By RICHARD R. BURGESS Managing Editor