Washington: The Pentagon’s conduit agency to Silicon Valley is seeking a commercially available unmanned undersea vehicles capable of “deploying large payloads” across ranges further than 1,000 nautical miles.
“Current UUV capabilities present limitations in range and payload capacity, hindering the effective deployment of critical resources in certain operational scenarios,” according to a Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) solicitation dubbed the “Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform.” “The DoD seeks commercially available, demonstration-ready uncrewed systems that address these limitations, offering a scalable and cost-effective solution for long-range, high-capacity payload deployment.”
The UUV should be capable of employing payloads of varying sizes; conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; operating in a GPS-denied environment as well as bathymetric surveys and mapping. In addition to the 1,000 nautical mile range, the solicitation also states a vendor’s solution should be able to dive deeper than 200 meters (656 feet) underwater and operate autonomously to navigate and avoid obstacles or collisions. Responses are due by May 1.
The solicitation’s goal — seeking a multi-purpose unmanned system capable of carrying a variety of payloads — largely matches what US Navy leaders for years have repeatedly sought from industry as the service’s leaders tout the concept of a future hybrid fleet.
