The US Military already uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for risky air missions, but now the Navy is one step closer to using state-of-the-art unmanned sea vessels to perform tasks too dangerous for manned ships.
Government contractor Textron Marine and Land Systems recently demonstrated its Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) at its shipyard in New Orleans. The company has been working on the boat -- which is operated by similar command-and-control technology that powers Army UAVs -- for more than a year.
Textron Land and Marine System has successfully demonstrated its Custom Unmanned Surface Vessel, which it aims to sell to the US Navy to perform risky missions like minesweeping and approaching enemy sea vessels. (Source: Textron)
While unmanned boats are not a new concept, Textron said the CUSV is the first designed from the ground up to be operated remotely to perform risky Navy activities such as approaching hostile ships, detecting enemy submarines, and sweeping the ocean for mines, without endangering lives. Previous unmanned vessels have been made by fitting manned vessels with remote-control equipment.
Outfitted with a command and control system from Textron subsidiary AAI that’s also used to operate UAVs, CUSV can be controlled remotely from 10 to 12 miles away from a command station on land, at sea, or in the air, according to Textron. Beyond that range -- up to 1,200 miles -- a satellite control system can be used to operate the vessel.
The vessel also includes data-link technology, a reconfigurable and versatile payload bay, a common payload launch and recovery controller, and a modular unmanned system based on both an open architecture and off-the shelf technology, according to Textron.
The CUSV looks much like a Navy PT boat, with a length of 39 feet, a top speed of 28 knots, and a cruising range of 1,200 nautical miles. It also includes an anti-sinking feature that enables the boat to automatically shut off, right itself, and resume its course if it capsizes, according to Textron. Additionally, the CUSV includes advanced technology that allows it to detect obstacles in its path to avoid collision.
Textron has not yet inked a deal with the US Navy to use CUSVs, two prototypes of which currently exist. However, it is actively pursuing contracts with the US Navy, as well as other navies around the world, to purchase CUSVs for military use, Textron spokesperson Tom Williams said in an email to Design News. The company, which expects to begin commercial production of CUSVs in the next year or so, has not yet disclosed how much the vehicles might cost.
Seems like a natural move to beef up technology to support unmanned sea vehicles for risky missions just like the Air Force uses UAVs. I'm curious why there hasn't been much real work in this area up until now. Are there more limitations?
Beth, that is a good question. Considering mine sweeping, approach to hostile ships, etc. this seems like a natural for this type of technology. It also seems like it would be easier, since you are constrained in one dimension. There may be other issues, or it may just be that the need has not been percieved.
I wonder how many other areas this concept could be used in, Beth. So far there is the Air Force and UAVs, the Navy and water-based UOVs (unmanned ocean vehicles), nuclear remote robots, and mine-detecting/mine destroying robots. There must be unlimited opportunities for the next Steve Jobs who will find the next application. I hope I'm him...
Beth, This does look like an extension of their control technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using a similar command and control system. Interesting technology.
Not only the technology of being un-manned-(remarkable enough); but another technology (not described in much detail): An anti-sinking feature that enables the boat to automatically shut off, right itself, and resume its course if it capsizes. That is amazing!How about commercializing that feature into mainstream yachting-?Bet the captain of the Costa Concordia (the sunken Italian cruise ship) would have liked that feature?!
The Coast Guard has had some self-righting boats for several years. The 47 foot motor life boats have been in service since 1997. This boat self-rights in 15 seconds with all equipment fully functional. The new 45 foot medium response boat that began entering service in 2008 is self-righting but is not designed for conditions as severe as the motor life boat.
The flotation systems are passive. The weight and flotation are distributed to have the boat turn uptight. (Many weighted keel sailboats will do this, too.) As for the other systems on the boat, I must defer to others.
The whole notion of a self-righting boat was so interesting, I had to see it for myself. Here's what I found: A Coast Guard video of a self-righting boat. Very cool:
That is is nice test in calm water. It's much more impressive if you have a crew on board in rough seas.
If you check the other videos, you will see some of the boat handling training in rough water with 4 or 5 crew members onboard. I recall a show on Discovery Channel or History Channel that showed a boat roll over and right itself in the rough conditions while doing training. The crew was 'strapped in' for their safety and survival.
I'm surprised that they appear to be aiming at full-sized versions of existing ships (39' in this case). The Air Force, on the other hand seems to be concentrating their efforts on drones that are substantially smaller than the manned version. Is there a reason for this?
The advantage I see here is that the Navy can complement their other efforts with these type of devices. For example, the current push is to get away from the massive battleship size and focus on the newer littoral combat ships, which allow action much closer to land and up smaller rivers. It seems that, properly scaled, these could enhance those capabilities in the same way the drones have done for the Air Force.
I believe in the Navy's mind the functionality and usefulness of the platform is going to depend heavily on what existing weapons packages it can deliver -- almost all of which are less-feasibly deployed on any platform which is significantly smaller. Any approach which reduces the procurement cycle time to achieve weapons on the water (WITHOUT locking us into an early-obsolescence cycle) has a positive design criteria satisfaction gradient -- and iterating toward smaller special purpose platforms is STILL feasible.
I'm still anticipating the RP-jetski with various alternative load packages of torpedo and drone launchers, and probably a range of warhead delivery options.
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