US Navy eyes using UUVs to protect Columbia submarines
The US Navy is examining how it could use unmanned undersea vehicles to protect its manned ballistic missile submarines, according to a key service official.
The navy’s undersea warfare division is working with the navy’s first UUV squadron, UUVRON-1, to develop operational concepts for that protection, said RADM John Tammen, the division’s director, who spoke on 26 February at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.
UUVRON-1, which the navy stood up in September 2017, is based at Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport in Washington state.
Tammen noted that the navy currently fields small and medium-sized UUVs and is developing large
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