US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Huntington Ingalls Industries and Battelle used this week’s Sea-Air-Space exposition to spotlight their ‘Proteus’ dual-mode submersible prototype.
The undersea vehicle development by the two companies helped to support the US Navy’s exploration of moving unmanned technology into larger platforms, according to David Ferris, a project ocean engineer at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding Undersea Solutions Group.
Similar in external design to the MK8 Mod1 ‘Eight Boats’ currently deployed with US Navy Special Operations Forces, Proteus is a ‘wet sub’ design that requires operators and occupants to wear breathing apparatus while travelling in a flooded environment.
The design
Already have an account? Log in
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.
As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.
Advancements in air defence technologies have begun to reshape aerial combat dynamics in the Middle East, as illustrated by recent events involving the Israeli Air Force and Hezbollah.
Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war have been using UAS for effective low-cost attacks, as well as impactful web and social media footage. Thousands more have now been committed to Ukrainian forces.
The US Army has intentions to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) as part of the branche’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle family.