Airborne drones dominate
the headlines and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) take what’s left of the
media’s and the public’s attention. However, there is a third class of drone
that, while receiving almost no media attention, fields roles that are just as important
as its air and ground counterparts. This drone operates in the world’s biggest
continuous environment and has many applications in both commercial and
military applications. This is the unmanned maritime vehicle (UMV), a robot
designed to operate in the world’s seas, lakes and oceans, and the US Navy is
determined to be the world leader in UMV development and fielding.
The Navy is currently
testing prototype UMVs across a wide spectrum of mission profiles, from
minesweeping to search and rescue (Eckstein, 2017). Three of the craft listed
by Eeckstein (2017) are the Knifefish minesweeper, the CUSV multi-purpose
surface vehicle, and the Snakehead unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). Let’s
look at each one, and see if it really is a step forward in the water.
The
Knifefish
The Knifefish is a
torpedo-shaped UUV that is designed to do one of the most dangerous jobs in
contested waters: sweeping for mines (Reed, 2012). Reed (2012) states that the
UUV is twenty feet long, weighs three thousand pounds, and uses highly
sensitive sonar to maneuver around underwater debris and find mines.
One
of the most interesting aspects of the Knifefish is the way it differentiates
between potential mines and non-hazardous material while maneuvering through
debris. The craft compares the shapes it encounters with a database of known
mine shapes in order to recognize what is safe and what is a potential threat.
Anyone who has ever dealt with mines and explosives, whether on land or in the water, knows that it is much safer to send a machine to do the job rather than to risk human life. To that end, I believe the Knifefish is a good concept, as it basically acts as an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robot under the water; it can clear a path for human-controlled ships, and take the blast if necessary. The Navy would sooner lose a thousand Knifefish than one sailor.
Anyone who has ever dealt with mines and explosives, whether on land or in the water, knows that it is much safer to send a machine to do the job rather than to risk human life. To that end, I believe the Knifefish is a good concept, as it basically acts as an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robot under the water; it can clear a path for human-controlled ships, and take the blast if necessary. The Navy would sooner lose a thousand Knifefish than one sailor.
The Knifefish is
scheduled to complete initial testing this November, with the Navy conducting
formal testing and assessment soon thereafter (Eckstein, 2017).
Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV)
The
Knifefish isn’t the only counter-mine vehicle in the Navy’s future inventory.
Another vehicle that is close to completion of testing is the CUSV, a
multi-role drone which will also be used in counter-mine operations (PR
Newswire, 2017).
According to PR Newswire (2017),
this UMV can carry a variety of payloads, including “side-scan sonar, mine
neutralization, non-lethal weapons, and intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance (ISR) sensors”.
The ultimate goal is for
the CUSV to become an integral component of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship
concept, a system designed for combat engagement close to shore (Eckstein,
2017).
Of the three vehicles listed in this article, this is the one with the most potential, in my opinion. It's modular nature is the key to its potential success; it is a surface vehicle that can be modified and adapted to do just about anything, and can serve as a mine deployment device, gunboat, or whatever other creative use the Navy finds. If the CUSV sees wide service, it is quite possible that it may find roles not yet envisioned.
Of the three vehicles listed in this article, this is the one with the most potential, in my opinion. It's modular nature is the key to its potential success; it is a surface vehicle that can be modified and adapted to do just about anything, and can serve as a mine deployment device, gunboat, or whatever other creative use the Navy finds. If the CUSV sees wide service, it is quite possible that it may find roles not yet envisioned.
Snakehead
LDUUV
Another integral
component of the Littoral Combat Ship concept is the Snakehead
Large-Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV). The Snakehead is a
large-displacement unmanned submarine, and the Navy is exploring ways to use it
in anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and mine integration warfare
(MIW) (Owens, 2017).
According to Owens (2017), this UMV is designed for
both long range and high endurance operations and can be launched from either
the surface or a submarine. Owens (2017) also states that the Navy isn’t sure
yet how it wants to integrate the Snakehead in its overall Littoral Combat Ship
concept, which is why it aims to get the craft in the water as soon as possible
in order to begin testing.
One
of the more interesting components of the Snakehead vehicle concerns energy
storage. As a long-range, high-endurance vehicle, energy storage is critical,
as the submarine needs to be able to operate for long periods of time without
refueling. To that end, the Navy is exploring both silver zinc and lithium ion
for energy storage, and is currently leaning towards silver zinc for the first
phase of testing (Owens, 2017).
Truth be told, I'm not sold on this UMV. It's a big, yellow tub with a vague purpose. As mentioned above, the Navy isn't really sure how it wants to use it just yet; it hopes that testing will reveal the UMV's potential. To me, that sounds like a program with no direction, and lack of direction tends to lead to cost overruns (because there is no clear end state) and cancellation (because the device serves no real purpose).
Truth be told, I'm not sold on this UMV. It's a big, yellow tub with a vague purpose. As mentioned above, the Navy isn't really sure how it wants to use it just yet; it hopes that testing will reveal the UMV's potential. To me, that sounds like a program with no direction, and lack of direction tends to lead to cost overruns (because there is no clear end state) and cancellation (because the device serves no real purpose).
Owens
(2017) concludes by stating that the Navy hopes to field a prototype by 2019.
The
Future of Maritime Warfare
Drone
development is going forward in all environments, from the air, to the ground,
to the sea. The US Navy has seen this trend and is pushing to be at the leading
edge of this development. The Knifefish, CUSV, and Snakehead UMVs represent the
next evolution of sea warfare.I think the Knifefish and the CUSV will have their place in the Navy's arsenal, but the Snakehead may be dead in the water. A decade from now, we'll probably know for sure.
References
Eckstein, M. (2017). Navy racing to test, field unmanned maritime vehicles for future ships.
vehicles-future-ships
Owens, K. (2017). New
Navy Class III undersea drone to be in the water by 2019. Retrieved
from https://defensesystems.com/articles/2017/04/06/uuv.aspx
PR Newswire. (2017). US Navy awards Textron Systems for two common unmanned surface
systems-154500698.html
Reed, J. (2012). Meet
the Navy’s Knifefish mine-hunting robot. Retrieved from
