Feasibility of Submarine Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles:

Feasibility of Submarine Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Focus on Magne<c Anomaly Detec<on Usage for An<-­‐Submarine Warfare LCDR Nick We,els, 19 Jun 13 For Official Use Only (FOUO) 1 About Me •  Robo<c Scien<st for NASA-­‐JPL •  PhD in biomedical engineering •  LCDR in Navy Reserve –  6.5 yrs ac<ve duty –  Submarine officer –  ONR/NRL Det 111 For Official Use Only (FOUO) 2 Background •  XXXII Chief of Naval Opera<ons (CNO) Strategic Studies Group (SSG) Topic: –  Undersea Dominance •  SSG solicited proposals from ONR-­‐RC •  Prof. Chung/ LCDR WeWels proposed topic of interest For Official Use Only (FOUO) 3 Summary Candidate UAVs for Submarine Launched ASW Opera:ons •  Switchblade (AeroVironment) •  Coyote (BAE Systems) •  Cutlass (L3) Key Data/ Developments •  Dr. Dave Johnson (ONR) is working on alkali vapor magnetometer for small UAVs Alkali Vapor Magnetometers 2 UAV theme emerging Recommenda:ons •  “Surveillance” UAV to support ISR, I&W, SOF •  “Targe<ng” UAV for OTH-­‐T and ASW •  Longitudinal CONOPS study required to crystallize sub-­‐
launched UAV requirements For Official Use Only (FOUO) 4 Acronyms •  UAS: Unmanned Aerial System •  SLUAV: Submarine Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle •  MAD: Magne<c Anomaly Detector •  ASW: An<-­‐Submarine Warfare For Official Use Only (FOUO) 5 Problem + Opportunity •  P-­‐3 being re<red –  No MAD capability on P-­‐8 •  ONR developing sensi<ve, compact magnetometer •  Possible to recover MAD capability with unmanned aerial systems (UAS)? –  Submarine launched? –  Augment long-­‐range submarine ASW? For Official Use Only (FOUO) 6 Code 32 ONR UAV Mounted Magnetometer Strategy How it works • 
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Magne<c sensors mounted in UAV detect signature of submarines Noise cancella<on algorithms remove UAV generated signals (mo<on and magne<c signature) Sensor provided input to UAV’s autonomy to modify flight path of UAV’s (interfaces to the autonomous flight controller for the UAV) to confirm and maintain contact on submarine Provides contact report back to controlling sta<on on UAVs exis<ng C2 link What it will achieve • 
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Develops a completely autonomous Detect-­‐to-­‐Engage ASW capability via UAVs Effec<ve in deep and shallow water environments Deployable from mul<ple types of plakorms (air, surface, and submerged) For Official Use Only (FOUO) 7 Top 5 Mission Priori<es of SLUAVs (Highest possible ranking score = 1; Lowest = 12; reproduced from Smith) Mission
Weighted Average Priority Score
Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR)
Special Opera:ons Force (SOF) Support
2.50
Indica:ons & Warnings (I&W)
5.29
Over the Horizon Targe:ng (OTH-­‐T) Organic
OTH-­‐T Coopera:ve
5.50
4.36
5.64
Weinstein S., Sasche T., and McGannon W. Submarine unmanned aerial vehicle system. . . past, present, and future efforts. In AIAA’s 1st Technical Conference and Workshop on Unmanned Aerospace Vehicles. Portsmouth, Virginia, May 2002. Smith M. F., “Assessment of the USlity of Submarine Launched-­‐and-­‐Operated Unmanned Aerial Systems,” M.S. thesis, Systems Eng. Dept., Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 2012 For Official Use Only (FOUO) 8 Top 5 Preferred Features of SLUAVs (Highest possible ranking score = 1; Lowest = 14; reproduced from Smith) SLUAV Feature
Weighted Average Priority Score
Low Counterdetec:on Threat
3.12
Submerged Launch
3.36
Long On-­‐Sta:on Time
5.12
Satellite Communica:ons
6.40
Infrared Op:cs
7.50
Smith M. F., “Assessment of the USlity of Submarine Launched-­‐and-­‐Operated Unmanned Aerial Systems,” M.S. thesis, Systems Eng. Dept., Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 2012 For Official Use Only (FOUO) 9 2 Sets of UAVs based on Requirements •  “Surveillance” –  Larger, longer endurance, more sensors •  “Targe<ng” –  Smaller, tac<cal use –  Group 1 UAVs For Official Use Only (FOUO) 10 SLUAV Features Based on Mission Class (adapted from Smith)
Feature
Surveillance
Endurance (hrs)
>12
Communica:ons
LOS Communica:ons Range (nm)
Payload
Launch type
Recovery op:ons
Targe:ng
2
LOS + SATCOM
LOS
>55
55
EO/IR, SAR, AIS
EO/IR
VLS, TTL
TDU, 3” Launcher
Poten<ally: Surface
No
For Official Use Only (FOUO) 11 MAD-­‐ASW Mission Limited to Group 1 (smallest) UAVs •  ASW is preferen<ally conducted by SSNs (as opposed to SSGNs or SSBNs) •  The current UAV launch points from SSNs include the trash disposal unit (TDU) and 3–
inch launcher •  Limited baWery capability of small UAVs capable of being launched by SSN means (e.g. TDU and 3-­‐inch launcher) For Official Use Only (FOUO) 12 SLAUVs Under Considera<on •  Switchblade (AeroVironment): hWp://www.avinc.com/uas/adc/switchblade/ •  Coyote (BAE Systems):
hWp://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar<cles/bae-­‐systems-­‐
coyote-­‐uav-­‐flies-­‐337417/ •  Cutlass (L3): hWp://www2.l-­‐3com.com/uas/tech_uas/cutlass.htm Coyote Cutlass For Official Use Only (FOUO) 13 Current SLUAV Development •  Navy is progressing towards submarine launched UAVs –  AeroVironment’s Switchblade has been successfully launched from SSN TDU –  Coyote and Cultass have been launched from Type A sonobuoy tube •  AeroVironment is working with NUWC on the AWESUM JCTD –  Phase 2 in 2014 includes modifica<on to allow endurance to 70+ minutes, plus an op<on to replace some of the baWery capability with a lethal warhead. For Official Use Only (FOUO) 14 Biggest Challenge: UAV Endurance •  The prior 3 UAVs men<oned only possess 30 to 45 minutes of endurance •  The two hour requirement is generated from the desire of a submarine to have ample <me to target mul<ple contacts without launching new UAVs in between weapon shots. 24 min on-­‐sta:on :me 20 nm = 21 min transit :me Contact SLAUV For Official Use Only (FOUO) 15 Key Take-­‐aways •  Small UAV problem is endurance: •  Targe<ng UAV requirement: 2 hrs •  Surveillance UAV requirement: 12 hrs •  Current endurance: 30 to 45 minutes •  ONR is working on small alkali vapor magnetometers •  Requirements of UAV and sensors is unclear for each mission – recommend longitudinal CONOPS study across all stake-­‐holders For Official Use Only (FOUO) 16 Follow-­‐on ONR-­‐RC Work •  A concept study of the u<lity of employing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched from a submarine to extend An<submarine Warfare (ASW) engagement range. The project objec<ve’s includes: –  Iden<fy CONOPS for deployment of a UAV (equipped with a magnetometer, a camera and a communica<ons link) from a submarine for ASW –  Analyze u<lity of this capability as an adjunct to the current submarine sensors –  Analyze projected impact on torpedo engagement –  Iden<fy benefits and issues associated with projected concept •  Desired <me frame for this study is May thru September 2013 For Official Use Only (FOUO) 17